Sannai-Maruyama

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Sannai-Maruyama, reconstruction of the 14.7 m high structure from which six large post holes were found

Sannai-Maruyama ( Japanese 三 内 丸山 遺跡 , Sannai Maruyama Iseki ) is an archaeological site with settlement remains from the early to middle Jōmon period about 3 km southwest of the city of Aomori in the Japanese prefecture of Aomori on a range of hills that lead to the right bank of the River Okidate ( 沖 館 川 ) drops down. The excavation site had been known since the Edo period , and the breakthrough in the excavations was achieved in 1992 during survey work for a planned baseball stadium. In 2000, Sannai-Maruyama was declared a special historical site . Sannai-Maruyama is of particular interest to archaeologists to understand the Jōmon people's transition to sedentarism . The excavations revealed storage pits and longhouses. This shows the changes in the community, the organization and the architecture. Many of the structures found have been reconstructed on the excavation site for viewing and better understanding.

Excavation history

Reconstruction of a nave

The site was already known in the Edo period. It is mentioned in the work Eiroku Nikki ( 永禄 日記 , 1623) by Yamazaki Ryūboku and in Sumika no yama ( す み か の 山 , 1799) by the traveling folklorist Sugae Masumi (1754-1829). The first excavations, in which the Keiō University of Kyoto and the Education Committee of Aomori Prefecture were involved, took place between 1953 and 1967. The Education Committee and the City of Aomori ordered further excavations, which took place from 1976 to 1987 on the south side of the excavation site. The breakthrough came as a result of the excavations that followed the surveying work in 1992. Two years later, in 1994, the large pile structure was discovered. In the same year the excavation was partially backfilled in order to conserve and protect it. A further 26 test excavations have been undertaken since 1994 and around 40% of the entire excavation area, which covers around 40 hectares, has been developed.

overview

Interior view of a large earth hole house
Reconstructed stilt house

The oldest remains of the base settlement in Sannai-Maruyama date back to around 3900 BC. u. Z. back. The first residents lived in earth pit or earth hole houses ( 竪穴 住居 tateana jūkyo ) usually with a diameter of three to four meters. In addition to these earth pit houses, of which around 500 were found, storage pits ( 貯 蔵 穴 chozō ketsu ) were also discovered, in which the residents could safely store their food when they left the settlement area.

Around 2900 BC u. Z. the way of life changed and with it the keeping of supplies. The settlement residents began to store supplies above ground in the houses. The first long houses, mostly with an oval or rectangular floor plan, also date from this period; the largest of them with a length of 32 m. Since excavation houses also existed at the same time, it is assumed that the long houses were used collectively as a meeting point. There were still no hearths in the oldest earth pit houses. Fireplaces and hearths in the middle of the houses do not appear until the second half of the early Jōmon period.

Pile dwellings are certainly one of the most interesting structures that have been excavated. Post holes from around 2600 BC were found. u. Z. with a diameter of one meter, six of which are arranged at an exact distance of 4.2 m from one another. It is believed that these chestnut piles supported levels at different heights and thus acted as a watchtower. There is also a lot of overlap of the post holes, suggesting that the structure was redone in the same location.

In addition to the groups of houses, graves were also found, and vessels dug in for children. The grave shapes also changed in the middle Jōmon period to grave structures. Adults were still buried in pits, but the pits were now laid out in a row along a path and provided with circular stone settings ( 環状 配 石墓 kanjō haiseki bo ). One of these paths with graves arranged on both sides is 420 m long and runs in an east-west direction, the other path is 360 m long and runs in a north-south direction. The arrangement of the graves also shows a hierarchical structure of the Jōmon society.

In addition to ceramic shards and stone tools, the rubbish heaps found also contain numerous animal bones and plant remains. It is noticeable that there are only a few remains of deer and wild boar bones, but there are many remains of flying squirrels, birds, hares and other small animals, as well as a large number of different fish species. Among the plant remains are various types of nuts, wild wine, sarunashi (kiwi berries), bottle gourd, elderberries, etc.

It is believed that around 500 people lived in Sannai-Maruyama. The settlement was founded around 2300 BC. u. Leave Z.

