Maritime Prehistory of Northeast Asia (The Archaeology of Asia-Pacific Navigation, #6) 9811911177, 9789811911170

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The Archaeology of Asia-Pacific Navigation 6

Jim Cassidy · Irina Ponkratova ·  Ben Fitzhugh Editors

Maritime Prehistory of Northeast Asia With a Foreword by Dr. William W. Fitzhugh

The Archaeology of Asia-Pacific Navigation Volume 6

Series Editor Chunming Wu , The Center for Maritime Archaeology, The Belt and Road Research Institute, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China

This series will publish the most important, current archaeological research on ancient navigation and sea routes in the Asia-Pacific region, which were key, dynamic factors in the development of human civilizations spanning the last several thousand years. Restoring an international and multidisciplinary academic dialogue through cross cultural perspectives, these publications underscore the significance of diverse lines of evidence, including sea routes, ship cargo, shipwreck, seaports landscape, maritime heritage, nautical technology and the role of indigenous peoples. They explore a broad range of outstanding work to highlight various aspects of the historical Four Oceans sailing routes in Asia-Pacific navigation, as well as their prehistoric antecedents, offering a challenging but highly distinctive contribution to a better understanding of global maritime history. The series is intended for scholars and students in the fields of archaeology, history, anthropology, ethnology, economics, sociology, and political science, as well as nautical technicians and oceanic scientists who are interested in the prehistoric and historical seascape and marine livelihood, navigation and nautical techniques, the maritime silk road and overseas trade, maritime cultural dissemination and oceanic immigration in eastern and southeastern Asia and the Pacific region. The Archaeology of Asia-Pacific Navigation book series is published in conjunction with Springer under the auspices of the Center for Maritime Archaeology of Xiamen University (CMAXMU) in China. The first series editor is Dr. Chunming Wu, who is a chief researcher and was a Professor at the institute. The advisory and editorial committee consists of more than 20 distinguished scholars and leaders in the field of maritime archaeology of the Asia-Pacific region. Advisory and Editorial Committee

Advisory Board: Wenming Yan 严文明, Peking University, P.R. China Qingzhu Liu 刘庆柱, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, P.R. China Jeremy Green, Western Australia Museum, Australia Charles Higham, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand Lothar von Falkenhausen, University of California at Los Angeles, USA Robert E. Murowchick, Boston University, USA James P. Delgado, SEARCH - SEARCH2O INC., USA Hans K. Van Tilburg, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, USA John Miksic, National University of Singapore, Singapore Chenhua Tsang 臧振华, Academia Sinica of Taiwan, China Editorial Board: Laura Lee Junker, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA Ming Li 李旻, University of California at Los Angeles, USA Roberto Junco Sanchez, National Institute of Anthropology and History, Mexico María Cruz Berrocal, University of Konstanz, Germany Eusebio Z. Dizon, National Museum of the Philippines, Philippines Takenori Nogami, Nagasaki University, Japan Chung Tang邓聪, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, P.R.China Bo Jiang 姜波, National Center of Underwater Cultural Heritage, P.R. China Chunming Wu 吴春明, The Center for Maritime Archaeology, The Belt and Road Research Institute, Xiamen University, P.R. China Editorial in Chief: Chunming Wu 吴春明, The Center for Maritime Archaeology, The Belt and Road Research Institute, Xiamen University, P.R. China

More information about this series at https://link.springer.com/bookseries/16203

Jim Cassidy · Irina Ponkratova · Ben Fitzhugh Editors

Maritime Prehistory of Northeast Asia With a Foreword by Dr. William W. Fitzhugh

Editors Jim Cassidy Maritime Museum of San Diego San Diego, CA, USA

Irina Ponkratova Northeastern State University Magadan, Russia

Ben Fitzhugh Department of Anthropology University of Washington Seattle, WA, USA

ISSN 2524-7468 ISSN 2524-7476 (electronic) The Archaeology of Asia-Pacific Navigation ISBN 978-981-19-1117-0 ISBN 978-981-19-1118-7 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1118-7 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022, corrected publication 2022 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore

Foreword: Northeast Asia Prehistory “In the Twinkling of an Eye”

The Maritime Prehistory of Northeast Asia is a major milestone in the jigsaw puzzle of world prehistory. The Northwest Pacific is, archaeologically, one of the least known areas of the world. Its geographic location at the gateway from the Old World to America and the long-standing cultural and genetic connections makes it crucial for understanding the development of boats and seafaring, northern maritime adaptations, the initial peopling of the Americas, subsequent trans-Beringian/Pacific migrations and exchanges, and the search for Eskimo origins. Besides “hot-spots” like Japan and the Bering Strait region where archaeology has been conducted for more than a century, knowledge of the rest of Northeast Asia has been slow to accumulate. An archaeological equivalent of Guillaume Deslisle’s 1714 map of the northern hemisphere (showing the entire North Pacific as a huge void; Fitzhugh and Crowell 1988:8) would not be quite so empty; but until the present volume, knowledge was anchored on land at the extreme ends of its 3500-mile coast. What lay between was illuminated only by a few scattered sites, some—like Ushki—of great, but isolated, importance. The MPNA begins to redress the terrestrial bias that has obscured the maritime history of Far East and Northeast Asian prehistory. Apart from its contributions to culture history, this volume provides a template for investigating, together with earth and social sciences, humanity’s little-known “other world”—the marine ecological realm that has been as important a venue for humans as the better-known terrestrial world. Investigation of early maritime societies is a relatively recent archaeological endeavour (Fitzhugh 1975; McCartney 1975; Stark et al. 1978; Yesner 1980; Bailey and Parkington 1988; Sanger 1988; Sandweiss et al. 1998; Erlandson and Fitzpatrick 2006; Rick 2008; Braje and Rick 2011; Reeder-Myers et al . 2019). Use of coastal resources began when Palaeolithic ancestors populated lakes, rivers, and estuaries. Global sea level rise has hidden or destroyed most coastal sites, leaving only those from northern regions where post-glacial isostacy preserved ancient shorelines. Some northern regions like Scandinavia’s Varanger Fjord have 10,000 years of prehistory stacked up on its raised beaches and terraces, often accompanied by rock art illustrating people hunting whales and seals in large boats. Farther south, the inundated v

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coast of Denmark has underwater sites with large 6000-year-old detachable bone and antler harpoons, and in northeastern North America, 4000 BP Maritime Archaic sites in the Gulf of Maine yield harpoons, engraved slate lances and daggers made of swordfish bills, and in Newfoundland, sculptures of killer whales. Such finds pale when compared to fish harpoons from 90,000 years ago in the African Middle Stone Age Katanga site (Yellen et al. 1995), and there are claims of tuna fishing at Jerimilai Shelter in East Timor at 42,000 BP, where large shell (ritual?) fishhooks date 1628,000 BP (Langley et al. 2016). Humans reached Australia by boat or raft more than 60,000 years ago, while others acquired obsidian from Kozu Island 28–32 km off the paleo-Honshu coast at 42,000 BP. Such evidence dispels the commonly expressed doubt, exemplified by the reaction to the Solutrean hypothesis (Stanford and Bradley 2012), that humans lacked the technology for sea-going voyaging during the Upper Paleolithic. Long before ground stone tools herald the appearance of dugouts in northern Scandinavia, peoples in northern Eurasia were making bark or skin boats (Luukkanen and Fitzhugh 2020). Boats made from the sturdy bark of tropical trees or from elm in temperate zones, such as those crafted by the Ainu, or from animal hide north of the tree line, must have been used at least since the Upper Paleolithic (ca. 50,000–12,000 B.P.). Paleolithic paintings and carvings of fish and seals and engravings on bone provide tangible evidence; but physical objects are no longer the only indicators of seafaring or maritime activity. Facing the scarcity of boats and boat images in the archaeological record, authors of these papers use other methods for exploring connections. Chemical sourcing of pigments, obsidian, and other lithics track raw material movements across land and sea, and DNA signatures identify human, animal, and plant connections even when their corporal remains no longer survive.

Impediments to Knowledge The reasons for the maritime archaeological void are many, and some have to do with politics and institutional history. Russian lands north of Japan and Korea, governed from 8000 miles away in Moscow and St. Petersburg, were institutionally undeveloped, inhibiting archaeological investigations. Local indigenous peoples relied on oral historical and non-Western methods for exploring the past. Heritage is always a local matter. Academic centres in Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Petropavlovsk, and Magadan had few researchers, funds, or students trained in archaeology. Moreover, during the Soviet era, except for a priority on Chukotka, emphasis was centred on investigating agricultural and state development in southern and western Russia, and language barriers and limited distribution of publications restricted information flow between Russia, Japan, Korea, China, and North America. The flood of investigations and state-supported archaeological recovery programmes that in recent decades produced rich rewards in Japan and Korea were not available in the Soviet Far East or coastal northeastern China. Today the situation has changed, and international collaborations have produced much of the knowledge reported in this volume.

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However, Mother Nature bears responsibility for limiting the archaeological resource base. Northeast Asia is one of the most active tectonic regions on the planet and is subject to large earthquakes and tidal waves. In addition to shoreline upheaval, erosion, and subsidence, vulcanism has rained ash down on settlements and animals, buried villages, extinguished populations, and forced human and animal movements. But the greatest impact, especially on the most ancient sites, has been post-glacial isostatic sea level rise that inundated or washed away coastal and lower riverine settlements. These hazards have fallen disproportionally upon maritime prehistory because of the shoreside location of settlements, and for those that escaped inundation or destruction, acid forest soils winnowed the record by removing organic materials. Still, as we discover here, archaeologists have been clever at out-foxing Nature by deciphering ecological and human history from DNA and isotope signals in soil and bone.

A Selective Research History During the past hundred years, archaeologists have approached Northeast Asia prehistory from various directions and perspectives. The Jesup North Pacific Expedition (1897–1903) sought to decipher Beringian connections by gathering ethnographic, linguistic, mythological, and historical information, thereby preserving information that laid the groundwork for all future anthropological studies. While this landmark project was the first attempt at a North Pacific synthesis, it failed to produce the promised cross-cultural synthesis and never was able to gather archaeological evidence in Asia (Fitzhugh and Crowell 1988; Krupnik and Fitzhugh 2001; Fitzhugh and Chaussonnet 1994; Kendall and Krupnik 2003). Less than ten years after the JNPE, Waldemar Jochelson conducted excavations in Kamchatka as part of the Ryaboushinsky Expedition in 1910–1911 and pursued archaeological and ethnological work in the Aleutians (1925, 1928, 1933). Forty years later, with the rudiments of archaeological analysis established, Leroi-Gourhan (1946) produced an archaeological synthesis based on museum collections that revealed widespread similarities in prehistoric harpoon technology. Hoping to establish migration history, he ended up urging caution in using material culture comparisons in the absence of human skeletal evidence. Frederica deLaguna’s book review included a comment that is as relevant today as in 1949: Culture historians obviously have different temperamental bents, and fortunately so. Yet while sober caution must be valued, let us realize that always to keep within the bounds of the surely provable, always to cling to the safety of the indisputable, never to run the risk of error, is to renounce the hope of gaining that insight which may perhaps be won only through the hazards of imaginative speculation. (deLaguna 1949:647)

Thirty-six years later, Chester Chard’s Northeast Asia in Prehistory (1975) produced the first archaeological synthesis based on excavated data and collections. Chard had the advantage of Russian language and a 1950–1960s burst of Russian

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work between the Amur and Bering Strait by Okladnikov, Rudenko, Debetz, Dikov, Sergeev, Arutiunov, Alekseev, and others. Nothing of these authors’ works would have been known outside of Russia were it not for the Arctic Institute of North America’s Translations from Russian Sources edited by Henry Michael and the new American journal Arctic Anthropology established by Chard at the University of Wisconsin. Even so, lack of data south of Chukotka required Chard to emphasize developments outside Northeast Asia as the deus ex machina.

Early Exchanges Ever since Jochelson’s work in Kamchatka and the Aleutians and Henry Collins’ on St. Lawrence Island (1937, 1940), deLaguna and Collins saw northeast Siberia and the Russian Far East as the source of diffusion and population movements into western Alaska. Collins identified slat armour used by Punuk and later warriors in Bering Strait Northwest Coast regions as part of an Asian warfare complex, and deLaguna (1946) suggested the Kamchatka sadiron lamp as the source of Aleut lamps (deLaguna 1946). Carl Schuster (1951; Schuster and Carpenter 1996) wrote about the survival of Scythian elements in Yup’ik and Inuit art; and Collins (1971) pointed to Chinese prototypes for Ipiutak death masks. These and other finds kept interest in Beringian connections alive through the Cold War era. The first attempt to break the “ice curtain” came from scientific diplomacy by William S. Laughlin who staged a Russian visit to Laughlin’s Anangula site in the Aleutian Islands in 1974. Among the Russian delegation headed by A. P. Okladnikov were A. K. Konopatskii, A. P. Derevianko, R. S. Vasil’evskii, and V. E. Larichev (Campbell 1976; Laughlin 2002). Americans like Laughlin, John Campbell, Don Dumond, Robert Ackerman, and Douglas Anderson hoped for a reciprocal visit to Siberia, but the plan was scotched by Soviet bureaucrats. To establish American research exchanges with the USSR and Soviet bloc countries, the U.S. Department of State and other institutions in 1968 established the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX). After 1974, Americans continued to press for reciprocity and access to Siberian sites and scholars, but all proposals were denied because of the military sensitivity of Chukotka. However, in the late 1970s, an opportunity arose for the Smithsonian to organize a joint exhibition with the USSR Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Ethnography and its Kunstkamera (Peter the Great Museum) in St. Petersburg. In 1988, after a decade of negotiations and museum research exchanges, Crossroads of Continents: Cultures of Siberia and Alaska opened at the Smithsonian. Crossroads drew together many threads of earlier North Pacific anthropological studies and initiated a wave of post-glasnost Russian–American collaboration including conferences and publications (Fitzhugh and Crowell 1988; Fitzhugh and Chaussonnet 1994; Krupnik and Fitzhugh 2001; Kendall and Krupnik 2003). Although the large Crossroads exhibit toured widely in North America, accompanied by Russian scholars, the collapse of the U.S.S.R. in 1991 made it too risky for

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a large American exhibition to tour in Russia. Instead, the Smithsonian’s newly created Arctic Studies Center, created a “mini-Crossroads” exhibit—Crossroads Siberia/Alaska—that toured in Alaska (Chaussonnet 1995) and the Russian Far East (Chaussonnet and Krupnik 1996), spreading knowledge about Siberia–Alaska connections. Mini-Crossroads utilized small objects from Smithsonian and local Siberian collections and established contacts between a new generation of local North Pacific scholars. Other than Chukotka Old Bering Sea materials and objects from Ukhski and Sakhalin sites, archaeology had a minor role in these dominantly historical and ethnographic exhibits and publications. Crossroads addressed two of the most fundamental issues in North American culture history: the history and relationship between Siberian and Alaskan peoples and cultures and their connections across Bering Strait over time. Eskimo culture had become a particular interest following Martin Frobisher’s speculations about the Asian features of Baffin Inuit in 1576. The topic had been skirted by the Jesup expedition (Dumond 2003) but became the focus of the Danish Fifth Thule Expedition of 1921–1924 (Krupnik 2018; Krupnik et al. 2021). An interim resolution establishing in situ development for the past 2,000 years was achieved by Collins’ (1937) at Bering Strait in the 1920–1930s, but its earlier origins remained unknown. His St. Lawrence Island work and Helge Larsen’s and Froelich Rainey’s at Ipiutak (1948) revealed the first specific ancient Alaskan connections with northeastern Siberia and provided data for Collins’ (1971) ideas about Chou dynasty death masks and Carl Schuster’s (1951) speculations about links with Iron Age Scythian animal style art (Fitzhugh 1988). These finds were amplified by excavations begun by Maxim Levin and completed by his students, Sergei Arutiunov and Dorian Sergeev at Old Bering Sea cemeteries at Uelen (1969) and Ekven (1975). With the “ice curtain” finally broken by 1990, collaborations soon brought Americans, Europeans, and Russian archaeologists into Russian Arctic regions and between the Bering Strait and Sea of Okhotsk. While High Arctic studies did not support theories of Russian Arctic Eskimo origins or provide even hints of early maritime development (Fitzhugh 1998, 2009; Pitulko 1993), they focused attention on the Northwest Pacific coast, Kuriles, and Amur region where Chard and Russians supposed proto-Eskimo cultures might be found (Derevianko and Medvedev 2006; B. Fitzhugh et al. 2016). At the same time, post-glasnost policies brought wider contacts between Russian, Canadian, and American archaeologists and paleoenvironment scientists represented in this volume. Meanwhile, American and Canadian collaborations with Japanese (Serizawa and Hurley 1978; Ikawa-Smith 2009; Habu 2004) helped bring Japan’s culture history to Western readers. Besides Japan and the Bering Sea, Northeast China and Korea have important maritime stories that have not been reported in Western or Russian literature or only recently have seen international collaborations. Once again, language barriers and national agendas prioritizing of state and empire development have restricted coastal archaeology. Nevertheless, recent studies of whaling and early rock art show the promise of Korea’s vast archipelago coast, and we may expect similar prospects in northern China.

