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The Early Palaeolithic of Japan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

T. E. G. Reynolds
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Extract

The Early Palaeolithic of Japan may be defined as comprised of any assemblage which occurs before 30,000 years BP, i.e., prior to the formation of Tachikawa loam formation of the Kanto region (Serizawa, 1970, Ikawa Smith, 1978, 247-86). It has been the subject of controversy since the Palaeolithic period was recognized in Japan following discoveries at Iwajuku in 1949 (Sugihara, 1956). Early in the history of subsequent research, debate arose as to the date of man's arrival in the archipelago. This debate is of importance to a wider audience for a number of reasons. First, Japan is located in a region which has traditionally been associated as a source area for the peopling of the New World—early dates claimed for occupation in America should then, perhaps, be relatable to similar finds and dates in Japan. Secondly, there is now increasing evidence for relative early dates of occupation in Siberia. (Boriskovskij, 1978, 27; Yi and Clark, 1983; Okladnikov and Pospelova, 1982). These may find supportive evidence from neighbouring lands. Thirdly, it is interesting from the point of view of hominid evolution to know how far populations of Homo erectus and archaic Homo sapiens had spread in East Asia and what form their adaptations took. Additionally, Japan is a relatively well-explored and published source of data in a poorly known region of the World and may be useful as a source for deriving analogies and ideas in interpreting lithic material, particularly in countries such as Korea where palaeolithic research is still in its infancy (Hwang, 1979; Kim, 1983).

Type
Research Article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 59 , Issue 226 , June 1985 , pp. 93 - 96
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd 1985

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