Shin'ichi Fujimura

Shinichi Fujimura ( Jap. 藤村新一 , Fujimura Shin'ichi * 4. May 1950 in Kami , Miyagi Prefecture ) is a Japanese amateur archaeologist who took claim for themselves, a variety of artifacts from the young and middle Paleolithic discovered to have. The findings proved in 2000 as fakes with far-reaching consequences for the archaeological exploration of the Japanese Paleolithic.

Life

Fujimura worked after graduating from high school in Sendai in a subsidiary of Tōhoku Denryoku . He had been fascinated by archeology since childhood, when he found ceramic shards from the Jōmon period . From 1972 he began to deal intensively with archeology, as a helper to participate in excavations, for example in Zazaragi, and to search for paleolithic artefacts. By participating in excavations, he came into contact with amateur archaeologists and full-time researchers and founded the "Discussion Group for Stone Tool Cultures" ( 石器 文化 談話 会 , Sekki Bunka Danwakai ) in 1975 . This group discovered, always in the presence of Fujimura, at many excavation sites such as Nakamine-C, Babadan-A and others. a. Paleolithic stone artefacts, which by stratigraphic studies to an age of 50,000 BC. H. were dated.

Fujimura began to write his own treatises and ironically gained a reputation as the "Hand of God" ( 神 の 手 , kami no te ). As a result, he took part in around 180 excavations , mainly in Miyagi Prefecture. The artifacts he discovered were getting "older" continuously. The Japanese mass media reported promptly on the finds and so not only was the dating of the Japanese Paleolithic changed, Fujimura's Paleolithic discoveries even found their way into current Japanese history textbooks. Fujimura gave up his position in 1999 and became vice chairman of the non-profit organization "Tōhoku Research Center for Paleolithic Stone Tool Cultures " ( 東北 旧石器 研究所 , Tōhoku Kyūsekki Bunka Kenkyūjo ), founded in 1992 .

discovery

In 2000, Fujimura and the research group announced another find at the Kamitakamori excavation site, dating back to 570,000 BC. Dated. A few days later, a photographer from the Mainichi Shimbun managed to photograph Fujimura when he was burying a stone artifact at that excavation site, which he then presented as a discovery. The photo of the evidence and the article appeared in the daily edition on November 5, 2000 and shook paleolithic research in Japan with the unmasking of Fujimura.

Fujimura confessed in a press conference to have placed 61 of the 65 artifacts found in Kamitakamori itself. The "Archaeological Society of Japan" therefore excluded him from membership. A special committee of inquiry was set up to identify almost all of Fujimura's finds as fakes. Fujimura had indeed discovered archaeological artifacts, but these mostly jōmon-era stone implements dug into deeper layers of the earth, whereby the primarily stratigraphic dating proved to be incorrect.

Many of the sites that were declared national historical sites after Fujimura's discoveries lost their status and the associated funding as a result of the falsification of the findings. Since the falsification of the findings could hardly be classified as a criminal offense under current law, Fujimura remained largely unmolested. Only in 2003, an archaeologist from Fukuoka Prefecture sued Fujimura for "business disruption" ( 業務 妨害 罪 , gyōmu hōgaizai ). However, the lawsuit was dismissed for lack of evidence. Fujimura's marriage ended in divorce, he remarried and adopted a new family name. Fujimura is said to have a mental disorder. After a short job with a handicapped organization, he now lives as a pensioner in Minamisōma .

See also : Paleolithic falsification of findings in Japan

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 . 1. Catalog volume. Peschke Druck, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-927774-17-0 .

Web links

• 全 中期 旧石器 問題 調査 研究 特別 委員会 - Report of the Special Committee of Inquiry (Japanese)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Charles T. Keally: How Fabrication of Two Early Palaeolithic sites Has Damaged All of Japanese Archeology . December 14, 2000 (English, ne.jp ).
2. ↑ ^{a b} 旧石器 捏造 . (No longer available online.) Miraikoro, April 6, 2003, archived from the original on September 11, 2013 ; Retrieved April 20, 2013 (Japanese). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ ^{a b} Takashi Inada: Prologue: The Paleolithic . In: time of dawn. Japan's archeology and history up to the first emperors . 2. Manual. Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-927774-18-9 , p. 31–36 (In the article, the institution is referred to as “Research Institute for Paleolithic Cultures Northeast Honshūs”.).
4. ^ Kristin M. Romey: "God's Hands" Did the Devil's Work . In: Archaeological Institute of America (Ed.): Archeology . tape 54 , no. 1 (January, February), 2001 (English, archeology.org ).
5. ^ ^{A b} Simon Kaner: Before Farming 2002/2 (4) 1-19 Trouble in the Japanese Lower and Middle Palaeolithic . In: Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Culture (Ed.): Before Farming . tape 2 , no. 4 , 2002, p. 1 (English, waspress.co.uk [PDF]).
6. ↑ 前 ・ 中期 旧石器 問題 調査 研究 特別 委員会 報告 . Japanese Archaeological Association, May 22, 2004, accessed April 21, 2013 (Japanese).