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Exploring the earliest human history on Okinawa Island

Research Project

Project/Area Number 18K06445
Research Category

Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)

Allocation TypeMulti-year Fund
Section一般
Review Section Basic Section 45050:Physical anthropology-related
Research InstitutionNational Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo

Principal Investigator

Fujita Masaki  独立行政法人国立科学博物館, 人類研究部, 研究主幹 (50804126)

Project Period (FY) 2018-04-01 – 2022-03-31
Project Status Completed (Fiscal Year 2021)
Budget Amount *help
¥4,420,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,020,000)
Fiscal Year 2020: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000)
Fiscal Year 2019: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000)
Fiscal Year 2018: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000)
Keywords沖縄島 / 旧石器人 / 渡来 / 化石シカ / 絶滅 / 淡水資源 / 持続的利用 / 旧石器時代 / 更新世 / サキタリ洞遺跡 / 絶滅シカ化石 / ヒト渡来時期 / 人類学 / 動物考古学 / 島嶼環境 / 適応 / 文化 / 貝器 / 沖縄 / 動物化石 / 資源利用 / 人類史 / 人骨 / 動物遺骸 / 考古学
Outline of Final Research Achievements

The archaeological excavations were conducted at Sakitari Cave, southern part of Okinawa Island with the aim of clarifying the earliest human history of the Ryukyu Islands. Traces of humans in this cave have been identified at least 30,000 years ago and possibly further back. The use of freshwater resources (especially crabs and snails) as food continued at this site, and no fossil deer have found in sediments younger than 30,000 years ago. The fossil deer were thought to be extinct about 20,000 years ago, but our results suggest that they may have been extinct earlier than 30,000 years ago. If so, Paleolithic people, who arrived on Okinawa Island at 35,000-30,000 years ago, may have been involved in the deer extinction.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

亜熱帯島嶼の琉球列島の最初期の人類史を探る目的で、沖縄島南部のサキタリ洞遺跡を発掘した。その結果、人類の痕跡は3万前までは確実に遡り、また、化石シカ類は3万年前までに絶滅し、以後、人類は1万3千年前ごろまで淡水性のカニやカワニナを食資源として利用し続けていた。この結果から、従来の化石シカ絶滅は2万年前という見解に反し、3万5千~3万年前に渡来した人類が化石シカの絶滅に関与した可能性が示唆され、また、陸上資源が限られていても淡水、海水資源を利用すれば持続的生活が可能であることも明らかになった。

Report

(5 results)
  • 2021 Annual Research Report   Final Research Report ( PDF )
  • 2020 Research-status Report
  • 2019 Research-status Report
  • 2018 Research-status Report
  • Research Products

    (17 results)

All 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018

All Journal Article (9 results) (of which Int'l Joint Research: 4 results,  Peer Reviewed: 6 results,  Open Access: 5 results) Presentation (6 results) (of which Int'l Joint Research: 3 results,  Invited: 4 results) Book (2 results)

  • [Journal Article] Late Pleistocene human fossils in Japanese Archipelago2021

    • Author(s)
      Masaki Fujita
    • Journal Title

      L'Anthropologie

      Volume: 125 Issue: 5 Pages: 102965-102965

    • DOI

      10.1016/j.anthro.2021.102965

    • Related Report
      2021 Annual Research Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Journal Article] Last glacial temperature reconstructions using coupled isotopic analyses of fossil snails and stalagmites from archaeological caves in Okinawa, Japan.2021

    • Author(s)
      Ryuji Asami, Rikuto Hondo, Ryu Uemura, Masaki Fujita, Shinji Yamasaki, Chuan-Chou Shen, Chen Jin-Ping, Chung-Che Wu, Xiuyang Jiang, Hideko Takayanagi, Ryuichi Shinjo, Akihiro Kano, Yasufumi Iryu
    • Journal Title

      Scientific Reports

      Volume: 11 Issue: 1 Pages: 21922-21922

    • DOI

      10.1038/s41598-021-01484-z

    • Related Report
      2021 Annual Research Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Journal Article] No evidence for widespread island extinctions after Pleistocene hominin arrival.2021

    • Author(s)
      Julien Louys, Todd J. Braje, Chun-Hsiang Chang, Richard Cosgrove, Scott M. Fitzpatrick, Masaki Fujita, ..., Sue O’Connor
    • Journal Title

      Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

      Volume: 118 Issue: 20

    • DOI

      10.1073/pnas.2023005118

    • Related Report
      2021 Annual Research Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Journal Article] サキタリ洞遺跡の貝製ビーズと顔料利用に関する新たな知見-沖縄の旧石器文化をめぐる特殊性と普遍性-.2021