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After-Thoughts for the Future With apologies for my northern perspective, I offer a few closing thoughts. This volume shows the promise of Northeast Asian contributions to maritime adaptations and their role in human history. Northeast Asia’s complex geography, dynamic earth processes, and deep human history provide an unparalleled tableau for studies of humans and the sea. Archaeology along the west coast of North America, which humans have occupied for only 15–20 ka has produced volumes of marine anthropology in just a few decades. Such studies are still in their infancy in Eastern Asia, but with this volume, we can imagine the rewards to come from a region with a much deeper human history and greater environmental and cultural diversity, close to centres of Southeast Asian and Chinese innovation. The western Pacific coast is an unparalleled venue for global studies of humans and the sea, adaptations that provided societal benefits comparable to domestication, and from a hemispheric perspective, for exploring the foundations of human pathways into Australia, Oceania, and the Americas. The search for Eskimo origins—the “holy grail” of Arctic archaeology—still remains hostage to the submerged coasts of Northeast Asia, where coastal sites in the Bering Sea earlier than 2 ka BP are rare. Russian scholars have long regarded the Lower Amur and Okhotsk coast as the likely centre for development of sea mammal hunting technology. River estuaries—calm in summer and ice-covered in winter— are ideal settings for people to experiment with harpoons, nets, and traps for catching large fish and sea mammals without the hazard of open-sea voyaging. It is no wonder that settled villages and ceramics appeared in the lower Amur more than 12 ka ago, and similar developments were taking place in Honshu. The authors in this book have found other ways to “work-around” the marine site void by demonstrating a Neolithic Marine Adaptation complex including settled villages, boats, ceramics, and harpoon technology. A caution is needed about the danger of parochialism, even on a scale as large as Northeast Asia. Innovations spread as easily as DNA, and the maritime history of Southeast Asia and its huge archipelagos and seascapes may have produced seafaring, hunting, and other technologies that found their way north to the cold-water seas. Open intellectual horizons will be needed, as well as the inclusion of Indigenous perspectives and ocean, ecology, and paleoenvironment studies so well demonstrated in the following papers. Future archaeologists will not be limited to the declining inventory of land-based archaeology. In the decades ahead, underwater research will begin to reveal the hidden assets of the sea floor. In the meantime, we need to keep in mind that most ocean food resources are readily available close to home. People did not have to travel far from land for subsistence purposes. Small canoes would have sufficed and probably were present during much of the Upper Paleolithic. True voyaging must have begun for other reasons—to escape danger, to colonize new lands, or to quarry or trade for needed resources, find spouses, or simply for the excitement of discovery and the prestige upon returning home with exotic goods, information, and

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tall tales. Challenge and fulfilling dreams are a driving force in human nature, and mastering the sea has been just as much an enduring quest as exploring terra firma (see Pitulko et al. 2019). In similar fashion, searching for the secrets of maritime history has motivated the authors of this volume to conduct their own explorations and broadcast their finds. Readers be forewarned: much of what is reported here, like voyaging to Kozu Island for obsidian 38 ka ago, might seem like tall tales. It is not. Imagine returning home with a load of obsidian and stories of bravado to spread via trade networks far and wide, and then, tens of thousands of years later, some piece of that obsidian finds its way to an X-ray diffraction machine. Now there is a story! And, there are many more in this book, as well as lots of deLaguna’s courageous “informed speculation”. Recalling the void on the 1714 Guillaume Deslisle map, we may invoke the words of the famous Danish Arctic explorer, folklorist, and anthropologist, Knud Rasmussen, whose Fifth Thule Expedition of 1921–1924 centennial we are now celebrating (Krupnik et al. 2021). Ten years after sledging across Arctic America in 1924 searching for an Eskimo “homeland”, and only six months before his death, Rasmussen had an address read at the 1933 Pacific Science Congress in which he called for international research to resolve the Eskimo question. “I am quite aware that a task like this cannot be brought to realization in the twinkling of an eye…It is however my firm conviction that one day there will be a great cooperative undertaking of this kind, and that this plan will be carried out” (Rasmussen 1934). Perhaps that time is now. William W. Fitzhugh Director, Department of Anthropology Arctic Studies Center, Smithsonian Institution Washington DC, USA [email protected]

References Arutiunov, S.A., & Sergeev, D.A. (1969). Drevnie kul’tury aziatskikh eskimosov (Uzlenskii mogil’nyk) (Ancient Cultures of the Asiatic Eskimos: the Uelen Cemetery), Nauka, Moscow [English translation by Richard L. Bland, Shared Beringian Heritage Project, U.S. National Park Service, 2006]. Arutiunov, S.A., & Sergeev, D.A. (1975). Problemy etnicheskoi istorii Beringomoria – Ekvenskii mogilnik (Problems of the Ethnic History of the Bering Sea: the Ekven Cemetery), Nauka, Moscow [English translation by Richard L. Bland, Shared Beringian Heritage Project, U.S. National Park Service, 2006] Bailey, G., & Parkington, J. (Eds.) (1988). The Archaeology of prehistoric coastlines. New directions in archaeology. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-25036-8. Braje, T. J., & Rick T. C. (Eds.). (2011). Human impacts on seals, sea lions, and sea otters: Integrating archaeology and ecology in the Northeast Pacific. Berkeley: University of California Press. Campbell, J. M. (1976). The Soviet–American Siberian expedition. Arctic, 29, 2–6.

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Chaussonnet, V. (1995). Crossroads Alaska/Siberia (Alaska exhibit catalog). Arctic Studies Center, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC. Chaussonnet, V., & Krupnik, I. (1996). Perekrectki Kontinentov; Kul’turii Korfenniikh Narodov Dal’nego Voctoka i Alyaski (Crossroads of Continents: Native Cultures of the Far East and Alaska). Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center and Russian Ministry of Culture. Washington and Moscow. Chard, C. S. (1974). Northeast Asia in prehistory. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. Collins, H. B. (1937). The Archaeology of St. Lawrence Island. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 96(1). Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution. ——. (1940). Outline of Eskimo prehistory. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 100, 533–592. Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC. ——. (1971). Composite masks: Chinese and Eskimo. Anthropologica n.s., 13(1–2), 271–278. deLaguna, F. (1946). The Sadiron Lamp of Kamchatka as a Clue to the Chronology of the Aleut. American Antiquity, 11(3), 202–203. ——. (1949). Review: Archéologie du Pacifique-Nord, by André Leroi-Gourhan, 1946. American Anthropologist, 51(4), 645–647. deLaguna, F. (1946). The Sadiron Lamp of Kamchatka as a clue to the chronology of the Aleut. American Antiquity, 11(3), 202–203. Derevyanko Anatoly, P., & Medvedev, V. E. (2006). Neolithic of the Nizhnee Priamurye (Lower Amur River Basin). In S. Nelson, A. Derevyanko, Y. Kuzmin & R. Bland (Eds.). Archaeology of the Russia Far East: Essays in stone age prehistory. British Archaeological Reports IS (vol. 1540, pp. 123–149). Oxford: Archaeopress. Dumond, D. E. (2003). The so-called “Eskimo Wedge”: A century after Jesup. In L. Kendall & I. Krupnik (Eds.). Constructing cultures then and now: Celebrating Franz Boas and the Jesup North Pacific expedition (pp. 33–48). Contributions to Circumpolar Anthropology 4. Washington D.C.: Arctic Studies Center, Smithsonian Institution. Erlandson, J. M., & Fitzpatrick, S. M. (2006). Oceans, islands, and coasts: Current perspectives on the role of the sea in human prehistory. Journal of Island & Coastal Archaeology, 1(1), 5–32. Fitzhugh, W. W. (Ed.). (1975). Prehistoric maritime adaptations of the circumpolar zone. International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, Symposium volume. The Hague: Mouton. Fitzhugh, W. W. (1988). Comparative Art of the North Pacific Rim. In W. Fitzhugh, & A. L. Crowell (Eds.). Crossroads of continents: Cultures of Siberia and Alaska (pp. 294–312). Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press. ——. (1998). Searching for the g: Virtual archeology in yamal and circumpolar theory. Publications of the National Museum, Ethnographic Series, 18, 99–118. Copenhagen: Danish National Museum. ——. (2009). Stone shamans and flying deer of Northern Mongolia: Deer goddess of Siberia or Chimera of the Steppe? Arctic Anthropology, 46(1–2), 72–88. Fitzhugh, W. W., & Crowell, A. L. (Eds.). (1988). Crossroads of continents: Cultures of Siberia and Alaska. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press. Fitzhugh, W. W., & Chaussonnet, V. (Eds.). (1994). Anthropology of the North Pacific rim. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press. Fitzhugh, B., Gjesfjeld, E., Brown, W., Hudson, M. J., Shaw, J. D. (2016). Resilience and the Population History of the Kuril Islands, Northwest Pacific: A Study in Complex Human Ecodynamics. Quaternary International, 17(419), 165–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2016.02.003. Habu, J. (2004). Ancient Jomon of Japan. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. Ikawa-Smith, F. (2009). Living on the edge of the continent: The Japanese archipelago 30,000– 8,000 cal. B.C. maritime adaptation and seaside settlement in Northeastern Asia during the Pleistocene-Holocene Boundary. North Pacific Prehistory, 3, 49–69. Jochelson, W. (1925). Archaeological investigations in the Aleutians Islands. Washington: Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication 367. Washington DC. ——. (1928). Archaeological investigations in Kamchatka. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication 388, VIII, 88.

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——. (1933). History, ethnology, and anthropology of the Aleut. Washington D.C. Carnegie Institution of Washington. Kendall, L., & Krupnik, I. (Eds.). (2003). Constructing cultures then and now: Celebrating Franz Boas and the Jesup North Pacific expedition. Contributions to Circumpolar Anthropology 4. Washington, D.C.: Arctic Studies Center, Smithsonian Institution. Krupnik, I. (Ed.). (2018). Early Inuit Studies: Themes and Transitions, 1850s–1980s. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press. Krupnik, I., Crowell, A. L., & Pratt, K. (Eds.). (2021). Papers for: Across Arctic America: The Fifth Thule Expedition (1921–1924) Centennial. Alaska Journal of Anthropology, 19(1–2). Krupnik, I., & Fitzhugh, W. W. (2001). Gateways: Exploring the legacy of the Jesup North Pacific expedition 1897–1902. Contributions to Circumpolar Anthropology 1. Washington DC: Arctic Studies Center, Smithsonian Institution. Langley, M. C., O’Connor, S., & Piotto, E. (2016). 42,000-year-old worked and pigment-stained Nautilus shell from Jerimalai (Timor-Leste): Evidence for an early coastal adaptation in ISEA. Journal of Human Evolution, 97, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.04.005 Larsen, H., & Rainey, F. (1947). Ipiutak and the Arctic whale hunting culture. Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History 42. New York. Laughlin, W. S. (2002). To the Aleutians and beyond: The anthropology of William S. Laughlin, B. Frohlich, A. B. Harper, & R. Gilberg (Eds.). Department of Ethnography, National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen. Leroi-Gourhan, A. (1946). Archéologie du Pacific-Nord. Travaux et Mémoires del’Institut d’Ethnologie 42. Paris: Institut Ethnologie. Luukkanen, H., & Fitzhugh, W. W. (2020). Bark canoes and skin boats of Northern Eurasia. Washington DC: Smithsonian Books. McCartney, A. P. (1975). Maritime adaptations in cold archipelagoes: An analysis of environment and culture in the Aleutian and other island chains. In W. W. Fitzhugh (Ed.), Prehistoric maritime adaptations of the circumpolar zone. Mouton. Pitul’ko, V. V. (1993). An early Holocene site in the Siberian high arctic. Arctic Anthropology, 30(1), 13–21. Pitulko, V. V., Kuzman, Y. P., Glascock, M. D., Pavlova, E. Y., & Grebennikov, A. V. (2019). “They came from the ends of the earth”: Long distance exchange of Obsidian in the high arctic during the early Holocene. Antiquity, 93(367), 28–42. https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2019.2 Reeder-Myers, L., Turck, J. A., & Rick, T. (Eds.). (2019). Archaeology of human-environmental dynamics on the North American Atlantic coast. University Press of Florida . Rick, T., & Erlandson, J. (Eds.). (2008). Human impacts on ancient marine ecosystems a global perspective. University of California Press. Rasmusen, K. (1934). Eskimos and Stone Age peoples. Proceedings of the Fifth Pacific Science Congress, Vancouver, Canada, 1933 (vol. 4: 2767–2772). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Sandweiss, D. H., McInnis, H., Burger, R. L., Cano, A., Ojeda, B., Paredes, R., Sandweiss, M. C., & Glascock, M. D.. (1998). Quebrada Jaguay: Early South American maritime adaptations. Science, 281, 1830–1832. Sanger, D. (1988). Maritime adaptations in the Gulf of Maine. Archaeology of Eastern North America, 16, 81–99. Schuster, C. (1951). The survival of the eurasiatic animal style in modern Alaskan Eskimo a. In S. Tax (Ed.) Selected Papers of the 29th Congress of Americanists (pp. 45–55). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ——, & Carpenter, E. (1996). Patterns that connect: Symbolism in ancient and tribal art. New York: Harry N. Abrams. Serizawa, C., & Hurley, W. M. (Eds.). (1978). Japanese prehistory. Edited volume of Asian Perspectives, 19(1). University Press of Hawaii. Stanford, D. J., & Bradley, B. (2012). Across Atlantic ice: The origin of America’s Clovis culture. Berkeley: University of California Press. Stark, B. L., & Voorhies, B. (1978). Prehistoric coastal adaptations: The economy and ecology of maritime Middle America. Academic Press, New York.

