Multidisciplinary Analysis for Facial Reconstruction of a Female Chief's Skull from the Kofun Period in Tohoku region, japan.

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K20035
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0103:History, archaeology, museology, and related fields
• Research Institution: Tohoku University
• Principal Investigator: HATANO YUKA 東北大学, 学際科学フロンティア研究所, 助教 (10907504)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-08-30 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 復顔 / 古人骨 / 自然人類学 / 歯科法医学 / 解剖学 / 歯

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We performed CT imaging and scanning to digitize the female skeletal remains excavated from Totsukayama Tumulus No. 137 in Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture. We used mHBM (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology) and HBM-Rugle (Medic Engineering Corporation.) for the skull to perform homologous model analysis. This innovative approach allowed us to search for similar individuals and create a complete skull model by supplementing missing parts.We created the final facial reconstruction and full-body image using the results from cross-disciplinary analyses involving physical, anthropological, and archaeological studies and incorporating findings from other fields of research.
We compared these findings with the male skeletal remains excavated from Haizukayama Tumulus in Kitakata City from the same period. These findings were incorporated into a public exhibition to illustrate the considered relationship between the two individuals.

Free Research Field

人類学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

戸塚山137号墳出土女性人骨については、他領域で既に解析された遺伝情報や同位体分析、考古学的な検討が行われた。これらの研究成果を復顔に反映させることが可能で、多領域横断的研究を行うことができる非常に重要な事例である。東北地方に限らず、古墳時代の女性豪族の姿を復元するのは全国初となる試みである。
戸塚山137号墳と同時代・同地域で支配階級と考えられる灰塚山古墳男性人骨と比較する事で、遺跡間の考古学的関連性を含めた相互比較が可能な点も他に例がなく、東日本における古墳時代支配階級の姿を明らかにする学術的寄与として意義が大きい研究となる。