2021 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
Ethnography of Archaeological Excavation, Laboratory Analysis, and Site Development
| Project/Area Number |
19H01394
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| Research Institution | Keio University |
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Principal Investigator |
ERTL JohnJosef 慶應義塾大学, 経済学部(日吉), 准教授 (30507380)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
吉田 泰幸 盛岡大学, 文学部, 准教授 (20585294)
碇 陽子 明治大学, 政治経済学部, 専任講師 (10791866)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2019-04-01 – 2024-03-31
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| Keywords | cultural anthropology / archaeology / reconstruction |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
Research for FY 2021 centered around excavations at Suwahara site in August-September 2021 as well as laboratory work to process the unearthed remains, including those recovered during FY2019.
The 2021 field season at Suwahara site took place 9-18 September. Five pits were identified in the southwest quadrant (pit 1 to pit 5). Each were excavated in half sections, and photographs were taken before completing the other halves. A possible pit dwelling feature was identified in the northeast quadrant. A trench (subtrench 3) was excavated crossing this feature 40cm by 800cm and to a depth of 50cm. At each 10cm interval depth, photographs were taken, and small pottery sherds were collected and bagged together. From this trench, 205 distinct remains were collected including pottery, obsidian flakes, and stones. A total station was used to take GPS measurements of the excavation site and outlines of excavated features. Location information was also collected for all remains except for small pottery sherds and artifacts that had been inadvertently moved while digging. Multiple photographs were taken of each feature before and after excavation, and drone images of the site were taken at the beginning and end of the field season. These images were processed with photogrammetry software to produce 3D images including the entire site on the first and final days of excavation. At the conclusion of field season, the site was covered with blue sheets and partially filled with sand for protection. The processing and analysis of remains is ongoing.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
1: Research has progressed more than it was originally planned.
Reason
Multiple lines of research have produced results. The excavation continues to be documented in yearly research reports, with the most recent focused on issues of research design, including an analysis of design anthropology. Several publications have centered on the process of designing reconstructed buildings, following the ways in which the gaps in archaeology data are filled in over the course of imagining a completed structure. The success of excavations has also led to new collaborations with scholars in the fields of archaeobotany, photogrammetry, and Jomon settlement studies.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
Research for FY2022 will continue excavations at Suwahara site. The new collaborating members will provide new analytical insights that will allow for a broader investigation into the relationship between scientific analysis and excavation techniques. With the continued goal of understanding and documenting the gaps between archaeological excavation, design, and construction of Jomon pit dwelling reconstructions, this year's research will focus on how the diverse agendas of different scientific analyses may lead to multiple and perhaps conflicting excavation methods. Furthermore, with increasing team members, the ethnographic element of following how people learn how to see and interact with archaeological sites and materials should provide new streams for analysis.
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