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The original version of the book was revised: Book subtitle inserted in front matter and covers and in chapter 2, section headings are corrected and chapter 14 the co-authors names “Viktor M. Dyakonov and Elena N. Solovyova” are corrected and Dyakonov’s acknowledgement inserted. The correction to the book is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1118-7_17

Contents

Introduction The Peopling of Northeast Asia’s Maritime Region and Implications of Early Watercraft Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jim Cassidy

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Korea and Japan Maritime Prehistory of Korea: An Archaeological Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jangsuk Kim and Chuntaek Seong

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Over the Water, Into and Out of the Japanese Archipelago, During the Pleistocene: Humans, Obsidian, and Lithic Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . Fumiko Ikawa-Smith

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Synthetic Perspective on Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherer Adaptations and Landscape Change in Northern Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Masahiro Fukuda, Kazuki Morisaki, and Hiroyuki Sato

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Globalization and the Historical Evolution of Japanese Fisheries . . . . . . . Mark J. Hudson

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Inland Seas of Japan/Korea and Okhotsk Stone Age People in the Insular World: Stability and Migrations on Sakhalin, Hokkaido and the Kuril Islands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Alexander Vasilevski and Vyacheslav Grishchenko The Origins of Aquatic Lifestyles along the Zerkalnaya and Rudnaya Rivers on the Northern Sea of Japan, Primorye Region, Russian Far East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 Jim Cassidy and Nina A. Kononenko

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Seagoing Watercraft in the Context of Marine Adaptations in Peter the Great Bay, Primorye Region, Russian Far East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 Yuri E. Vostretsov Ancient Sea Fishing in Southern Primorye, Russian Far East, During the Neolithic and Early Iron Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 Alexander N. Popov, Vladimir A. Rakov, Boris V. Lazin, and Larisa E. Vasileva Seafaring in the Bohai State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 Evgeniya Gelman Kamchatka and Chukotka Technological Similarities Between ~ 13 ka Stemmed Points from Ushki V, Kamchatka, Russian Far East, and the Earliest Stemmed Points in North America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233 Irina Y. Ponkratova, Loren G. Davis, Daniel W. Bean, David B. Madsen, Alexander J. Nyers, and Ian Buvit From Continent to Continent: Proposed Pathways and Vehicles of Human Travel from Kamchatka to America in Ancient Times . . . . . . . 263 Irina Ponkratova The Onset of Maritime Adaptations in Eastern Chukotka and the Emergence of Marine Economies and Seafaring Activities Between 8000 and 3500 years Before Present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291 Sergey V. Gusev Tracking the Adoption of Early Pottery Traditions into Maritime Northeast Asia: Emerging Insights and New Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315 Peter Jordan, Irina Y. Ponkratova, Viktor M. Dyakonov, Elena N. Solovyova, Toshiro Yamahara, Hirofumi Kato, and Marjolein Admiraal Conclusions The Paleolithic of Maritime Northeast Asia and the Search for Maritime Beringians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349 Ben Fitzhugh Maritime Prehistory of Northeast Asia: Overview and Outlook . . . . . . . . 379 Ben Fitzhugh Correction to: Maritime Prehistory of Northeast Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jim Cassidy, Irina Ponkratova, and Ben Fitzhugh

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The Peopling of Northeast Asia’s Maritime Region and Implications of Early Watercraft Transport Jim Cassidy

Abstract The migration of people from Northeast Asia into the New World during the late Pleistocene has been generally accepted for almost one hundred years. This was thought to have taken place among terrestrial hunters of Pleistocene fauna. In recent decades a coastal migration hypothesis pertaining to the use of seaworthy watercraft has garnered increasing interest. Based on recent discoveries in North American archaeology and paleo-genetics this peopling process appears to have taken place approximately 17,000 years ago. However, the ecological, social and technological contexts requisite for such maritime based migrations have received comparatively little attention. Evidence of the use of late Pleistocene watercraft to occupy Australia, the Ryukyu Islands, the Paleo-Honshu Island and Hokkaido in Japan have been cited as a foundation for the hypothesized use of seafaring to traverse the coastal North Pacific from Northeast Asia to the Americas. To understand this process, it is necessary to elucidate theoretical and methodological parameters that accompany assumptions associated with the ecological conditions, social contexts for maritime subsistence practices and technological innovations for the development and navigation of seaworthy watercraft during this period. To evaluate the value of maritime based migration hypotheses it is essential to understand maritime related practices and the uses of watercraft in Northeast Asia during the late Pleistocene and Holocene before we can reasonably assert maritime based population movements across the North Pacific. Keywords Northeast Asia · Migration · Terrestrial · Maritime · Watercraft · Seafaring · Technological innovation · Ecology

J. Cassidy (B) Chair of Maritime History and Archaeology, Maritime Museum of San Diego (Associate), 1492 N. Harbor Dr, San Diego, CA 92101, USA e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 J. Cassidy et al. (eds.), Maritime Prehistory of Northeast Asia, The Archaeology of Asia-Pacific Navigation https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1118-7_1

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1 Introduction The prehistory of aquatically focused societies in Northeast Asia are poorly represented in global syntheses. In an influential book on the origins and development of seafaring it was noted “the origins of east Asian seafaring, with its distinctive technologies indicative, perhaps, of an independent trajectory of development, is taken up only for Japan” (Anderson et al., 2010: xiv). Among many other reasons, the capabilities of East Asian mariners during the late Pleistocene are significant given the proposed importance of seafaring in the dispersal of people from Northeast Asia to the Americas during the late Pleistocene (Erlandson & Braje, 2011). Many recent syntheses pertaining to migrations into the New World do not significantly address pertinent data from Northeast Asia. However, a summary of the Coastal Migration Theory has recently been offered, which hypothesizes that PaleoSakhalin-Hokkaido-Kuril (PSHK) populations may have comprised the progenitors of ancient Native American populations. Between ~ 40–30 ka these foragers adopted mixed and variable terrestrial, near shore, and maritime subsistence adaptations along this northwestern Pacific coastal margin, with the degree of specialization differing from area to area… By about 20 Ka, sea levels as much as 130 m lower than modern, and correspondingly shorter travel distances between islands and refugia, allowed ocean-going coastal foragers in the PSHK to begin to expand along the Kamchatka peninsula to the southern margin of the Bering Land Bridge and Aleutian Islands, to the coastlines of southern Alaska and British Columbia (Davis & Madson, 2020:3). Hypotheses such as these suggest that the coastal Bering-Land-Bridge (BLB) possessed sufficient biodiversity to support human habitation. However, a dearth of data available for Northeast Asia is in distinct contrast to the number of publications regularly updating the archaeology of coastal North America (Braje et al., 2017, 2020; Dixon, 1999; Erlandson, 2001, 2002, 2010; Erlandson et al., 2007a, 2007b, 2011, 2015; Fladmark, 1979, 1986; Gill et al., 2019; McLaren et al., 2019; Rick et al., 2013; Potter et al., 2018; Pratt et al., 2019; Sutton, 2017, 2018). If we are to assess proposals pertaining to seafaring around the North Pacific, then comprehensive data must be made available from Northeast Asia. An effort to address this deficiency was made through the publication of the Journal of North Pacific Prehistory Volume 1 (2007), Volume 2 (2008) and Volume 3 (2009) edited by Jim Cassidy, Robert Ackerman and Irina Ponkratova. Unfortunately, this journal did not receive wide dissemination and no further volumes have been forthcoming. It is the intent of the collection of papers herein to provide an update to those previous journal issues through contributions by leading Korean, Japanese, Russian, German, Dutch, British, Canadian and American scholars of Northeast Asian prehistory. It is hoped that this data may become more widely available to specialists in maritime prehistory, Northeast Asian archaeology and the peopling of the Americas. The following chapters will address evidence of aquatic activities during the late Pleistocene and Holocene in the East Korean/Japanese Sea (K/J Sea), Sea of Okhotsk and adjacent coastal areas of Korea, Japan, the Ryukyu Arc, Sakhalin Island, Kuril

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Islands and the Russian Far East. It is hoped this will fill a void in the archaeological literature and permit more informed evaluations of North Pacific seafaring proposals and questions pertaining to intra- and inter-regional relationships through the origins and innovations of maritime technology throughout the hemisphere.

2 Theoretical Context The term Northeast Asia has historically developed within a geographic and political context (Narangoa, 2014) and generally is understood to encompass the areas of the Mongolian Plateau, the Northeast China Plain, the Korean Peninsula, the Russian Far East, the islands of Japan, the Ryukyus, Sakhalin and Kuril. For the purposes of this volume, the maritime region of Northeast Asia has been extended to include the southern coastal regions of the East China Sea, K/J Sea, Sea of Okhotsk, Northwest Pacific Ocean, Chukchi Sea and Bering Sea. Between 40–30 ka (thousand years) ago (all dates are calibrated, unless designated as 14 C), when the Ryukyu and Japanese islands were first inhabited by seafaring Homo sapiens, the climate was experiencing a gradual cooling that lowered sea levels from 60 to 80 m below present day, respectively (Benjamin et al., 2017). This drop in sea levels gradually drained the coastal areas of southeastern China and western Korea, shrinking the Yellow Sea into an elongated, relatively narrow and shallow protected bay (Fig. 1). This gradual process created a patchwork of new landforms, including evolving mud flats, lagoons, estuaries, near-shore islands and protected bays. Such conditions would have been ideal for the exploitation of aquatic resources and experimentation in the development of marine technology. During the last-glacial-maximum (LGM), 24–18 ka ago sea levels had ultimately dropped to as much as 130 m below present, which completely drained the Yellow Sea and exposed the Chinese continental shelf (Ikawa-Smith 2009; see Fig. 1 in Chapter Over the Water, into and Out of the Japanese Archipelago, During the Pleistocene: Humans, Obsidian, and Lithic Techniques herein). This created an undulating land mass that was divided by the extended Yellow River between the present-day southeast China coast and the western Korean Peninsula. An entrenched drainage system formed by the Yellow River was established that ran in a north to south direction from the present Bohai Bay along the western side of Korea. This vast region has subsequently been inundated during the Holocene warming but would undoubtedly have played a significant role in the development of regional maritime activities and the dispersal of early East Asian populations to the Ryukyu Islands and Japan. During this process it is generally thought that the island of Taiwan was connected to the mainland but ultimately became increasingly separated by a widening body of water during the ensuing sea level rise associated with the post-glacial period. Over the preceding 40 years, there has been numerous publications discussing the use of seaworthy watercraft to enter the New World during the late Pleistocene (Braje et al., 2017, 2020; Davis & Madsen, 2020; McLaren et al. 2020; Sutton, 2018). It has been proposed that seafarers employed boats to traverse the North

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Fig. 1 Map of the southern maritime region of Northeast Asia reflecting sea levels between 60-75 meters below present during the time period of 40-30 Ka ago when the Ryukyu and Japanese islands were originally inhabited by seafaring modern humans.

Pacific coast from Northeast Asia while subsisting on a ubiquitous kelp highway and associated marine resources (Erlandson & Braje, 2011; Erlandson et al., 2007, 2015). These resources are assumed to included varieties of kelp, sea weeds, nearshore fish, shellfish, sea mammals, and migratory waterfowl. The term seaworthy watercraft used herein assumes hulls constructed to displace the water and protect the occupants from exposure, rather than simple rafts. It has further been proposed that boats were employed to access nearshore islands, to ford rivers, and to circumvent headwater glaciers and rocky headlands of western

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North America (Dixon, 1999; Fladmark, 1986). However, the necessity of seaworthy watercraft for use by the first peoples in the Americas has been questioned by Mark Sutton, who suggests that “any physical impediments, such as tidewater glaciers or major waterways, could have been circumvented using simple watercraft, such as rafts.” (2018: 326). The likelihood of a Pacific Coast Route (PCR) of entry has been supported by the discovery of numerous sites that pre-date the opening of a North American icefree-corridor between the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets sometime after 14 ka (Potter et al., 2018). Archaeological finds at Paisley Caves in Oregon (Jenkins et al., 2014), the Gault/Friedkin sites in Texas (Waters et al., 2018), Meadowcroft Rock shelter in Illinois (Adovasio et al., 1990), Page-Ladson in Florida (Halligan et al. 2016), Cooper’s Ferry in Idaho (Davis et al., 2019), Huaca Prieta in Peru (Dillehay et al., 2012) and Monte Verde in Chile (Dillehay, 1984, 2000) all date between 16 and 14 ka ago (Fig. 3). The sites dating to this period are spread throughout continental North America and as far south as Chile (Fig. 2). This suggests the first people likely traversed along the coast, perhaps as early as 17 ka ago, and then moved inland, most likely along major river corridors, like the Columbia River (Sutton, 2018). This presumes that ancient mariners were positioned in Northeast Asia by the late Pleistocene to make such a migration. To understand the peopling process of Northeast Asia we must recognize that populations may have come to occupy the region from both a northern interior route and a southern coastal route.

3 Ecological Perspective If it is argued that early migrants into the New World travelled by seaworthy boats across the BLB, rather than by foot, then substantial environmental and behavioral imperatives would engender requisite technological innovations that must be addressed. Highly mobile terrestrial hunter-gatherers generally employed toolkits that were relatively simple and portable, such as microblades. When the increase in resource capture was necessitated then the use of human labor was generally intensified. Comparatively, aquatically based hunter-gatherer-fishers are universally recognized as innovators of complex toolkits that enhance the capture of resources through increased mobility over greater distances, at higher rates of speed that transport larger and heavier cargos. It must be recognized that the construction of watertight seafaring watercraft ranks among the most complex technological innovations in prehistory. This often results in the social reorganization of multi-family units within relatively sedentary base camps, as central based logistical foragers (Ames, 2002; Binford, 1980). Rather than consuming prey at kill sites, aquatic hunters generally transport their prey back to base camps for processing (Ames, 2002). Within a broader cultural context, among multiple competing goals and objectives, technological innovations require an investment of time, energy and materials to construct and can only be justified by enhanced capture rates of resources over the use-life of the innovation

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Fig. 2 Location of sites in North and South America mentioned in the text that date between 16.5– 14 ka, including 1. Paisley Five Mile Caves, Oregon, 2. Cooper’s Ferry, Idaho, 3. Meadowcroft Rockshelter, Pennsylvania, 4. Gault/Friedkin, Texas 5. Page-Ladson, Florida 6. Huaca Prieta, Peru and 7. Monte Verde, Chile

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(Ugan et al., 2003). From a behavioral perspective the innovation of new technologies should occur repetitively over time in an incremental manner to minimize costs and risks of failure to capture prey. A critical barrier to the use of watercraft is the significant difference between the warm waters of the sub-tropics and the frigid waters of the sub-arctic, presently divided at 40º north latitude (McGrail, 2010). An early linkage of effective solar temperatures, biotic productivity and human settlement patterns was proposed by Lewis Binford (1980). This was followed by Robin Torrence’s (1983) argument that the structure of hunter-gatherer toolkits is conditioned by the potential risk of resource failure. In higher latitude environments, where effective solar temperatures are lower, the risks of resource failure are greater and result in more conservative constraints in technological innovations. Conversely, in lower latitude environments experiencing higher effective temperatures the risks of resource failure may be eased, thereby reducing time-stress and allowing greater opportunities for toolkit elaborations (Broughton & O’Connell, 1999).

