Permalink : http://hdl.handle.net/2115/34689

KEYWORDS : wooden goods;the Satsumon Culture;Pre-modern Ainu;classification;Hokkaido

Plant (wood and grass) materials were basic and indispensable to prehistoric people’s lives; however, little attention has been paid to these materials up to now. The main reason is that they are characterized by variety and destructibility. To reveal the characteristics of wooden goods of the Satsumon and the Ainu cultures, data from archaeological reports were collected and arranged into a classification system, from which a data base for wooden goods from these two cultures was created. In total 7,477 wooden artifacts from 29 sites were analyzed (table), and based on the analyses, a class catalog of 26 groups consisting of 213 types was presented. Using this table, the ratio of wooden artifacts assigned to Category 4 (type of goods) and Category 3 (use of goods) of the Satsumon Culture and of the Ainu Culture were compared. In Category 4, there were some remarkable differences in ratio in such goods as ceremonial and ritual artifacts. However, there was no outstanding difference in the number of artifacts within these two cultures. In other words, the usage of wooden goods from the Satsumon to the Ainu Culture was continual. The comparison analyses of each item and of each cultural site will be the main research topic for the future.