Araya Site
荒屋遺跡 | |
  Araya Site  Araya Site (Japan) | |
| Location | Nagaoka, Niigata, Japan |
|---|---|
| Region | Hokuriku region |
| Coordinates | 37°15′51″N 138°51′31″E / 37.26417°N 138.85861°E |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Founded | Japanese Paleolithic |
| Site notes | |
| Ownership | National Historic Site |
| Public access | Yes |
The Araya Site (荒屋遺跡, Araya Iseki) is a late Japanese Paleolithic settlement located in the former town of Kawaguchi in what is now part of the city of Nagaoka, Niigata in the Hokuriku region of Japan. It was found to contain one of the largest number of stone tools of any site thus far discovered in Japan. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 2004.[1]
Overview
The site is located on a river terrace near the confluence of the Shinano River and the Uono River, approximately one kilometer south of Echigo-Kawaguchi Station. Four excavations have been conducted so far. Excavated materials are stored in Meiji University (1st survey), Tohoku University (2nd and 3rd surveys), the Nagaoka City Board of Education (4th survey), and at Tokyo National Museum. The site contains the ruins of several villages from approximately 17,000 years ago. The ruins overlap, indicating that a semi-nomadic population repeatedly returned to this site over many centuries.
Excavated artefacts included over 6,000 fine grained blades, 1,000 sculptured sword stones and 9,000 sculpted sword spalls, and over 100,000 arrow and spear points. The base materials were mostly hard shale, which is common in along the Sea of Japan coastal areas. It was estimated that the bone, horn and leather products were also actively produced at the site, to make completed spears and arrows, and as such material were also needed as part of the secondary processing to produce very thin sharpened blades. The style of tools found display both Mesolithic and Neolithic traits, and the style of the stone swords was similar to what has been found widely distributed across Siberia and into Alaska.
See also
References
- ^ "荒屋遺跡" [Araya Iseki] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs.
External links
- Nagaoka City home page (in Japanese)
- Japanese Paleolithic Society (in Japanese)
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