3.1 Technological Innovations The contrast between subsistence economies specializing in terrestrial hunting versus aquatic resource collecting is dramatic (Ames, 2002; McGrail, 2010). We must therefore ask what conditions would compel people to abandon subsistence practices on land and venture onto open waters with boats to pursue aquatic resources? It has frequently been argued that the early origins and use of watercraft may largely be unknowable because sea level rise has inundated archaeological sites located on paleo-coastlines. Such propositions are largely based on the concept that the absence of empirical data does not necessarily mean an absence of human activity. However, the framing of arguments in a more empirical context, where possible, holds the potential to shed light on ongoing inquiry. It is proposed here that the application of universal technological capabilities of watercraft pertaining to materials employed, buoyancy, hydrodynamic design and speeds should shed light on suppositions of prehistoric boat use and their presumed degree of seaworthiness (Ames, 2002; Cassidy, 2021; Cassidy et al., 2004, 2019; McGrail, 2010; Sutton, 2018). The term seaworthy is often used as a descriptor of technological capabilities pertaining to levels of watercraft reliability and efficiency. Boat technology assumes a range of innovations, from the use of flotation devices, rafts, and watertight hulls (Cassidy, 2021; Cassidy et al., 2004; McGrail, 2010; Sutton, 2018). Each of these are characterized by specific parameters effecting construction and maintenance, levels of thermic exposure, time/energy costs, hydrodynamic characteristics, transport speed, cargo capacity and distances travelled. As part of an assessment of the technological capabilities of early watercraft Sean McGrail (2010) defined transport speeds to be 1–2 knots per hour (one knot equals 1.85 km per hour) for flotation

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devices and/or rafts and four knots per hour for watertight hulls. Also, based on ethnographic accounts, Kenneth Ames (2002) further verified speeds and maneuverability for watertight canoes to be approximately four knots per hour. Investing in the processes of technological innovation for watercraft construction and design must take into consideration the efficient acquisition of subsistence calories by maximizing energy gained and minimizing time expended (Smith & Winterhalder, 1992). The production and maintenance of watertight watercraft represents a high cost of investment of specialized human labor, the acquisition of raw materials, and related investment of labor and time for processing. Once constructed, boats and associated equipment universally require continuous investment of materials and energy to maintain and operate throughout their use-life. An application of the technological characteristics and documented speeds associated with the different types of watercrafts yields the distances achievable over a single day of paddling. For instance, a voyage of 100 km at a maximum speed of 2 knots on a raft would take 27 h of continuous paddling. In contrast, the same distance in a hydrodynamically efficient watertight hull at a speed of 4 knots would take approximately 13.5 h. This distance and length of time appear to approximate the optimal operation of a seaworthy watercraft’s use per day. Naturally, these estimates do not account for important external factors, such as winds, swells, currents or tidal flow. Clearly, complex technological innovations required in the design of seaworthy watercraft would need to take place in an incremental fashion over time. This would most likely take place in a temperate environment containing rich biodiversity and safe access to both fresh water and aquatic resources. Such resources as shellfish, near-shore fish and pinnipeds that haul out on land would be attractive and relatively easy to capture. A desire to increase the capture rate of mobile aquatic prey, such as deep-water fish and sea mammals, may lead to the innovation of flotation devices and rafts. These devices would make it possible to access other optimal resource patches, such as nearby islands, and lead to further innovations in improved hydrodynamic, speed, crew and cargo capacity, and associated equipment. Such a scenario would most easily develop in a lower latitude environment, such as tropical or sub-tropical waters, where resource abundance results in reduced time stress and where the extended human exposure to aquatic environments is not hazardous. This scenario appears to be supported by the occupation of Australia over 50 ka ago (Broughton & O’Connell, 1999) and the subsequent gradual spread of maritime exploration/colonization northward into cooler waters over the ensuing 10–20 Ka period. Proponents of the PCR model have emphasized a coastal route of migration with the use of seaworthy watercraft. They point out that boats were used to travel along the Ryukyu Islands, including Okinawa before 35 ka ago (Matsu’ura, 1996; Fujita et al., 2016) and the ancient Japanese Island of Paleo-Honshu as early as 38 ka (Ikeya, 2015) (Fig. 3). “This placed seafaring people in the cooler waters of Japan and the North Pacific during the LGM, suggesting that they were developing the boats and other technological capabilities to continue around the Pacific Rim to Beringia and beyond” (Braje et al., 2020: 4). This appears to suggest a level of cultural homogeneity across this vast geographic landscape that does not conform to the

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complexity expressed in both archaeological and genetic data (Gakuhari et al., 2020; Hudson, 2017; Shinoda & Adachi, 2017). This also does not sufficiently consider the motivations and challenges to pursue requisite technological innovations in the development of cold weather clothing, shelter and nautical gear necessary to navigate northern sub-arctic and arctic waters through and around pervasive ice flows. Hypothermia is a life-threatening condition that occurs when the human body is no longer able to maintain a normal temperature and drops below 95º Fahrenheit. In the cold waters of the North Pacific hypothermia becomes a significant barrier and based on present knowledge does not appear to have been technologically mastered until the early to middle Holocene. “Unlike tropical and temperate locations, subarctic and arctic environments require unique technologies, skills, and strategies to travel, fish, and hunt over always frigid often frozen, and frequently storm-prone waters” (Fitzhugh, 2016: 2).

4 Northeast Asian Terrestrial Context During the Late Pleistocene Lowered sea levels during the LGM reduced the sizes of both the K/J Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk (Sikora et al., 2019). This created enlarged coastal plains along the northern shores of both seas and formed a land-bridge from the continental Russian Far East, where the Amur River discharges into the Sea of Okhotsk (at 54º north latitude), and across both Sakhalin and Hokkaido (Kononenko & Cassidy, 2007). The late Pleistocene Island of Honshu remained separated from Hokkaido by a narrowed Tsugaru Strait (see Chapter Over the Water, into and Out of the Japanese Archipelago, During the Pleistocene: Humans, Obsidian, and Lithic Techniques, Fig. 1 herein). The ensuing climatic warming of the Holocene resulted in a rise of sea levels and the establishment of coastal margins and maritime regions we recognize today, including the separation of Sakhalin, Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, Cheju, the Ryukyus and Taiwan islands. The Amur River is the only major river in central Siberia that travels southward, and ultimately turn northward, before discharging into the Sea of Okhotsk. During the late Pleistocene this river provided a passable corridor across the frigid regions of southern Siberia to where the Sea of Okhotsk and K/J Sea converge at the modern Tartarsky Straight. Even during the warming period of the Holocene, the winters in Siberia, and both of these seas, were strongly affected by southerly monsoon winds and moisture in the form of rain and snow emanating from the Arctic (Cassidy, 2004). The Amur territory occupies a crucial geographic position as a crossroad connecting Siberia, the Russian Far East, Japan and Northern China. Ecologically, even during the peak of the Sartan Glaciation, the Amur River Basin was not affected by catastrophic climatic changes and may have served as a refuge for northern populations during the glacial maximum. Pollen data indicates that there were birch-larch open forests, marshes and meadows in the Amur-Zeya lowlands, with scattered dense coniferous forests and low-bush tundra in the

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As along Beringia and North America, the exposed coastal plains of the K/J Sea and Sea of Okhotsk provided a relatively unhindered pathway for hunters of late Pleistocene fauna, such as mammoth, musk ox, horse and reindeer (Vasilevskii, 2005). However, many of the occupation sites left behind by these climate refugees are now submerged along the northern shores of the two seas. These migrants from Siberia, via the Russian Far East, would have arrived with essential knowledge of aquatic technology to ford obstacles such as meadows, swamps and rivers with the use of rudimentary forms of watercrafts. However, extended exposure to these arctic waters would have proved hazardous and required the use of insulated and boats and clothing.

Fig. 3 Location of sites in Northeast Asia mentioned in the text including 1. Mal’ta, Trans-Baikal of central Siberia, 2. Gromatukha Culture, middle Amur River of east Siberia, 3. Goncharka-1, lower Amur River of the Russian Far East, 4. Geographic Society Cave, mouth of the Partisinskaya River, Primorye Region, 5. Ustinovka Complex, on the Zerkalnaya River, Primorye Region, 6. Oganki-5, on Sakhalin Island, 7. Sakitari Cave, on Okinawa Island, 8. Kozu Island, off Honshu Island and 9. Ushki, on the central Kamchatka Peninsula

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The concept that the Americas were originally peopled by the diffusion of migrants crossing the BLB from Northeast Asia after the LGM is widely accepted, especially given the emergence of recent genomic data (Raghavan et al., 2014, 2015; Graf & Buvit, 2017; Moreno-Myer et al., 2018; Scheib et al., 2018; Wang, 2021). Presently, the earliest evidence of human occupation of the Russian Far East comes from Geographic Society Cave that yielded a date of 32,570 ± 1510 14 C B.P. (before present) (Vasilievsky, 1996: 254–255) (Fig. 3). This site is located on the Partisanskaya River on the northern K/J Sea, in the Primorye region of the Russian Far East. The core and flake tools recovered from this site were in association with fauna of mammoth, elk, reindeer, Manchurian deer, roe deer, brown bear, horse and woolly rhinoceros. Pollen samples indicate an environment of coniferous broad-leafed forests. This suggests a possible early East Asian genomic human occupation of the region approximately 8 ka (thousand years) prior to a proposed movement of people from the Mal’ta site in the Trans-Baikal area of central Siberia southeastward, along the Amur River refugia, just prior to the LGM (Fig. 3). This appears consistent with the model proposed by Graf and Buvit (2017) that suggests the genetic mixing of East Eurasian and early East Asian populations around 22–18 ka ago, which ultimately resulted in the genome identifiable among ancestral Native Americans. Native American individuals share more alleles with Boisman and the Mongolian Neolithic individuals than with most other East Asian populations, suggesting that an early branch of this lineage—reflecting the northern distribution of the Tianyuan-related branch… was the source for the East-Asian-related ancestry in Native American peoples (Wang, 2021: 415).

This is also consistent with recent genome sequencing that shows ancient coastal populations in Primorye, Sakhalin, Hokkaido and northern Honshu shared a common east Eurasian ancestry (Gakuhari et al., 2020). Archaeological sites along the Amur River dating to the LGM have yet to be discovered. However, sites along the central Amur River, and the tributary Zeya River, have been defined as the Gromatukha Culture that dates between 15,010– 9550 BP (Derevianko et al., 2017) (Fig. 3). These sites contain the earliest ceramic vessels found in southern Siberia. Also, occupation of the lower Amur River, above the present day city of Khabarovsk, has been identified at Goncharka-1 that dates to approximately 13 ka (Shevkomud & Yanshina, 2012) (Fig. 3). Survival along these major rivers would require a sophisticated knowledge of local aquatic resources and the use of, at least, rudimentary forms of watercraft (Fig. 4). Occupation of the northern coastal area of the K/J Sea also appears to coincide with the occupation of Ustinovka-7, dating to 18.6 ka BP, located 34 km inland along the Zerkalnaya River, in the Primorye Region (Kononenko & Kajiwara, 2003). The Ustinovka complex of sites, located on a succession of river terraces, spans the late Pleistocene through the early Holocene and reflects repeated seasonal occupations that exploited a high-quality source of silicified stone tool material (Fig. 3) (Gomez Coutelouly, 2007). This sequence of sites documents a progression of stone tool technology spanning Upper Paleolithic Levellois macroblades (Fig. 3), microblades, both stemmed and leaf-shaped bifaces (Fig. 5), and flake-core stone tool technologies

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Fig. 4 An Upper Paleolithic Levallois core and refit blades recovered from the Ustinovka 7 site (basal layer OSL dated to 18,600 Ka ago) in the Primorye Region of the Russian Far East. (Photograph provided by Hiroshi Kajiwara)

that date from 20 to 9 ka BP. These sites appear to span the transition from broad spectrum terrestrial hunting to that of riverine and littoral capture of aquatic resources, such as waterfowl and salmon (Kononenko & Cassidy, 2009). This may be reflected in the chipped stone effigy of a fish recovered from the early Holocene site of Ustinovka3 (see Fig. 4 in Chapter The Origins of Aquatic Lifestyles Along the Zerkalnaya and Rudnaya Rivers on the Northern Sea of Japan, Primorye Region, Russian Far East herein) (Kononenko, 2003). Recent arguments have proposed that stemmed projectile points were introduced into the New World as part of the North Pacific maritime migration hypothesis (Braje et al., 2017). One concern is that most of the early sites with stemmed points, both in Northeast Asia and the Americas are not located near the coast but are associated with terrestrially oriented hunting deposits (Potter et al., 2018; Sutton, 2018). Pratt et al., (2018: 32) have pointed out that “Stemmed projectile and socketed-hafting technology characterizes the Upper Paleolithic record of greater Northeast Asia, starting well before the LGM. Bifacial technology eventually became incorporated into this tradition, early in the late glacial of eastern Siberia, the Russian Far East, and possibly Japan.” Radiocarbon data obtained from the Ogonki-5 site on the Sakhalin-land-Bridge supports an occupation between 19.5–17.8 ka ago (Vasilevskii et al., 2010) (Fig. 3). This site reflects a pattern of generalized hunting of terrestrial fauna. At present, no archaeological sites dating to the late Pleistocene have been discovered in the coastal regions of Northeast Asia farther east than Oganki-5 on the Paleo-SHK (Pratt et al., 2019; Vasilevskii et al., 2010). Conservatively, we can say by about 17–15,5 ka, the LUP spread as far as the middle Alden River in southwestern Beringia represented at the Diuktai Cave, Ust’Mil’, and Verkhne

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Fig. 5 A bifaced leaf-shaped projectile point or knife produced on a microblade and a small bifacial tanged (constricted base) projectile point produced on a flake recovered from the Ustinovka 7 (upper microblade layer) and Ustinovka 6 sites, respectively (dating to approximately 11–13 Ka ago). (Photograph provided by Igor Sleptsov)

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The occupation of the Ogonki-5 site on Sakhalin and the replacement of macroblade with microblade technology on Hokkaido by around 27 ka supports the probable spread of populations from the Trans-Baikal region of Siberia (Buvit et al., 2016; Nakazawa et al., 2019). Migrations of people out of the Paleo-SHK region around 13 ka is reflected in the disappearance of microblade technology and the influx of Incipient Jomon materials from the south (Buvit et al., 2016). Around the same time, we begin to see the appearance of microblade technology on the Kamchatka Peninsula.

5 Northeast Asian Maritime Context During the Late Pleistocene During the late Pleistocene the three islands of Kyushu, Shikoku and Honshu merged into a single ancient island of Paleo-Honshu (Fig. 1). Multiple maritime passages took place along the northeast flowing sub-tropical Kuroshio Current that resulted in the occupation of the Ryukyu Islands and the Paleo-Honshu Island south of Hokkaido as early as 38 ka (Fujita et al., 2016; Shinoda & Adachi, 2017). Broad spectrum Paleolithic hunters employing stemmed spear points, produced on unifacial macroblades, also occupied Korea at least 36 ka ago and traversed the narrowed Korea/Tsushima Strait by boats to occupy the ancient island of Paleo-Honshu and some of the most northern Ryukyu Islands (Lee & Sano, 2019; Morisaki et al., 2019; Chapter Over the Water, into and Out of the Japanese Archipelago, During the Pleistocene: Humans, Obsidian, and Lithic Techniques herein). In addition, some materials from Tokunoshima Island in the northern part of the Ryukyus also produced materials assigned to the Palaeolithic… However, the Okinawa Islands and southern regions have not produced significant examples of Palaeolithic stone tool technology… (Nakagawa et al., 2010: 181).

