Go Forward

2013.06.09 2013 Annual Research Meeting of the Next-Supported Program of the Strategic Research Foundation at Private Universities: Natural Resource Environment and Human was heit in Shinsyu (Nagano Prefecture), june 9 2013.

1. A.Yoshida : Introduction to pollen samples and analytical methods in the NHRE project – The pollen analysis for the sediment cores in the Hiroppara wetlands-

The number of pollen data has been reported around the Suwa Basin, central Japan. Especially, the studies in Lake Suwa (Anma et al., 1990), Oawara bog (Morita, 1985,Tsuda, 1990, Takeoka, 1991), Yashimagahara bog (Kanauchi and Sugihara, 2007), and Shirakoma bog (Morita, 1985) argued the vegetation and climate change since the Last Termination using the pollen data. In 2009, the NHRE project took ca. 3.6m-long sediment cores (HB-1A core) from the Hiroppara bog, using the thin-wall piston core sampler. The sediment cores have a high potential to better understand the palaeo-environment (vegetation, climate, and surface environment etc.) in this region, because the same samples from the sediment cores dated in the Last Glacial period. Now, I perform pollen analysis for 91 samples taken from the sediment cores. In this presentation, I will introduce the sub-sampling and methods for pollen analysis in the project.

2. F.Kumon : Scientific drilling 2013 at the Hiroppara archaeological sites, Nagawa-cho, Nagano Prefecture, Japan

Sediment cores drilled at the Hiroppara archaeological sites in 2013 were described preliminary. The lithology of HB-3 core is as follows;
0~50 cm: black soil (kuroboku)
50-384 cm: orange-color loam with scattered volcanic gravels
384-635 cm: clayey sand with gravels of various sizes
635-780 cm: andesite blocks
780-950 cm: clayey sand, volcanic ash, andesite gravel etc.
950-988 cm; weathered andesite

3. Y.Suda : Method and prospect of the petrographical analysis for the specimens excavated at the archaeological site in the Hiroppra wet land

In this presentation, firstly introduce the analytical methods established in the Instrumental Analysis Laboratory at the COLS. Especially, the method of the non-destructive analysis of obsidian artefact will be presented. Then, the method of provenance identification on the basis of the elementary analysis of the obsidian will be further proposed. The specimens of obsidian in major sources at around Hiroppara area are not sufficient to perform the provenance identification. We must rush the collection of the source sample.

4.K.Shimada
The third excavation of the Hiroppara site group 2013 in Nagawa
Town, Nagano Prefecture, Japan

The Center for Obsidian and Lithic Studies, Meiji University has conducted the third excavation at the Hiroppara site group from 27 April to 12 March, 2013. The excavation team renamed the sites around the Hiroppara wetland from I to VII, and we call them the Hiroppara site group.
The third excavation was done at the Hiroppara II site, and also geological boring survey at the Hiroppara I and II sites. The third excavation have made clear the stone tool compositions of each occupation level in detail and obtained more information about the chronology of prehistoric human activities at the Hiroppara II site.
 The tentative division of cultural layers at the Hiroppra II site is as follows. Layers 2a and 2b: the Jomon industry represented by the Incipient Jomon pottery. Layer 3: a lithic industry in the late part of the Late Upper Palaeolithic represented by blades with multifaceted striking platform and side scrapers. Layer 4a: a lithic industry in the early part of the Late Upper Palaeolithic represented by various knife-shaped tools, trapezoids, notched scrapers and thick blades with single-faceted striking platform in association with the obsidian concentration 1 (and 3). The Aira-Tn volcanic glass were detected in the lower part of the layer 4a. Layer 4b: an edge-ground stone axe, thin blades with single-faceted striking platform represent an early part of the Early Upper Palaeolithic, and these were associated with the obsidian concentration 2. The layers below the layer 5 are sterile layers.
Of particular interest is an edge-ground axe that has indicated a diagnostic tool of the early part of the Early Upper Palaeolithic (ca. 40,000-35,000 cal BP). This is the first discovery of the edge-ground axe in the obsidian source area in central highlands at altitude of 14,000 m.
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