2006 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

A Historical and Geographical study of the Ainu in the Mid-nineteenth Century

Research Project

Project/Area Number	15520492
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Section	一般
Research Field	Human geography
Research Institution	Iwate Vniversity
Principal Investigator	ENDO Masatoshi Iwate University, Faculty of Education, Professor, 教育学部, 教授 (20183022)
Project Period (FY)	2003 – 2006
Keywords	Ainu / fluid residential grouping / conflict resolution / Mitsuishi district / blood kin relationships / hunter-gatherers
Research Abstract	It is recognized that fluid residential groupings had the function of ensuring sustainable blood kin relationships among settlement members. The resident members of the same household (family of orientation) spread out into various settlements primarily as a result of marriage. With each of their new families (family of procreation), they and/or their close kin then moved their home base to another settlement to reside with members of their family of orientation. It is estimated that settlements constructed mainly by close blood kin were able to continue to exist in hunter-gatherer societies without weakening the blood kin relationships among settlement members over time. It can therefore be postulated that sustainable blood kin relationships among settlement members occurred through fluid residential groupings.

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