The exploitation of obsidian tool stone sources on Kozu Island, near Tokyo Bay, around 38 ka ago (38º north latitude) and people on the Ryukyu Islands, including Okinawa, at least 32 ka (26º north latitude) (Habu, 2010: 161) attests to multiple separate maritime lifestyles that existed in the sub-tropical waters of Northeast Asia during the late Pleistocene. These maritime voyages appear to coincide with a relatively warm period around 40 ka ago that continued until colder temperatures around 30 ka (Madsen, 2015). During this time sea levels fluctuated between 60 and 80 m below present respectively. These climatic conditions were conducive to voyages across a marine landscape, and between islands that were most likely visible from each other along the Ryukyu Arc. Also, the multiple islands of the Ryukyus converged into fewer and larger islands, and the distance between them was significantly reduced. At present many of the Ryukyu Islands are separated by only 20–40 km but three

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deeper channels are between 180–270 km wide. However, between 40–30 ka ago lowered sea levels shortened the length of these voyages. The southern Ryukyu Islands were located approximately 100 km east of Taiwan and were originally occupied by Southeast Asian/South Asian/Austronesian populations (Hudson, 2017). In contrast the middle Ryukyu Islands, including Okinawa, are located over 200 km east of Taiwan and appear to have also been occupied by South Asians but are not affiliated with the Austronesian sphere (Nakagawa et al., 2010). Thus, present archaeological and genetic data suggests that the Ryukyu Arc likely consisted of three distinct maritime cultural traditions. In turn, these can also be differentiated from both southern and northern populations that occupied Paleo-Honshu, the Paleo-SHK complex and the Primorye Region. The north flowing sub-tropical Kuroshio Current was deflected eastward by the south flowing sub-arctic Oyashio Current south of the Tsugaru Strait between northern Honshu and Hokkaido, which may have served to diminish the expansion of seafaring mariners much further to the north. The occupation of islands and the migration of people along littoral shores were undoubtedly linked to subsistence imperatives and could only have taken place through the construction and navigation of seaworthy watercraft capable of conveying multiple reproductively viable family units with their possessions for distances of approximately 100 km across open water. “Given the constraints imposed by birth and death rates, sibship composition, and the availability of suitable mates, successful colonization of an uninhabited landfall probably requires the near-simultaneous arrival of several groups, each including at least 5–10 women of reproductive age” (O’Connell et al., 2010: 59). This was likely accomplished by conducting repetitive voyages to transport people and cargo between islands. Unlike terrestrially based hunters the toolkits of maritime populations contain fewer stone tools. Good quality stone tool sources are often scarce on islands. In contrast, good quality shells are easy to obtain in most marine environments that can be chipped or ground into numerous tool forms. Many diverse and standardized shell tools have been recovered on Okinawa that date to 35 ka ago. In fact, the earliest known ground shell fishhooks ever recovered were found in the 23-ka layer in Sakitari Cave (Fujita et al., 2016) (Fig. 3). In conjunction with modified shell tools mariners are also known to fabricate other lightweight and buoyant tools from organic materials that can easily be stored, transported and replaced by boats. Some of these nautical tools include poles and paddles to propel boats, buoyant cane and bamboo spear shafts, fire hardened wooden projectile points, cordage from sea grass and marsh plants, woven mats, waterproof fish skin clothing, skin drums, wooden eating utensils and multiple types of storage containers, to name just a few (Fitzhugh & Crowell, 1988). The fact that so many maritime related tools are fabricated from perishable organic materials unfortunately makes them difficult to detect in ancient archaeological contexts. A maritime migration analogous to the occupation of the Ryukyus and Japan also took place during a global warming period approximately 65–50 Ka ago across the tropical waters of the Wallacean Gap to populate New Guinea and Australia (O’Connell et al., 2010; O’Connor, 2010). Experimental replicative research into the

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construction and navigation of possible early forms of rafts, some with small sails, have been conducted in the tropical waters of the Wallacean gap over distances of up to 100 km. In such warm waters there was no requirement to develop protective clothing to ensure survival. These experiments demonstrated that voyages on large rafts were possible but would not have been easily accomplished, especially against prevailing winds, waves and currents (Bednarik, 2014). The development and navigation of sophisticated watercraft, such as skin or wood covered watertight hulls, could not have been accomplished by novice mariners. However, incremental experimentation with various forms of floatation devices, rafts and watertight hulls over millennia would have proved informative to innovative early mariners. Further, such aquatically specialized behaviors involving the occupation of islands containing relatively impoverished terrestrial resources implies a requisite development of aquatic based subsistence economies dependent upon the capture of marine resources, such as shellfish, fish, sea mammals and birds (O’Connell et al., 2010). Though fully maritime lifestyles likely existed along the Ryukyu Islands between 40–30 ka ago, occupation of the much more biologically diverse and abundant PaleoHonshu likely led to a mixed economy of both terrestrial and aquatic resources. This may be reflected in the broad-spectrum subsistence practices of the Initial Jomon around 12 ka (Habu, 2010). In contrast, Hokkaido was the southern extension of the Paleo-SHK, allowing people to walked from southeast Siberia during the last glacial period. The Ainu genetic origins are distinct from their southern neighbors through a blending with east Eurasian migrants and are closely associated with Sea of Okhotsk populations (Jeong et al., 2016). The Tsugaru Straight separates the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido. This demarcates the general classification of relatively warm sub-tropical waters from those of the increasingly frigid sub-arctic. This is where the warmer north flowing Kuroshio current deflects the south flowing colder waters of the Oyashio currents. This is further compounded with the Okhotsk gyre that combines with the freshwater Amur outflow and creates bitter cold sea ice conditions. Maritime activities in these northern latitudes inherently involve serious thermal exposure and require the innovation of sophisticated protective gear, including watertight boats, to prevent hypothermia (McGrail, 2010). These technological barriers may reflect the reasons why the southern Kuril Islands do not appear to have been occupied until after 8 ka. These islands form the southern boundary of the Sea of Okhotsk and contain an environment of high seasonal variability and low biodiversity. “The strategies used by Kuril populations undoubtedly encouraged the settlement and occupation of the archipelago, but ultimately the scarcity and vulnerability of resources in combination with unpredictable social, economic and environmental changes made the Kuril Islands a challenging and risky place to live” (Gjesfjeld et al., 2019: 19). The Kuril Islands are also formed by a highly active volcanic chain that would have exposed inhabitants to relatively frequent earthquakes, tsunamis, eruptions, lava and ash flows. Occupation of the Kuril Islands during the mid-Holocene appears to have been closely linked to social connections with populations on Hokkaido in the south,

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and to a lesser degree, Kamchatka to the north. These maritime based population expansions reflect periods of sustained growth that were periodically interrupted by near abandonment. Cycles of population expansion and contraction appear to have been influenced by multiple factors, including social interaction with host regions, climatic oscillations, fluctuations in biodiversity, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis, to name a few. “These considerations raise the question of whether the settlement of the Kuril Islands by hunter-gatherers was ever possible without social links to Hokkaido and Kamchatka” (Fitzhugh et al., 2016: 190). The Kamchatka Peninsula extends southward 1635 km from present day Chukotka. It is located between 51–61ºs north latitude and is bordered on the west by the frigid Sea of Okhotsk and on the east by the sub-arctic and arctic North Pacific Ocean. During the last glacial period northern Kamchatka would have connected with the western extent of the BLB. The bathymetry of the west coast of Kamchatka is relatively shallow and would have possessed a wide coastal plain during the LGM. In contrast, the east coast of Kamchatka reflects a steep coastal drop and would have had a relatively narrow coastal plain during the same time. This suggests that ancient sites along the east coast of Kamchatka would have a greater likelihood of survival during periods of sea level rise. Recent analysis of geologic cores from Kamchatka have revealed data pertaining to climatic and related environmental events that took place during the LGM. Contrary to previous assumptions it was discovered that summer temperatures were approximately the same as today. The climatic oscillations between seasons also appears to be milder than today (Meyer et al., 2016; Pendea et al., 2017). The resulting floral environment would have been a landscape of birch-larch open forests in the lowlands with taiga and tundra ecozones in higher elevations. As with the Kuril Islands, the Kamchatka Peninsula represents one of the most volcanically active zones in the world (Pendea et al., 2015). The key episodes of volcanic activity were earthquakes, fires, devastating tsunamis, spreading eruptive clouds of ash, changes in relief, destruction and redistribution of biota, forming uninhabitable soils, etc. The population reacted to these phenomena by reducing sites and settlements, moving to riverbanks, lakes and seacoasts: this led to desolation of inhabited places during intervals of 1000–2000 years in length (Ponkratova, 2019: 17), Presently, the earliest evidence of maritime activity we have for the Kamchatka Peninsula is reflected in the habitation of the northeastern Kuril Islands around 6 ka ago (Fitzhugh et al., 2016; Gjesfjeld et al., 2019). Archaeological evidence available for the southern half of Kamchatka reflects extensive occupations along rivers and lakes during the middle and late Holocene, culminating in the historic Intel’man population (Ponomarenko, 2000). The earliest occupation presently recorded on the Kamchatka Peninsula is the Ushki Lake site located at approximately 56º north latitude and 130 km inland from the Pacific coast but approximately 200 km following the course of the river. The oldest layer in this site dates to 13.3 ka ago and has long been viewed as a possible link to migrations into North America and the Clovis Culture (Ponkratova, 2020). However, with the recent discovery of much earlier sites in North America (c. 16 ka ago) an original peopling scenarios linked with the Ushki site is less tenable.

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6 Conclusions This overview of the maritime region of Northeast Asia demonstrates the varied and dynamic forms of both terrestrial and aquatic adaptations over the last 40 ka. Maritime innovations took place along the sub-tropical zones of the Ryukyu Arch and ancient Paleo-Honshu Island during a cooling period following 40 ka ago. The ability of mariners to traverse passages of up to 100 km and colonize island during this time attests to the sophisticated nature of watercraft innovations and aquatic subsistence practices. The settlement of southeastern Siberia, Korea, Sakhalin and Hokkaido appears to also take place by east Asian migrants commencing after 40 ka ago and by East Eurasian populations from central Siberia during the cooling period after 30 ka ago. This movement of people out of Siberia accelerated during the time leading up to the LGM, approximately 24 ka ago. Genetic research now suggests that East Eurasian populations migrated southeastward out of central Siberia during the onset of the LGM and comingled with early East Asian genetic populations. This resulted in the development of the genetic progenitors of ancient Native Americans. The blending of these gene pools took place after the LGM as people migrated further east across the maritime regions of Northeast Asia, or while possibly occupying the BLB. A standstill of population movement of approximately 8 ka appears to have taken place where: Divergence was followed by a period of isolation when today’s Native American genetic diversity developed… Short-chronology BSM (Bering Standstill Model) implies people dispersed to the Bering Land Bridge immediately following the LGM, so no archaeological sites should be expected in eastern Beringia before 20 ka (Graf & Buvit, 2017;2).

Numerous North American researchers have postulated that people travelled by boats from Honshu, across the Sakhalin-Hokkaido-Kuril Islands, coastal Kamchatka and the BLB to reach the New World soon after the LGM, perhaps 18–17 ka ago (Braje et al., 2020; Erlandson & Braje, 2011; Fladmark, 1986; Davis & Madsen, 2020; Dixon, 1999). The absence of data to support this supposition is generally attributed to the inundation of coastal shores by rising sea levels during the terminal Pleistocene and Holocene periods. These models suggest that seaworthy boats were employed to transport multiple reproductively viable family units, with clothing and equipment, through frigid waters for thousands of kilometers across the Kuril Islands and along the east coast of Kamchatka before reaching the south coast of the BLB. Such boats, and associated clothing and equipment, would have needed to be sufficiently insulated and water-tight to prevent exposure to northern sub-arctic and arctic waters. While a reasonable case can be made that the Americas were peopled by maritime-adapted people in the late Pleistocene, the Beringian archaeological records remain essentially void of positive evidence. Instead they reveal a later expansion to the marine zone by terrestrial foragers. These maritime adaptations emerged by 9000 cal B.P. or earlier in the climatically moderate and highly productive Northeast Pacific, and only after 5000 cal B.P. (significantly, only after 3500 cal B.P.) in the seasonally frozen Okhotsk, Bering, and Chukchi seas (Fitzhugh, 2016: 19).

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However, Ben Fitzhugh goes on to hypothesis that an earlier maritime migration may have taken place during the late Pleistocene that is not currently visible in the archaeological record. This appears more possible given recent research that proposes the summer temperatures along the east coast of Kamchatka and the North Pacific maritime regions during the LGM were approximately the same as we experience today. During this time the BLB resulted in increased upwelling of nutrient poor waters and increasing salinity of the North Pacific. (Meyer et al., 2016; Pendea et al., 2017). Further, glacial melt emanating from Beringia would have enhanced the westerly flow of the Alaskan Current, thereby making travel by paddled watercraft more challenging (Davis & Madson, 2020). Our current knowledge of the prehistory of the maritime region of Northeast Asia demonstrates that it served as a crossroad for human migrations that intensified during the last glacial period. Further research into aquatic innovations and subsistence practices during the Holocene also provides significant regional and global comparative data. Presently, the available archaeological data neither fully supports nor rejects either the terrestrial or maritime routes of entry into the New World. Suggestions that traversing the North Pacific into the New World during the last glacial period likely combined a mix of both terrestrial and marine modes of transport (Davis & Madson, 2020) appears most reasonable at the present. Future support or rejection of popular theoretical propositions will undoubtedly materialize as we become better informed by ongoing empirically based research efforts. Acknowledgements I wish to acknowledge the intellectual foundation and generous support provided by Robert Ackerman in the early development of many of my ideas pertaining to Northeast Asian prehistory. Thanks also go to Michael A. Glassow and Michael Jochim at the University of California Santa Barbara and Ray Ashley and the staff at the Maritime Museum of San Diego for their ongoing support and encouragement. My appreciation also goes to Ian Buvit for providing a peer review of this chapter.

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Korea and Japan

Maritime Prehistory of Korea: An Archaeological Review Jangsuk Kim and Chuntaek Seong

Abstract We review the prehistory of maritime activities in Korea and regional interaction across the seas that surround the Korean Peninsula from the final Pleistocene through the 1C (century) BCE (before the current era). While there is little evidence for maritime adaptations during the late Pleistocene the sourcing of obsidian has revealed that some originated from the island of Kyushu. This strongly suggests that interaction with Japan across the Korea Strait existed at that time. Substantial maritime activity began around 6.2 ka BCE (Chulmun Period: 6.2–1.4 ka BCE) along the east/south coast, probably as a response to the 8.2 ka cooling event. Faunal analyses of shell middens indicate that maritime adaptation was associated with a broad-spectrum economy that involved the fishing of deep-sea species. Stylistic analyses of pottery and sourcing of obsidians suggests that interaction with Japan was intense. Remains of boats and a paddle recovered from Bibongri indicates watercraft were used for maritime activity and interaction. As the Korean Peninsula witnessed the transition to an agricultural economy around 1.4 ka BCE (Mumun Period), dependence on sea resources decreased. However, as social complexity grew, elite interactions with China and Japan across the sea became more intense. This is evidenced by the discovery of Liaoning-style bronze goods in Korea and Korean-style bronze daggers in Japan. Archaeological evidence also demonstrates that Mumun farmers from Korea engaged in a large-scale migration to Kyushu and this triggered the development of wet-rice farming in Japan. By 2-1C BCE, exchange networks became systemized and super-regional in organization. Some nearshore islands were used as trade ports and southeast Asian glass beads were exchanged.

