2006 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Study of Material Culture in the Islamic Period as Sources for the History of Cultural Exchange
| Project/Area Number |
15251008
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 海外学術 |
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| Research Field |
Archaeology
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| Research Institution | The Middle Eastern Culture Center in Japan |
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Principal Investigator |
KAWATOKO Mutsuo The Middle Eastern Culture Center in Japan, Research Department, Research Director (00260141)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
SHINDO Yoko The Middle Eastern Culture Center in Japan, Research Department, Research (50260146)
TAKAHASHI Tadahisa The Middle Eastern Culture Center in Japan, Research Department, Researcher (20260143)
YAJIMA Hikoichi Waseda University, Faculty of Education and Integrated Arts and Sciences, Professor (90014472)
TEZUKA Naoki Aoyama Gakuin University, Faculty of Literature, Professor (80337857)
HOKURA Akiko Tokyo University of Science, Faculty of Science, Research Fellow (20343569)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2006
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| Keywords | Port City / Raya / History of Exchange through MaterialCulture / Luster-painted Pottery / X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer / al-Fustat Site / Rock Inscriptions / Caravan Route |
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| Research Abstract |
The theme of this project is the study of material culture of Egypt in the Islamic period as sources for the history of cultural exchange. We collected a large number of new materials through excavations at the Raya site, and at the same time studied the artifacts kept in the research facilities of the Islamic Archaeological Mission of the Middle Eastern Culture Center in Japan. We also conducted surveys of rock inscriptions to reveal the routes for cultural exchange.
We studied Chinese ware, luster-painted pottery, glass, clay cuboid incense burners, etc. and arranged the classification by style and aimed to construct chronology. It was evident that the study provides important materials to reveal the cultural exchange between the Islamic and other worlds from a viewpoint of material culture. It was clarified that the southwest part of Sinai peninsula belonged to the cultural zones of Byzantine in the 6th-7th centuries, of Iraq and Syro-Palestine in the 7th-10th centuries, and of Egypt after the 11th century. It also made clear that the Christian features functioned fully in this area after having been incorporated into the Islamic world.
Chemical analyses of glass and pottery glazes were made by using a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer and defractometer. More than 100 samples of glass and pottery glazes were respectively analyzed, which showed that chemical composition was different in areas and periods. More than 400 glass weights with definite dates were also analyzed by the above-mentioned analyzers and the other high efficient equipments to accumulate detailed data. Basic chronology of the early Islamic glass was established by organizing these collected data.
It is necessary for us to continue the study of material culture in more detail and construct the framework of cultural exchange seen in the context of material culture.
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