International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Vol XXXV, Part B5. Istanbul 2004
right: Calculation result setting river as
insurmountable barrier.).
The calculated area is corresponding to the topographic
characteristics, and still its extent is reasonable comparing with
the tentative threshold (i.e. 10Km radius). The study is going to
apply this method for site-catchment area estimation.
2.1.2 Utilization of Wood Resource and Its Impact to the
Change of Vegetation
Wood was most commonly used resource through the Jomon
period. Suzuki (1997) indicated the change of the decay of wood
resource consumed quantity corresponding to the distance.
Change of the consumed quantity was examined in three different
usages, which is A) dwelling construction, B) fuel, and C)
livingware making. The disturbance range was set to 5km, and
the transition of the vegetation in site catchment is described
(Figure 5).
o
o
t N
5 Total
B .
= —
5 €
a Nr I
Senna a
S tse
i 1 | i =
i i I 1
0 1 2 3 4
Settlement Distance (km) me
Open Forest Ea ee
* _/Éecondary Forest — Natural Forest
Grassland.
Figure 5. Frame of the forest disturbance and Vegetation
transition surrounding the settlement (Suzuki, 1997;
Translated by author)
In this study, this model of disturbance over the vegetation is
adopted to the reconstruction of environments surrounding the
settlement.
2.1.3 Food Gathering Activity
Most fundamental daily [Food]
activity for prehistorical
people was food- Nuts
gathering based on
hunting and gathering Millet
economy (i.e. hunting,
fishing, plant collecting,
[Artifacts]
Stone mortar
Stone scraper
> e Root cro St
and some of cultivation). . P Stone Hoe
The types of food-
gathering activities pishery en Sibne sinker/
which took place in the ; € $9 shell mound
settlement were
Stone arrowhead/
Stone spearhead
estimated from the Hunting
corresponding artifacts
and the excavation
reports (Figure 6).
Figure 6. Correspondence of foods
and artifacts
2.2 Environmental Changes in Jomon Period
Global climate is changing in the long term. Jomon period have
experienced several climate changes through the period. Mid
Final stage of Jomon is a period when the temperature was
gradually dropping. Climate change sometimes severely
influences the human living. Especially the change of vegetation
and sea-level brought by the climate change directly impacts the
food-gathering activity. Settlement may not be able to survive by
their previous food-gathering activity when these environmental
changes occur. They will have to cope with the new
environment by changing their way of living (e.g. moving the
settlement, developing new method of food gathering).
The previous researches have revealed the changes of
vegetation and sea level through Holocene epoch of Japan
(Figure 7). Jomon period was in warm temperature trend in
general, which is known as Postglacial Hypsithermal. The
climatic optimum was around 6000 years ago in Early stage of
Jomon. The global warming also brought the Jomonian
transgression (marine transgression). After the climatic
optimum, the temperature has dropped eventually, but still
fluctuating. Late stage of Jomon has came up with an unstable
temperature and ended up with a warming trend of temperature.
In the Latest stage of Jomon, again the temperature began to
drop, and this trend continued until the Jomon period was over.
Subarctic Conifer Forest
Cool Temperate Forest
{Warm Temperate Broadleaf Forest
Figure 7. Change of vegetation through Jomon period (Yasuda,
1980; Revised by author.).
In the study, vegetation and sea-level change is considered as
an essential environmental factor which gives direct impact
over the food gathering activities. Ancient vegetation
surrounding the settlement and the sea-level change was tempo-
spatially reconstructed.
3. ESTIMATING THE INTERACTION
Interaction of human activities and environmental changes
occurred in the region were considered through the comparison
between Shingu archaeological site and Karekinomiya
archaeological site. The relation between the spatial structure of
natural environments within the site-catchment and food-
gathering activities were examined.
3.1 Shingu Archaeological Site
Shingu site was one of the main settlements of mid Latest stage
of Jomon period. Site is located in the middle stream of Yahagi
river basin (Figure 8). The artifacts uncovered from the site
indicated that the people have kept living in this location until
medieval times (Education Board of Okazaki, 2001).
3.1.1 Estimating the Site-Catchment of Shingu Settlement
The catchment area of Shingu site was calculated by applying
the Tobler’s hiking function (Figure 8). Territorial border {ic
120 minutes walk from settlement) is decided from the hunter-
gatherer study of Vita-Finzi (1978).
In
The
moi
the
cha
the
3.1.
Sev
nun
Jon
Ok:
hun
(an
and
em]
pol
res