The original version of this chapter was revised: following section headings 2.3, 2.4, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1 and 4.2 are have been updated. The correction to this chapter can be available at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1118-7_17 J. Kim (B) Department of Archaeology and Art History, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, South Korea e-mail: [email protected] C. Seong Department of History, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, South Korea e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022, corrected publication 2022 J. Cassidy et al. (eds.), Maritime Prehistory of Northeast Asia, The Archaeology of Asia-Pacific Navigation https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1118-7_2

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Keywords Korean peninsula · Maritime activities · Chulmun period · Mumun period · Proto-Three kingdoms period

1 Introduction The prehistory of Korea is divided into the Paleolithic, Chulmun, and Mumun Periods. Several centuries following the end of prehistory are called the Proto-Three Kingdoms Period during which contemporaneous Chinese historical texts provide some information on the Korean Peninsula. Reliable historical records that were locally written are available from the 4C CE when ancient states developed on the peninsula called the Three Kingdoms Period. The Three Kingdoms Period, based on historical records, provides us with detailed information on various maritime activities and associated seafaring, but for prehistory and the Proto-Three Kingdoms Period, we rely on fragmentary archaeological records. However, as a peninsula with numerous nearshore and offshore islands, prehistoric Korea was an arena in which people accessed and exploited various sea resources and interacted with other areas of East Asia across the sea (Fig. 1). These activities must have critically affected and been closely related with overall socio-economy of the peninsula. Maritime activities associated with Korean prehistory underwent significant changes in nature and intensity over time depending on various factors, including climate, geography, environment, overall subsistence economy, technology, social complexity and relationship with neighboring areas. Since it is not easy to review this long process in a coherent manner, we examine different aspects of maritime activities of each period. We focus on hunter-gatherer adaptations to climatic changes for the Paleolithic, maritime adaptations and sea resource exploitations for the Chulmun, and interaction with China and Japan across the sea for the Mumun and the following Proto-Three Kingdoms Period. Although we do not have much information as to when the Korean Peninsula was first occupied, there are several middle Pleistocene archaeological sites yielding hand axes, choppers and polyhedrals mostly made of locally available quartzite. The Upper Paleolithic (UP, or Late Paleolithic, Seong, 2015) of Korea is recognized by the emergence of blade technology and typical artifact types as tanged points, generally regarded as remains of modern humans. While there are hundreds of UP locations the occupation density, measured by the number of relevant radiocarbon dates, dropped significantly toward the final Pleistocene. Also, almost no archaeological record exists for the post-glacial period. The Chulmun Period of Korea (6.2–1.4 ka BCE) (all dates are calibrated, unless shown as 14 C) is characterized by the use of pottery by hunter–gatherer-fishers, as was the case in the Japanese Jomon. It was a broad-spectrum economy that exploited various wild plant resources, terrestrial animals, and aquatic resources. Although millet cultivation spread from present-day northeast China to the peninsula by 3.5 ka BCE, it likely played a limited role in Chulmun subsistence. The collection of nuts, including chestnut (Castanaea crenata) and acorn (Quercus acutissima), seems to

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Fig. 1 Map of Korea and the distribution of archaeological sites mentioned in the text

have played a major role in providing carbohydrates. Isotope analyses on human bones reveal that Chulmun populations relied heavily on both terrestrial animals and aquatic resources. Shell middens are densely distributed along the coast and a large portion of the faunal assemblage is comprised of aquatic resources. Access to maritime resources was a major part of the subsistence regime. An agricultural economy began at the onset of the Mumun Period, as migrant farmers from northeast China spread into the Korean Peninsula around 1.4 ka BCE. The Mumun Period (1400–100 BCE) is divided into early, middle, and late phases. In the early Mumun (1400–800 BCE), the peninsula witnessed a population boom evidenced by an explosive increase in the number of settlements. During the middle Mumun (800–400 BCE), wet-rice farming spread throughout the southern part of the peninsula, and this resulted in increased agricultural surplus and the onset of social complexity. Interaction with neighboring areas was greatly enhanced, compared to

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the early Mumun. In the late Mumun (400–100 BCE), a variety of bronze goods were used as elite and ritual items. While the use of iron appeared during the late Mumun period around 100 BCE, its use became widespread throughout the peninsula during the Proto-Three Kingdoms Period. Social complexity was enhanced substantially, and interaction with China and Japan intensified. This period ended as the ancient states of the Three Kingdoms developed around the late 3C CE.

2 The Paleolithic 2.1 Upper Paleolithic Adaptations The recent excavation of hundreds of Upper Paleolithic archaeological sites in Korea provides a foundation to discuss the emergence and development of Late Glacial adaptations by mobile hunter-gatherers. The early Upper Paleolithic (EUP) of Korea is quite different from western Eurasia with almost no evidence of Levallois or flat core techniques (Kuhn, 2019). In contrast the emergence of the Upper Paleolithic, or Late Paleolithic as opposed to the Early Paleolithic (Seong & Bae, 2016), is normally characterized by the dispersal of blade technology. The most notable feature of the Korean EUP is the appearance of tanged points (basally constricted) made on blades. It is likely that the constricted base “tanged” design was for the purpose of hafting onto a wooden device, such as a thrusting or throwing spear. These were produced on hitherto disregarded high quality raw materials, such as silicified tuff, shale and hornfels. As such, tanged points, usually fashioned by unifacially retouching the proximal end of blades or flakes, are important diagnostic artifacts for the transition to the UP technology. Similar retouched tools have been discovered on Kyushu Island of Japan. Recent excavations at Hajin-ri, located only 3.5 km west of the well-known UP site of Suyanggae, yielded valuable archaeological remains and information about when and how the EUP of Korea emerged and progressed. Some 10,000 chipped stone artifacts, most made of siliceous shale, were collected from the lowest cultural horizon. According to the excavation report, the lithic assemblage from the lowest horizon includes 72 tanged points and 60 blade cores. Six radiocarbon dates, all from charcoal samples, suggest the cultural layer is 40–42 ka BP. The overlying third cultural horizon, from which many tanged points and blade cores were unearthed, was not much younger. This layer yielded 14 radiocarbon dates that span 35–44 ka BP. Thus, it is reasonable to assume that the UP tradition in Korea was established by 40 ka BP. This is characterized by blade technology using quality raw materials and the appearance of a new tool type, the tanged points. The three phases of early, middle, and late, can be recognized in the lithic assemblage compositions and artifact types (Seong, 2015). While the EUP is marked by tanged points and blades, the middle phase of the UP is characterized by the

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association of tanged points and microliths. The emergence of the microlithic technology goes back to 29–30 ka BP, given the radiocarbon dates from many locations throughout the peninsula including Sinbuk, Hopyeong-dong, Neulgeori, and Yongsujaeul. The middle phase also witnessed the addition of obsidian artifacts to the tanged point-microlithic assemblages. The natural glass was used to make such small and formalized artifacts as microblades, end scrapers and burins. While most obsidian artifacts, especially those from the middle Korean Peninsula, were made of the Mt. Baekdu source, a recent analysis indicates that some from several southern Korean sites were made of obsidian from Kyushu, Japan. As such, mobile hunter-gatherers in the southern Korean Peninsula were successful in bringing in the rare raw material from distance sources and even across the strait from Koshidake, Khyushu (Chang & Kim, 2019; Yi & Jwa, 2015). The end of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in Korea around 19 ka BP marks the sudden fall of occupation densities in the southern Korean Peninsula (2019b; Kim & Seong, 2022; Seong, 2011). The reduced number of lithic assemblages no longer contain tanged points, while microliths persisted. Bifacially worked points are notable albeit in low frequencies. Some bifacial points are as large as 20 cm long, while others are very small and were likely used as dart points and/or mounted on the tips of arrows. Elaborated bifacial points with length of 5–6 cm were uncovered from several post-LGM sites including Seodu-ri and Oji-ri, while smaller bifacial points also emerged as the Pleistocene came to an end. Three small bifacial arrowheads, judging from the size, were recovered from Gigok, Donghae, and were radiocarbon dated to 10,200 ± 60 BP (or 10,153–9662 cal BC, 93.1%). The arrowheads of quartz crystal were made and used by hunter-gatherers along the east coast during the Younger Dryas (Seong, 2019a).

2.2 Environmental and Geographical Change A substantial number of radiocarbon dates from UP archaeological sites belong to the period known as the LGM, 26.5–19 ka BP (Clark et al., 2009; Iizuka and Izuho, 2017) in Korea. Thus, we suspect that Korea was a population refugium during the LGM when cold and dry conditions dominated the northern latitudes where a significant population decline is recognized, such as in northwestern China (Barton et al., 2007, 2011; d’Alpoim Guedes et al., 2016; Pei et al., 2012; Yi et al., 2014: 102– 03), southern Siberia (Goebel, 2002, 2004; Graf, 2009), and Mongolia (Rybin et al., 2016). However, in Korea occupation densities after the LGM dropped abruptly, as tanged points are no longer part of the lithic assemblage (Kim & Seong, 2022). These population fluctuations could be understood in terms of hunter-gatherer adaptions to the changing environment, which culminated with the emergence of the peninsula environment during the terminal Pleistocene (Seong, 2019b) (see Chap. 1, Fig. 1 and Chap. 3, Fig. 1). While there are no continental glaciers on the modern-day Korean Peninsula, it underwent substantial geographical and environmental change during and after the

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Last Glacial. During the LGM the Korean Peninsula was connected on the west to the mainland continent of China with no geographic barrier. Sea level regression exposed a low and flat plane that replaced the Yellow Sea. This was exposed during the Last Glacial and likely contained the large Han, Yellow and Yangtze rivers. There were also marshes and lakes supporting many types of animals and birds that hunter-gatherers made productive use of. The population drop after the LGM roughly corresponds to the period of sudden and rapid marine transgression known as Meltwater Pulse (MWP) 1A, 14.6–14.2 ka ago, when global sea level rose as much as 16–25 m in about 300–500 years (Cronin, 2012: 20; Blanchon, 2011; Lambeck et al., 2014). The sea level was 130 m lower than present during the LGM. This reached the −75 m line at 14 ka BP, as it was around the 40–35 ka BP (Morisaki et al., 2019). As tide-dominated depositional environments are recognized in the Yellow Sea (Yoo et al., 2016), we should also consider the huge tidal amplitude that reaches 9 m today along Korea’s west coast. It is not too much to say that the region suddenly transformed into a peninsula in less than a half a millennium is not enough time for productive coastal environments to develop. The marine transgression was likely a huge challenge for the local hunter-gatherers who lost traditional foraging habitats on the exposed continental shelf (d’Alpoim Guedes et al., 2016). During the LGM the continental shelf of Korea’s south coast was exposed, and Jeju Island was connected to the continent, as a recent study of seismic reflection data was able to detect some 100 km long and wide paleochannels of the Seomjin River 150 m below the modern sea level (Lee et al., 2017). It is estimated that the shoreline was located 60 km southeast of the modern location (Yoo et al., 2014: 163) and the strait between Korea and the Japanese Archipelago was a “channel-like sea way” (Park et al., 2000) some 10–20 km wide during the LGM, while the distance between Busan and Tsushima is about 50 km today.

2.3 Maritime Exchange Networks During the Last Glacial From available evidence UP hunter-gatherers in the Korean Peninsula mainly adapted to inland environments. Nevertheless, we suppose that they made and used watercraft given the human dispersal to the Australian continent 60 ka ago (Veth et al., 2011). The use of watercraft is only inferred from the indirect evidence of exchanged exotic items rather than verified by direct evidence of material remains of boat, which is not available until the early Neolithic, or Chulmun, in Korea. Obsidian variants of Mt. Baekdu (Paekdusan) sources were widely used during the Upper Paleolithic regardless of the site locations in Korea. Nevertheless, based on PIXE analysis of specimens collected from Sinbuk, Jangheung, three were made from Mt. Baekdu sources, while four artifacts originated from Koshidake, Kyushu, and other Japanese sources (Kim, et al. 2007). Also, a recent analysis using LA-ICPMS shows artifacts from southeastern sites of Sinhwa-ri, Ulsan and Igeum-dong, Sacheon, were also made of raw material from the Koshidake source (Chang & Kim,

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2019). The existence of obsidian artifacts from Kyushu sources in collections from these southern locations suggests that LGM hunter-gatherers could have established and maintained far reaching social networks. While it is not likely that they directly contacted groups as far away as 800 km and overseas, they were able to bring in exotic and rare items such as natural glass. Also, it is important to point out that such artifact types as tanged points are also recognized from Japanese UP sites. Tanged points, also known as flake points in Japan, were widely distributed in Kyushu, implying a certain degree of cultural continuity between the two regions. In Japan, tanged points appeared around the AT tephra eruption, 30–29 ka BP, and disappeared after the LGM (Otani, 2019).

2.4 Post-glacial Adaptations and the Gosan-Ri Site Early pottery remains dating to the final Pleistocene come from the Russian Far East, Japanese Archipelago, and southern China, a vast area surrounding the Korean Peninsula. Pottery from Khunmi in the lower Amur River Basin is dated to ca. 16 ka BP (Buvit & Terry, 2011; Kuzmin, 2017), and the Odai Yamamoto I site, Japan, yields pottery dated to 16.5 ka BP (Habu, 2004; Nakamura et al., 2001; see Iizuka, 2018 for the issue of this date). It is also reported that sherds from Xianrendong Cave are even dated to 19 ka BP (Wu et al., 2012). In sharp contrast, pottery dated older than 10 ka BP has not been recovered on the Korean Peninsula. It is not the absence of pottery from archaeological sites dated older than 10 ka BP that is surprising, but an extreme scarcity of archaeological sites dated to post-LGM Pleistocene and early Holocene before 8.2 ka BP on the peninsula (Kim & Seong, 2022). It is unlikely that the scarcity of sites between post-LGM and the early Holocene and the lack of Pleistocene pottery on the Peninsula is the result of the low intensity of investigations. Although we lack very much information on the northern half of the peninsula, South Korea is one of the most intensively investigated areas in the world and most sites have been scientifically dated. Despite a considerable amount of archaeological research, especially during the last three decades, the gap of occupation after the Pleistocene remains outstanding. The void of archaeological records for at least two millennia, after the Younger Dryas, cannot be neglected. Although it is possible that due to sea level rise sites were submerged under the Yellow Sea, which was a vast lowland in much of the Pleistocene, this does not account for the complete lack of occupation and early pottery on the entire Peninsula. Also, while we cannot ignore the possibility of future discoveries, it is time to acknowledge the lack of archaeological evidence and try to explain the reasons. The absence of Pleistocene pottery and scarcity of archaeological sites could possibly come from the pronounced paucity of human occupation, or very low occupational density on the Korean Peninsula between the end of LGM and early Holocene. Only a few terminal Pleistocene sites yielded microliths and bifacially retouched points, as exemplified by Gigok, Wolso and Cheongho-dong along the east coast. We suspect that very low occupational density on the Peninsula and/or

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being located out of the mobility range of pottery producing hunter-gatherers in the Amur River Basin and northeast China would have led to a lack of reliable evidence for pottery use during the final Pleistocene and early Holocene. In other words, the lack of post-LGM pottery in Korea is primarily because we do not have sufficient archaeological remains for this critical period characterized by rapid sea level rise (Kim & Seong, 2022). Post-LGM sea level rise was not a constant process, but it progressed in a stepwise fashion, as Meltwater Pulses indicate. One exception worth paying attention to is the site of Gosan-ri on Jeju Island, approximately 150 km off Korea’s south coast, where the earliest Korean pottery has been discovered. Many seasons of archaeological excavations at the site provided ample material remains for the post-glacial period. Among radiocarbon dates obtained from the sites, one belongs to the final Pleistocene, or Younger Drays (10,180 ± 65 14 C BP(AA-38105); 12,421–11,403 cal BP, 95.4%) (Bae & Kim, 2003). However, the reliability of this date has been questioned by many Korean archaeologists, given that more than a dozen other dates from the layer suggest 9.8–9.6 ka BP (Kim et al., 2020; So, 2017). The potsherds from Gosan-ri show technological affinity with those from the contemporaneous Russian Far East, in that ceramics from both areas share the inclusion of grass to the clay (Kang, 2007). More than 1000 bifacial points of various shapes and sizes were collected. Despite its current location on the coast, there is little evidence suggesting fish or marine mammals were harvested and no faunal remains were recovered. While pottery from this site is certainly the oldest from the present-day Republic of Korea, a lack of sites with pottery during final Pleistocene and early Holocene on the mainland of Korea is still enigmatic. Among other questions, we have to account for how pottery-producing hunter-gatherers reached Jeju island, which was quite distant from the south coast of the peninsula, even though sea level at the time was much lower and the distance to the island was much shorter than now. Also, how they occupied Jeju island without leaving any evidence of occupation on the peninsula should be explained, while we cannot deny the possibility that any occupation evidence might have been submerged on the continental shelf. We do not yet have an answer to the latter question but to the first question the use of watercraft would be the most reasonable answer.

