Settlement Studies of the Iwajuku Period Viewed from Stone Heaps

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24520877
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Archaeology
• Research Institution: The Paleological Association of Japan, Inc.
• Principal Investigator: CHUJI Suzuki 公益財団法人古代学協会, その他部局等, 研究員 (90072719)
• Research Collaborator: HOSAKA Yasuo 山梨県教育委員会 ; TAKEUCHI Naohimi 磐田市教育委員会 ; SHIBATA Ryouhei 山梨県教育委員会 ; SAKASHITA Takanori (公財)埼玉県埋蔵文化財調査事業団 ; WATANABE Takehumi 磐田市教育委員会 ; KATO Hideyuki 富士見市教育委員会
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 礫群 / 石蒸し調理 / 礫群の記載・解析法 / 調理特性 / デンプン質食料 / 礫群使用回数 / 集落滞在時間

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Up to this day, archaeological studies of settlements in the Iwajuku period (Palaeolithic Stage in Japan) have concentrated in stone tools such as hunting equipment and processing tools, and studies on their manufacturing, procurement of stone materials, replenishment of stone tools have progressed. On the other hand, however, the evaluation of stone heaps (aggregation of burnt river stones), which are remains of stone ovens, was lacking. Therefore, understanding food and cooking behaviors, which supported the life in those days, has remained obscured.
This research demonstrates a possibility of cooking staple food such as yams and number of cooking (i.e., usage of a stone heap) based on characteristics of stone oven cooking, and enables us to estimate past people’s staying time at a settlement and to illustrate their life more realistically.

Free Research Field

岩宿（旧石器）時代考古学