Odai Yamamoto I site
The Odai Yamamoto I site (大平山元I遺跡 Ōdaiyamamoto ichi iseki?) is a Jōmon-period archaeological site in Sotogahama, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. Excavations in 1998 uncovered forty-six earthenware fragments which have been dated as early as 14,500 BC (ca 16,500 BP); this places them among the earliest pottery currently known.[1][2][3] As the earliest in Japan, this marks the transition from the Japanese Paleolithic to Incipient Jōmon.[4] Other pottery of a similar date has been found at Gasy and Khummy on the lower Amur River.[5] Such a date puts the development of pottery before the warming at the end of the Pleistocene.[4]
Contents
Site
An area of 148 m2 was excavated in 1998.[3] Finds included axes, spearheads, arrowheads, scapers, blades, and anvils, mostly of local shale but some also of obsidian.[3] The arrowheads are of special significance as they push back the beginnings of the history of archery.[3] The site forms part of a serial nomination submitted in 2009 for future inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List, under criteria iii and iv: Jōmon Archaeological Sites in Hokkaidō, Northern Tōhoku, and other regions.[6][7][8]
Dating
Thirty of the forty-six fragments of pottery, all from the same vessel, had carbonized residues, suggesting its use for the cooking of foodstuffs.[3] Eight AMS radiocarbon dates were generated from five of the fragments and three pieces of associated charred wood; these suggested a date of 11,800 to 11,500 BC.[3] With calibration, this dating was pushed back to 14,500 to 14,000, as early as around 16,500 BP.[3] Other datings have given a range between 13780 ± 170 and 12680 ± 140 BC.[9] This makes the site important to the understanding of the transition between the Pleistocene and the Holocene.[3] In recognition of their importance, the excavated artefacts have been designated a Municipal Cultural Property.[10]
See also
- Jōmon Archaeological Sites in Hokkaidō, Northern Tōhoku, and other regions
- List of Historic Sites of Japan (Aomori)
- Thermoluminescence dating
References
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