3 Maritime Adaptation in the Chulmun Period Depending on focus, there are various models of chronological division of the Chulmun Period, from a two-phase model to a five phase models. The difference in phase divisions comes from the different perspectives and scales regarding how to understand geographical diversity in pottery styles, on what scale to detect their temporal changes, and even whether to focus primarily on pottery styles or change in subsistence strategies. In this chapter, we adopt the two-phase model (Kim & Yang, 2002).

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3.1 The Emergence of Maritime Adaptation in the Early Chulmun While evidence of pottery use by the Pleistocene hunter-gatherers has been widely found in the Amur River Basin, northeast China and the Japanese Archipelago, on the Korean Peninsula the use of pottery is not present until 6.2 ka BCE when the earliest Chulmun sites appeared along the east and south coasts. The summed probability distributions of radiocarbon dates from South Korea suggest the area had not been regularly occupied by pottery-producing hunter-gatherers during the period between the post-LGM and 6.2 ka BCE (Kim & Seong, 2022). The paucity of sites yielding pottery during these periods is also observed on the coasts of Russian Far East (Popov and Tabarev, 2008; see Kim & Seong, 2022, for the reliability of a radiocarbon date that is much older than 6.2 ka BCE from the Ustinovka 3 site on the coast of Russian Far East). Although it is possible that coastal sites earlier than 6.2 ka BCE might have been submerged due to sea-level rise during the final Pleistocene and early Holocene, we do not think this hypothesis likely (for detailed discussion, see Kim & Seong, 2022). The earliest pottery on the Korean Peninsula is similar in style and manufacturing technique to pottery of the newly established Rudanya and Boisman Cultures of coastal Primorye, Russian Far East (Kim, 2014a, 2014b, 2014c; Lim, 2017, see Chaps. 7 and 9 herein). We (Kim & Seong, 2022) recently suggested that the abrupt and simultaneous appearance of coastal sites on both the Russian Far East and the east/south coasts of Korea resulted from the spread of hunter-gatherers in the Amur River Basin beyond the Sihote-Alin Mountain Range and the Baekdu Range, as an adaptational response to the abrupt global cooling known as the 8.2 k event. Shortly after the appearance of some sites around 6.2 ka BCE, the number of sites and radiocarbon dates explosively increased during the following few millennia in coastal areas of both the Russian Far East and Korean Peninsula, suggesting a population boom. Archaeological investigations indicate that the early Chulmun people had a broadspectrum economy with a lowered degree of mobility and that their subsistence strategies were associated with substantial maritime adaptations (Kim & Seong, 2020). Early Chulmun settlements are located not only on the coast but also nearshore islands. With few exceptions, where shellfish was available, there are shell middens nearby. Tools related to sea resource acquisition and processing, such as fishhooks, harpoons, and net sinkers, comprise a large portion of stone tool assemblages. Isotope analyses on human bones indicates a heavy dependence on aquatic resources (Choy & Richards, 2010; Shin et al., 2013). Based on lipid acid analysis of residues on pottery, Shoda et al. (2017) argued that early Chulmun pottery was used to process aquatic resources and possibly extract oil from marine resources. Analysis of the faunal assemblage from the Dongsam-dong shell middens, Busan has revealed various remains of terrestrial animals, birds, shellfish, mollusks and sea mammals (Kaneko & Oh, 2002). Fish bones included both inshore and deep-sea species.

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The most sensational discovery was whale (Cetaces family) bones. Whale bones were also identified from many other shell middens. To date, nine shell middens have yielded bones of various whale species including northern right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) and humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) (Ha, 2012). Findings of whale bones has evoked a debate regarding whether this constitutes evidence of whaling through the use of watercrafts during the early Chulmun. Some archaeologists (Kim, 2013, 2015; Kim, 1980) are skeptical about whaling in the early Chulmun, arguing that whales were so enormous that prehistoric people would have been unable to handle and hunt them. Also, it is difficult to imagine that shipbuilding and seafaring technologies during Chulmun were advanced enough to hunt whales. Whale remains from shell middens could have been opportunistically scavenged from beached dead whales or those that swam accidentally to the shores. Other archaeologists (Ha, 2012; Kang, 2020) suggest that the whale bones are evidence for whaling during the Chulmun Period. This argument is based on the depiction of various kinds of whales (Fig. 2) and scenes of whale hunting using canoes (Fig. 3) on the rock-carvings at Bangudae, Ulsan, on the southeast coast. As Fig. 3 shows, rockcarving of Bangudae clearly depict whale hunting by groups of people in canoes. These contrasting arguments turn on the question of whether the rock art and scenes of whaling could be dated as early as the early Chulmun. Those that are skeptical about whaling during the Chulmun argue that it is unreasonable to assume that the scenes were etched in the early Chulmun, during which time no metal tools were used and thus the whales would have been engraved in the later periods (Kim, 2013, 2015; Kim, 1980). In contrast, supporters of Chulmun whaling point out that various whale species etched on the petroglyph are widely recovered from early Chulmun shell middens nearby, while whale bones have not been reliably recovered from sites dated to the later Mumun and Three-Kingdoms Period (Ha, 2012; Kang, 2020; Lee, 2004). The debate still continues, primarily because of inherent difficulties in scientific dating of petroglyphs and the superimposed palimpsests of etchings. Meanwhile, early Chulmun interactions with the Japanese archipelago across the East Sea of Korea were likely intense, evidenced by the growing amount of obsidian imported from western Kyushu. Provenance studies of obsidian materials or artifacts were conducted at six of 21 sites, and all were identified as having originated from Kyushu (Ha, 2006b). Sanukite, a variety of andesite sourced only in western Japan was also widely identified in Chulmun sites (Choi, 2011). Shell bracelets that are common in southern Korea are also found in western Kyushu. Ha’s analysis shows that shell bracelets found in both areas were produced by using the same technology (Ha, 2006a). Since the shell bracelets found in Korea well outnumber those from Kyushu, he concludes, those found in Kyushu are likely to have been imports from Korea. From these multiple lines of evidence, though indirect, it might be reasonably assumed that watercraft were actively used for maritime adaptation (regardless of the issue of whaling) and long-distance exchange with the Japanese archipelago. However, an absence of direct evidence has made archaeologists hesitant to infer the use of watercrafts by Chulmun hunter-gatherers. In 2004, remains of a canoe

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Fig. 2 Various whale species depicted on the Bangudae petroglyphs (reconstructed by Ha-Woo Rhee)

Fig. 3 Whaling scenes carved on the Bangudae petroglyphs (modified from Lee, 2004)

dating to 6800 ± 50 (SNU06-306) (5786–5622 BCE, 95.4%) and 6710 ± 50 (Beta219086) (5720–5535 BCE, 95.4%; IntCal 20) 14 C BP were recovered from Bibongri, Changnyeong (Gimhae National Museum of Korea, 2008). The canoe was hollowed out of a pine log and its cross section was U-shaped (Fig. 4). While the remaining size

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Fig. 4 A canoe from the Bibong-ri, Changnyeong

is 310 cm in length and 62 cm in width, the excavation team infers that its original length would have been up to 4 m. In 2008 and 2010, another canoe and a paddle (Fig. 5) were unearthed from the same site. A paddle dated to the early Chulmun was also unearthed from the Jukbyeon site, Uljin, on the east coast (Samhan Institute of Cultural Properties, 2012). These findings indicate that watercraft were certainly used for maritime adaptations, and interaction, and may further suggest that the controversial scenes of the Bangudae petroglyphs really depict whaling in the early Chulmun. By 3.5 ka BCE some large settlements appeared at some locales and the distribution of settlements now expanded to the west coast and areas inland (Ahn et al., 2015; Kim et al., 2015). These large settlements are not only distributed on areas inland, but they also appeared on some large nearshore islands that had reliable water and terrestrial resources, implying growing diversification of subsistence strategy and land-use. For example, 58 pit houses mostly dated to early 4th millennium BCE were found in the Unseo-dong II settlement on Yeongjong Island, in the Yellow Sea, roughly 5 km distant from the west coast (Central Institute of Cultural Heritage, 2010). No doubt, the large number of houses in these settlements might have resulted from palimpsests of repeated temporary occupations by multiple bands or seasonal aggregations (Kim et al., 2015), but it is apparent that the size of settlements is still large compared to the previous and the following periods.

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Fig. 5 A paddle from the Bibongri, Changnyeong

3.2 Aquatic Resource Exploitation in the Late Chulmun Around 3.2–3 ka BCE, the number of settlements began to decrease. In contrast, the number of open-air camps greatly increased, suggesting an increase in mobility during this period (Ahn et al., 2015; Kim, 2006, 2010; Kim & Yang, 2002). Shell middens were now widely distributed on the west coast and on small offshore/nearshore islands. On the basis of the relative degree of substantial occupation, Late Chulmun sites can be divided clearly into two categories—residential bases and logistical activity stations (Kim, 2006, 2010). Residential bases are usually distributed along the major and secondary river basins and coasts. These sites, though smaller in size than previous period, contain pit houses and storage facilities, and yield evidence for both ceramic and stone tool production. All of this indicates a relatively substantial degree of residential occupation with domestic and everyday activities, compared to contemporaneous logistical activity stations. From these sites chestnuts (Castanaea crenata), acorns (Quercus acutissima), walnuts (Juglans sinensis), millet (Echinochloa crus-galli, Panicum miliaceum, or Andropogon sorghum) remains and various other plants and freshwater resources have been recovered from dwellings and storage pits (Ahn et al., 2015). In contrast, logistical activity stations, many of which are shell middens on small offshore/nearshore islands in the Yellow Sea, usually have only open-air hearths located on flat ground or shell deposits, with no evidence of substantial occupation. It is noteworthy that shell middens are found even on islands that lack fresh

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water sources. At the Gado Shell midden, Gunsan, dozens of superimposed openair camps were found on and around shell deposits (Chungnam National University Museum, 2001). While the ceramic styles and radiocarbon dates indicate that these shell middens and associated camps formed repeatedly for some millennia. Despite the long period of time over which this shell midden accumulated, it lacks substantial dwellings and storage pits, and can be interpreted as a series of short-term, seasonally restricted occupation episodes (Kim, 2006, 2010). Excavations and radiocarbon dates of the Oido Shell midden, Shiheung, also show that the shell midden was deposited over a long period of time, but only open-air hearths were found with no evidence for long-term occupation (Kim, 2010). Most of the shell middens excavated so far reveal similar patterns of repeated temporary occupation and lack evidence for year-round habitation. The lack of any evidence for substantial dwellings and pottery production coupled with an absence of a fresh water supply indicates that the shell middens on offshore islands were temporarily but regularly accessed for sea resource collection by task groups from residential bases (Kim, 2006, 2010; Kim & Yang, 2002). The clear archaeological division of late Chulmun sites between residential bases and limited activity stations conforms well to expectations for the collection of marine resources through a logistical mobility pattern. Some offshore islands on which late Chulmun shell middens are located are 5–10 km distance from the coast. This strongly suggests the use of watercraft for logistical access to the islands. The most prominent difference in shell middens between early Chulmun on the east/south coasts and late Chulmun on the west coasts of the peninsula was that early Chulmun shell middens were located adjacent to or near settlements while late Chulmun shell middens were located far from the settlements, even on offshore islands where freshwater supply was often absent and where evidence is lacking for substantial occupation. In terms of faunal composition, early shell middens include various marine and terrestrial species whereas late shell middens consist mainly of marine shells, especially oysters (for oyster collection strategies of late Chulmun, see Kim, 2010). This difference indicates that early Chulmun shell middens were a kind of garbage dumps, a by-product of a relatively sedentary way of life based on residential mobility, while late shell middens were resource acquisition patches that were only logistically and temporarily accessed. These lines of evidence suggest that major strategy to access sea resources changed over time from residential mobility to logistical mobility.

4 Regional Interaction in the Mumun and Proto-Three Kingdoms Periods As the Korean Peninsula witnessed a transition from a hunter-gatherer economy to an agricultural economy around 15C BCE (the Mumun Period; 1400–100 BCE), the number and size of settlements dramatically increased, suggesting a population boom on the Peninsula (Kim, 2018; Oh et al., 2017). The exploitation of sea resources,

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however, is likely to have substantially declined for several centuries. Shell middens on offshore islands had been regularly accessed in the late Chulmun but without exception lack early Mumun layers, indicating the cessation of logistical access to marine resources (Kim, 2003). The reliance on marine resources would have decreased substantially as people became heavily dependent on farming. However, this does not mean that they excluded protein from the diet. In the early Mumun, evidence of soybean (Glycine max) cultivation and terrestrial hunting rather increased in quantity, suggesting changes in the way of accessing and obtaining protein sources. In the Mumun Period and the following Proto-Three Kingdoms Period, maritime activities were mostly related with long-distance exchange. Although some shell midden layers and evidence of sea resource acquisition are still found for these periods, this evidence does not seem to be consistent with the overall subsistence economy that we define as a maritime adaptation. Rather, it is likely to have been associated with seasonal activities for supplementary resources or commercial/specialized activities, at best.