    • Author(s)
      山崎真治, 澤浦亮平, 黒住耐二, 藤田祐樹, 竹原弘展, 海部陽介
    • Journal Title

      旧石器研究

      Volume: 17 Pages: 57-77

    • NAID

      40022654392

    • Related Report
      2021 Annual Research Report
    • Peer Reviewed
  • [Journal Article] The Migration, Culture, and Lifestyle of the Paleolithic Ryukyu Islanders2020

    • Author(s)
      Fujita M., Yamasaki S. and Sawaura R.
    • Journal Title

      Pleistocene Archaeology - Migration, Technology, and Adaptation

      Volume: - Pages: 1-15

    • DOI

      10.5772/intechopen.92391

    • ISBN
      9781838803575, 9781838803582
    • Related Report
      2020 Research-status Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access
  • [Journal Article] 旧石器時代の貝製釣り針の機能に関する検証2020

    • Author(s)
      藤田祐樹, 宇佐美賢
    • Journal Title

      沖縄県立博物館・美術館 博物館紀要

      Volume: 13 Pages: 1-6

    • NAID

      40022468254

    • Related Report
      2019 Research-status Report
    • Open Access
  • [Journal Article] Palaeolithic seafaring in East Asia: testing the bamboo raft hypothesis2019

    • Author(s)
      Kaifu Yousuke, Lin Chih-hsing, Goto Akira, Ikeya Nobuyuki, Yamada Masahisa, Chiang Wei-Chuan, Fujita Masaki et. al.
    • Journal Title

      Antiquity

      Volume: 93 Issue: 372 Pages: 1424-1441

    • DOI

      10.15184/aqy.2019.90

    • Related Report
      2019 Research-status Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Journal Article] 沖縄の旧石器時代遺跡と人骨2019

    • Author(s)
      藤田祐樹
    • Journal Title

      形態科学

      Volume: 22 Pages: 49-58

    • Related Report
      2019 Research-status Report
  • [Journal Article] 見直される琉球列島の陸橋化2018

    • Author(s)
      横山祐典, 藤田祐樹, 太田英利
    • Journal Title

      科学

      Volume: 88 Pages: 616-624

    • Related Report
      2018 Research-status Report
  • [Presentation] 洞窟出土の動物遺骸から見えた旧石器時代の環境とヒトの暮らし2022

    • Author(s)
      藤田祐樹
    • Organizer
      日本動物考古学会主催オンライン講演会「洞窟遺跡に残された動物骨とヒトの暮らし-沖縄における動物考古学研究の最前線」
    • Related Report
      2021 Annual Research Report
    • Invited
  • [Presentation] 島嶼環境における旧石器人の文化と生活. Culture and lifestyle of Paleolithic people migrated to the island environment.2021

    • Author(s)
      藤田祐樹
    • Organizer
      東北大学東北アジア研究センター25周年国際シンポジウム, セッションA2「人類の進化と人類が進化させてきた文化の歴史」
    • Related Report
      2021 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research / Invited
  • [Presentation] 沖縄における旧石器人の資源利用2019

    • Author(s)
      藤田祐樹
    • Organizer
      跨越黑潮:台灣東方海洋文化探究國際學術研討會
    • Related Report
      2019 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research / Invited
  • [Presentation] 沖縄の旧石器時代遺跡と人骨2019

    • Author(s)
      藤田祐樹
    • Organizer
      第30回人類形態科学研究会学術集会
    • Related Report
      2018 Research-status Report
    • Invited
  • [Presentation] 沖縄島洞穴遺跡産の淡水棲貝化石による更新世後期の古環境復元2019

    • Author(s)
      本堂陸斗, 浅海竜司, 植村立, 新城竜一, 狩野彰宏, 藤田祐樹, 山崎真治, 高柳栄子, 井龍康文.
    • Organizer
      日本古生物学会 第168回例会
    • Related Report
      2018 Research-status Report
  • [Presentation] Food exploitation and sustained consumption by Pleistocene Ryukyu Islanders.2018

    • Author(s)
      Masaki Fujita, Shinji Yamasaki
    • Organizer
      21st Congress of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association
    • Related Report
      2018 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Book] 南の島のよくカニ食う旧石器人2019

    • Author(s)
      藤田 祐樹
    • Total Pages
      148
    • Publisher
      岩波書店
    • ISBN
      9784000296878
    • Related Report
      2019 Research-status Report
  • [Book] 海とヒトの関係学① 日本人が魚を食べ続けるために2019

    • Author(s)
      秋道 智彌、角南 篤
    • Total Pages
      261
    • Publisher
      西日本出版社
    • ISBN
      9784908443374
    • Related Report
      2018 Research-status Report

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Published: 2018-04-23   Modified: 2023-01-30  

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