Artifacts

Cylinder ceramic ( 円 筒 土 器Entō doki ) with the typical and eponymous cord patterns

The number of artefacts excavated is so great that the sighting and evaluation has not yet been completed. In addition to ceramics and stone tools, Sannai-Maruyama has unearthed the largest number of clay figurines at a single site in Japan, with more than 1500 pieces.

Objects made of nephrite , amber , obsidian and also jade beads are evidence of a lively exchange and trade with other regions. The cylindrical ceramic vessels found are, unlike the flame style ceramics , typical of the Tōhoku region. They show signs of cooking and were probably used for food preparation.

Among the tools made of bone and horn are noteworthy harpoons with interchangeable tips and compound fishhooks ( 結合 釣 り 針ketsugō tsuribari ). Handlebar scrapers were used for cutting and harvesting.

Anthropological note

Depending on the topography , vegetation and climate , research differentiates the Jōmon culture into northern and southern Japan. 85% of the sites are in northern Japan, only 15% in the south. Since the soil in Japan is very acidic, bone finds are rare. A comparison of about 6000 bone fragments showed that the Jōmon man had short legs and was small; the Yayoi people, common in the south, however, had grown tall. The Jōmon man collected all kinds of nuts and acorns, ground them with a grater ( 磨 り 石 suri ishi ) and a grater ( 石 皿 ishi sara ) and, if necessary, removed the bitter substances from the fruit by adding water.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c 三 内 丸山 遺跡 . In: 国 指定 史跡 ガ イ ド at kotobank.jp. Retrieved November 9, 2019 (Japanese).
  2. ↑ a b c Steinhaus: Time of Dawn, p. 102
  3. ^ A b Okada Yasuhiro: The Jōmon-Sannai-Maruyama Site, p. 78
  4. ↑ Steinhaus: Time of Dawn, Volume 11, p. 48
  5. ↑ Okamura Michio: The Sannai-Maruyama Settlement in the Context of Jōmon Culture, pp. 94-97
  6. ↑ a b Steinhaus: Time of Dawn, p. 103
  7. ^ A b c Okada Yasuhiro: The Jōmon-Sannai-Maruyama Site, p. 80
  8. ^ A b Okada Yasuhiro: The Jōmon-Sannai-Maruyama Site, p. 84
  9. ^ A b Okamura Michio: The Sannai-Maruyama Settlement in the Context of Jōmon Culture, pp. 87-89

literature

  • Dawn time. Japan's archeology and history up to the first emperors . In: Alfried Wieczorek , Werner Steinaus, Research Institute for Cultural Goods Nara (Ed.): Publications of the Reiss-Engelhorn-Museums Volume 10 . Manual. Peschke Druck, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-927774-18-9 .
  • Dawn time. Japan's archeology and history up to the first emperors . In: Alfried Wieczorek , Werner Steinaus, Research Institute for Cultural Goods Nara (Ed.): Publications of the Reiss-Engelhorn-Museums Volume 11 . Catalog volume. Peschke Druck, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-927774-17-0 .
  • Okada Yasuhiro: The Jōmon-Sannai-Maruyama Site - Excavations and Results . In: Japanisch-Deutsches Zentrum Berlin (ed.): Jdzb documentation . tape 8 . iudicium, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-89129-948-6 , p. 78-86 .
  • Okamura Michio: The Sannai-Maruyama Settlement in the Context of Jōmon Culture - Changes of Settlement Forms and Ways of Life During . In: Japanisch-Deutsches Zentrum Berlin (ed.): Jdzb documentation . tape 8 . iudicium, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-89129-948-6 , p. 87-99 .
  • Tsuji Seiichirō: The Ecosystem of the Sannai-Maruyama Site - Excavations and Results . In: Japanisch-Deutsches Zentrum Berlin (ed.): Jdzb documentation . tape 8 . iudicium, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-89129-948-6 , p. 100-107 .

Web links

Commons : Sannai-Maruyama  - collection of images, videos and audio files


Coordinates: 40 ° 48 ′ 41 ″  N , 140 ° 41 ′ 48 ″  E