A Study of Technological Exchange in Ancient East Asia from the Perspective of Agricultural Tools

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K12559
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 03050:Archaeology-related
• Research Institution: Tokyo National Museum
• Principal Investigator: Kawano Masanori 独立行政法人国立文化財機構東京国立博物館, 学芸研究部, 主任研究員 (60634623)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 農工具 / 古墳 / 外来系

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study examines exotic agricultural tools excavated from burial mounds in the Kofun period of the Japanese archipelago. Among the exotic agricultural tools, we paid particular attention to iron handled axes, and conducted basic research on their evolution and lineage through special viewing of Japanese and Korean materials. As a result, we were able to clarify the position of foreign agricultural tools in the Japanese archipelago and point out that the culture did not simply flow from the Korean Peninsula to the Japanese archipelago, but that agricultural tools could have been reimported from the Japanese archipelago to the Korean Peninsula.
In addition, he presented papers, research notes, and reports on other materials using the keywords “alien” and “migratory. In addition, he presented his research results in an exhibition at the Tokyo National Museum. In this way, we were able to advance basic research for the promotion of future studies.

Free Research Field

古墳時代

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

古墳時代を理解するには朝鮮半島との関係を理解しなければいけない。日本列島の古墳文化は、列島独自の発展をとげつつも、朝鮮半島からの渡来人による新たな文化を巧みにとりいえ、列島流にアレンジして発展してきたからだ。
本研究は、農工具という庶民から権力者層にまで関係する資料を対象に、農工具の系統を主にたどることで、関連する社会変化や生業の実態の背景に迫ったものである。結果、朝鮮半島と日本列島の交流の実態を垣間見ることができた。