1999 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Research on the Yayoi people and their society based on the mitochondria DNA analysis
| Project/Area Number |
09440284
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
人類学(含生理人類学)
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| Research Institution | KYUSHU UNIVERSITY |
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Principal Investigator |
NAKAHASHI Takahiro Kyushu University, Graduate School of Social and Cultural studies, Professor, 大学院・比較社会文化研究科, 教授 (20108723)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
MATSUDA Hiroyuki Tokyo University, Institute of Oceanic research, Associate Professor, 海洋研究所, 助教授 (70190478)
SHINODA Kenichi Saga Medical School, Associate Professor, 医学部, 助教授 (30131923)
IIZUKA Masaru Kyushu Dental College, Associate Professor, 歯学部, 助教授 (20202830)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1997 – 1999
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| Keywords | Yayoi People / Mitochondria DNA / Ancient Human Skeletal Remain / Paleodemography / Population Genetics |
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| Research Abstract |
Anthropological study of the transition form the Jomon to the Yayoi Periods in northern Kyushu was performed using morphological and paleodemographical features. Northern Kyushu, the area of Japan located closet to the Korean Peninsula, has been considerably influenced by foreign culture and immigrants for the Asian mainland in the past. The feature of Yayoi people in this region has been attributed to a genetic influx of immigrants from the Korean Peninsula or China . However, several important questions require further scrutiny concerning with the transition from Jomon to Yayoi peoples, especially in the early stages of the supposed immigration into this region. The main difficulty in solving these questions concerning with the transition during these periods in the northern Kyushu has been the lack of suitable skeletal materials belonging to the time between the two periods. Therefore, it is unclear who the first rice agriculturalists in Japan were. In other words, which group of people is responsible for the "Yayoi revolution", including new culture and full scale rice agriculture, the native Jomon people or a new immigrant group? Because it is difficult to discuss this problem directly due to scarcity of skeletal remains from these periods, we attempt a reconstruction of this transitional period in northern Kyushu, by paleodemographic and morphological analyze. Judging from the results by population genetic analysis, it is reasonable to suppose that a small number of people initially migrated form the Asian mainland in early stage, which is consistent with the archaeological data. Following this the size of the immigrant population increased substantially and they, not the native Jomon people, played a principal role in the development of the Yayoi culture from its inception.
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