Stone Distribution System in the Stone Vessel Production during the Period of State Formation

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K13407
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 03050:Archaeology-related
• Research Institution: Tokai University
• Principal Investigator: Takenouchi Keita 東海大学, 文学部, 特別研究員 (30778684)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: エジプト / 初期王朝時代 / 石製容器 / 生産供給システム / 未成品 / 行政センター

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The aim of this research was to reconstruct the production and distribution systems of stone vessels in the Early Dynastic period, and to situate them in the context of inter-regional political and economic power relations. As a result, the production and distribution system presumed in this research are as follows: 1) Manufacture of blank vessels at each quarry; 2) Supply of vessels to the capital cities; 3) Supply of a few small blank vessels to the Delta sites and their manufacture into finished vessels; 4) Supply of a few small blank vessels to the local city where the royal palace was located and their manufacture into finished vessels; 5) Distribution of the finished vessels manufactured in the capital cities according to the political and economic hierarchy of the local community; 6) Distribution of the “high-quality” vessels to high officials of central and local administrations; 7) Supply of the finished vessels to a small village society from the local city.

Free Research Field

考古学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は当時の中央政府下で専業生産されていた奢侈品の生産供給システムを詳らかにするうえで学術的意義がある。例えば、農耕生産や畜産、それらの二次的加工品の生産・流通については、文字・記号資料および後代の王朝時代の比較などからある程度復元されてきた。しかしながら、石製容器のような奢侈品や貴重品の類いの製品生産・流通の様相に関しては、文字資料にはあまり残らない。それゆえ、考古学的に石製容器の生産供給を再構築することは、初期国家的な政治行政の体制においてそのような生産供給システムがどのように組み込まれ、発達した階層的な地域構造を維持していたのかを明らかにする点で重要である。