4.1 The Mumun Period During the early Mumun (1400–800 BCE) interaction with neighboring areas across the sea does not seem to have been intense. However, as social complexity grew in the middle Mumun Period (800–400 BCE), interactions across the Yellow Sea with present-day northeast China increased. Interaction between the two regions were likely to have been between networks among elites (Grier & Kim, 2012; Kim, 2014a). In particular, bronze goods used as prestige items and elite burial goods were major objects of trade with northeast China, such as Liaoning style bronze daggers (also called the Bipa-shaped daggers) and associated bronze goods. These are found in abundance on the Peninsula. Because bronze production sites dated to the middle Mumun have not been discovered in Korea, it is difficult to determine whether the bronze goods were imported or locally produced by using manufacturing techniques transmitted from northeast China. Nevertheless, stylistic similarity in bronze goods indicate there was interaction between the two areas (Kim, 2014a). The number of sites and radiocarbon dates indicate that southern Korea witnessed a drastic decline in the number of settlements after 2500 14 C BP. The reason for the decline is not yet clear. Especially, the plateau on the calibration curve between 800 and 400 BCE (i.e., so-called the Hallstatt Plateau) make the decline more difficult to understand, providing little information about its timing and scale. It is noteworthy that, simultaneously with the decrease in the number of settlements, the southern Korean style pottery, stone tools and houses (called the Songgukri style material culture), and wet-rice farming all became widespread in Kyushu, Japan (Oh, 2018, Kim & Park, 2020; Yoo, 2010). East Asian archaeologists (Kataoka, 1999; Lee, 2000; Yoo, 2010) consider the appearance of wet farming in the Japanese Yayoi Period resulted from a large-scale migration of farmers from southern Korea to Japan, across the Korean Straight between southern Korea and Kyushu, Japan. At

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present, however, the movement is simply assumed rather than proved—we do not yet have answer to whether the appearance of Korean style material culture in Japan really resulted from migration and, if so, what factors caused the movement. Around 400–300 BCE, as the late Mumun began, the diversity and amount of bronze goods abruptly increased. The so-called Slender dagger, various mirrors, bells and ritual items appeared and were buried in new types of elite burials. East Asian archaeologists have traditionally suggested that the appearance of the slender daggers and associated bronze goods on the Korean Peninsula resulted from large scale migration from Liaoning where the earliest styles of slender daggers and associated goods had developed (e.g., Jo, 2005). This notion is based on an application of historical records that describes Chinese Yan State’s military attack on Gojoseon, a polity located in the Liaoning area, around 300 BCE and the subsequent Gojoseon’s loss of territory. Thus, it has been considered that the attack resulted in the movement of large-scale refugees to southern Korea (Jo, 2005). However, recent studies question whether the attack of Yan documented in historical texts was the actual cause of the appearance of new bronze goods. Radiocarbon dates suggest the influx of people from Liaoning might well predate the timing of the Yan’s attack (Lee, 2010). The timing and cause of the appearance of slender daggers, and associated items, in Korea are now under debate and need further scrutiny. East Asian archaeologists tend to agree that the dense distribution of early slender daggers is mostly at locales close to the west coast of southwestern Korea, rather than northern Korea adjacent to northeast China. This may indicate that the influx came through the Yellow Sea (Jo, 2005). The latest types of slender daggers and associated bronze goods are also widely distributed.

4.2 The Proto-Three Kingdoms Period Around 2C BCE (or earlier), iron spread to Korea, and numerous local polities appeared on the Peninsula. Based on the Shiji, a series of Chinese historical texts written by Sima Qian in the late 2C and early 1C BCE, it has traditionally been considered that as the commanderies of the Chinese Han Dynasty were set up in 108 BCE in some localities in present-day northeast China and northern part of the Korean Peninsula, the political and economic landscapes of East Asia were substantially reorganized. In particular, focus has been concentrated on Lelang, a commandery said to have been located in present day Pyongyang, North Korea. Although the appearance of iron in Korea predates the establishment of Lelang, it has been thought that Lelang significantly facilitated the spread of iron to the Korean Peninsula (Kim, 1986; Lee, 1982) and monopolized the trade network between Korea and neighboring areas. Yet, the socioeconomic impact and the degree of control of Lelang are now under heated debate. While the Shiji claims that Lelang gained complete political and economic control over the entire peninsula, recent archaeological investigations have revealed that Lelang’s impact on the indigenous material culture and control over regional exchange networks were not as substantial as the Shiji suggests. Although

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some Lelang-style items have been discovered in central and southern Korea, a large quantity of non-Lelang style foreign goods are also found (Chung, 2012; Kim, 2014b; Heo, 2020). Imports from southern China and other areas, many of which are absent in north China and the territory of Lelang, also significantly increased in diversity and amount. Heo’s recent provenance study on glass beads widely distributed in southwestern Korea reveals that the beads were imported directly from Southeast Asia (Heo, 2020). This indicates that local polities of central and southern Korea autonomously participated in regional exchange networks across the Yellow Sea. Some offshore island and coastal locations appear to have played a role as trade ports. Various Chinese and Japanese items have been recovered from some nearshore islands off of the west and south coasts (e.g., the Unyangdong and Unbukdong sites on the west coast and the Neukdo site on the south coast). The amount and diversity of Chinese and Japanese goods from these island sites are clearly distinct from other sites on the mainland. House clusters in which either Chinese or Japanese items were exclusively distributed have been found in the Neukdo site. Some researchers have suggested that these house clusters were residential areas for foreign traders (Lee, 2015). While some prestige/elite items have been found at this site, non-elite commodities imported from China and Japan comprise a much larger portion of the assemblage. These lines of evidence indicate that exchange networks were systematically established by commercial merchants, on the one hand, and by the first century BCE wide exchange networks between China, Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia across the Yellow Sea and Eastern Sea of Korea on the other. These trade networks over the sea became much more entrenched and formalized as the ancient states developed in the following Three Kingdoms Period.

5 Conclusion While archaeology has long been concerned with when and how prehistoric people moved and spread to areas separated by the sea, how they accessed and exploited marine resources, and how they interacted with overseas areas, these are extremely challenging issues. Direct answers cannot be achieved without discoveries pertaining to transportation, i.e., watercrafts. Thus, we must usually rely on indirect and circumstantial lines of evidence. More often than not, this difficulty has confined archaeologists to a long-lasting epistemological quandary of an absence of evidence versus evidence of an absence. Especially, significant sea level changes during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene have made this issue more difficult to address. These are critical periods in our understanding of migration and reorganization of populations between various areas of East Asia and North America, and related post-glacial changes in adaptations. Depending on the pace, degree, and exact timing of sea-level changes, our assumptions and inferences inevitably vary. Despite remarkable advances in geology, oceanography, sedimentology, climatology and dating techniques during the last several decades, many aspects related with sea level changes and their impacts on

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human behaviors remain unresolved. Nevertheless, archaeology continues to wrestle with these issues and we agree with the editors of this volume that exploring the problem of when and how prehistoric people adopted the use of watercraft would be an effective way to seek key clues. In reviewing maritime activities of Korean prehistory, we have focused on different aspects of maritime activities that changed according to periods with different technologies, subsistence strategies, social complexity, and relationships with neighboring areas. For the Paleolithic, especially the Last Glacial, we discussed the relationship between climatic/sea level changes and hunter-gatherer adaptations. We argue that the use of obsidians originating from the Japanese archipelago could only have been accomplished through long distance interaction across the sea. For the Chulmun Period, we have direct evidence of watercraft, and hunter-gatherer-fishers exploited marine resources that could only be accessed by using boats. As the Korean Peninsula witnessed the transition to an agricultural economy and the development of complex societies, the scale and nature of overseas trade networks changed over time with greater focus on trade in bronze and then iron tools, glass beads and other elite and non-elite goods. Our discussion, based only on the archaeological record from the southern half of the Korean Peninsula, is inevitably limited. While South Korea is one of the most intensely investigated countries in the entire Asian area, archaeology of the northern half of the peninsula remains largely unknown. This key area links northeast China and the Russian Far East to the peninsula. We hope that we can shed light on maritime activities of the entire peninsula in the near future. Acknowledgements We are grateful to Jim Cassidy and Ben Fitzhugh for the opportunity to contribute this chapter to the volume and invaluable comments. We also thank Donghee Chong for his effort in making Figs. 1 and 3, and Ha-woo Rhee and Gimhae National Museum of Korea for kindly providing pictures for Figs. 2, 4 and 5. Kim’s work was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF2019S1A5A2A03043510).

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Over the Water, Into and Out of the Japanese Archipelago, During the Pleistocene: Humans, Obsidian, and Lithic Techniques Fumiko Ikawa-Smith

Abstract Humans arrived in the Japanese Archipelago by at least 38 Ka (thousand years) ago. Between 40 and 30 Ka ago when sea levels were lowered by 80 m the three islands of Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu combined to form the Paleo-Honshu Island. The islands of Hokkaido and Sakhalin were connected to Russia as the PaleoSakhalin-Hokkaido Peninsula. The straits of Korea and Tsugaru remained open even during the LGM. Anatomically modern humans occupied Okinawa and Ishigaki islands by 36.5 and 27 Ka ago, respectively. Another group accessed Paleo-Honshu by crossing the 40 km wide Korea Strait. Their assemblages contained edge ground axes that could have felled trees and hollowed out the trunks to form dug-out canoes. The assemblages included backed blades made on high-quality lithic materials, such as obsidian. Obsidian from Kozu Island was utilized on Paleo-Honshu as early as 38 Ka ago. This island was separated by 30–40 km of water even during the LGM. Also, obsidian from Koshidake on Kyushu has been found in Paleolithic sites on southern Korea. Microblades produced on wedge-shaped cores appear to have traversed the Paleo-Sakhalin-Hokkaido-Peninsula and then crossed the Tsugaru Strait to reach western Honshu by the end of the Pleistocene. By the late Pleistocene people in Northeast Asia possessed the knowledge and the equipment to traverse stretches of water. However, the earliest direct evidence of canoes does not appear until about 5.5 Ka ago in the Torihama shell midden during the Early Jomon.

1 Introduction During the periods of glacial expansion, the three major islands of the Japanese Archipelago, located to the south of the Paleo-Sakhalin-Hokkaido (Paleo-SH) Peninsula, discussed in Chapter Synthetic Perspective on Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherer Adaptations and Landscape Change in Northern Japan herein (Fukuda et al., n.d.), F. Ikawa-Smith (B) Department of Anthropology, McGill University, 855 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal H3A 2T7, Canada e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 J. Cassidy et al. (eds.), Maritime Prehistory of Northeast Asia, The Archaeology of Asia-Pacific Navigation https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1118-7_3

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combined to form what we call here the Paleo-Honshu Island (Fig. 1). The Tsugaru Strait between the southern end of the Paleo-SH Peninsula and the northern tip of the Paleo-Honshu Island is thought to have remained open even during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), as did the Korea Strait between Korea and Paleo-Honshu. Further to the south were islands of the Ryukyu chain, which would have been made of a smaller number of larger islands than today. The Ryukyu chain is separated from the East China continental shelf by the deep Okinawa Trough, with the current depth of 2000 m. Nor was it connected to mainland Asia through Taiwan (Takamiya et al., 2019). This means that humans who arrived in the Japanese Archipelago, including

Fig. 1 Pacific margin of Northeast Asia during the Last Glacial Maximum, with the extent of Aira-Tanzawa Tephra

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the islands of the Ryukyu Chain, during the Late Pleistocene must have had seafaring capability as well as the ability to survive in the maritime/coastal environments. While actual evidence of seafaring, in the form of vessels and oars, are not apparent until Early Jomon times, about 5.5 Ka ago (all radiocarbon dates are calibrated, unless designated as uncalibrated by 14 C), indirect evidence of aquatic adaption abound in the archaeological evidence from the Archipelago, as I have often pointed out (Ikawa-Smith, 1986:204, 2004:297, 2009). As the primary data sources remain mostly inaccessible to those who do not read Japanese, I take this opportunity to expand on and update my previous statements regarding three groups of indicators: (1) Skeletal remains of anatomically modern humans; (2) Obsidian procurement from an off-shore source during the Late Pleistocene; and (3) Arrivals of new lithic technologies, such as edge-ground axes, blade technique, microblade technology, in Paleo-Honshu, across the Korea and Tsugaru Straits.

2 Skeletal Remains of Palaeolithic Hominids Even after the near collapse of the Early and Middle Palaeolithic records of the Archipelago following the disclosure in 2000 of the fraudulent activities by Shin’ichi Fujimura (Ikawa-Smith, 2016, 2017:203–5), the Palaeolithic period is represented by over 14,500 assemblages at some 5000 sites. Very few of these assemblages, however, contain human skeletal remains, due to the acidic soil of the volcanic islands. The rare examples come from limestone caves and fissures, where conditions are favorable for preservation of organic materials. However, they are unfavorable for establishing stratigraphic contexts for the human fossils in relation to index fossils of the Pleistocene, as well as to radiocarbon samples. For this reason, very few have been securely dated, but the situation is changing as bones themselves are being dated by the radiocarbon method, as discussed below. Rigorous re-examination of the evidence in recent years, of the specimens themselves, their stratigraphic contexts, and the application of new methods of dating, resulted in making the short list of “Paleolithic hominid” sites even shorter, as I summarized the current state of the information elsewhere (Ikawa-Smith, 2017:197– 200). For example, some of the specimens recovered from such locations as Ushikawa Quarry in Toyohashi (Suzuki, 1960) and limestone caves in Kuzuu Township (Naora, 1952a, 1952b) are now thought to have belonged to nonhuman animals (Baba, 2006), while some others, such as those from Akashi, Mikkabi, and Hijiritake are indeed anatomically modern humans, but of later ages. On the other hand, newly discovered sites are bringing out the kinds of information that fills the gap in our knowledge about the story of peopling of the Japanese archipelago. Currently, Palaeolithic hominid remains are known from eleven sites in the Japanese Archipelago (Fig. 2). All, except the collection from Hamakita are located on islands of the Ryukyu chain (Yamasaki, 2018:18). From Hamakita, another limestone quarry site near Mikkabi in Shizuoka Prefecture in central Honshu, about a dozen pieces of human skeletal remains were collected by school children and

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Fig. 2 Palaeolithic and paleoanthropological sites mentioned in the text (in alphabetical order): 1. Akashi; 2. Araya; 3. Hamakita; 4. Hijiritake; 5. Ide-Maruyama; 6. Kanedori. 7.Kashiwadai; 8. Kosaka-yama; 9. Kuzuu; 10. Mikkabi; 11. Minatogawa; 12. Musashidai. 13.Nodake; 14. Onbara; 15. Pinza-Abu; 16. Sakitari; 17. Shiraho-Saonetabaru; 18. Shirataki. 19.Sunabara; 20. Tsukimino; 21. Ushikawa; 22. Yamashitacho; 23. Yadegawa; 24. Yasumiba

workers in the early 1960s. Specimens were separated into two groups: a tibia fragment that referred to an older bio-stratigraphic horizon called Felis Bed, and the remainder referring to a younger horizon of the Late Pleistocene (Suzuki, 1966). The age difference was confirmed by recent re-application of fluorine tests by Kondo and Matsu’ura (2005), who also succeeded in obtaining measurable amounts of collagen from three of the human bone fragments of the younger group that yielded dates in

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the order of 14,000 14 C BP, or about 17 Ka BP (all radiocarbon dates are calibrated, unless designated as 14 C). Even though a sufficient amount of datable material could not be extracted from the tibia fragment representing the “Hamakita Lower Man,” 17,910 ± 70 14 C BP (Beta-94983), or about 21 Ka BP, the age for a Panthera bone from the Felis Bed could apply to the tibia, as the two bones contained comparable levels of fluorine (Kondo & Matsu’ura, 2005). It should be noted here that the Hamakita Upper Layer remains show morphological characteristics similar to Jomon-age skeletons, while the Hamakita Lower Layer specimen does not (Suzuki, 1966), suggesting arrivals of hominids from at least two different sources during the Pleistocene. We will return to this question again towards the end of this section. Among the specimens from the Ryukyus, the oldest chronometric date is associated with the juvenile femur and tibia from Yamashitacho Cave No. 1, in Naha City on Okinawa Island. The radiocarbon date of about 36 Ka. BP (32,100 ± 1000 14 C BP [Tk-78]), obtained for a piece of charcoal from a slightly higher horizon in the same deposit in which the human remains were believed to have been contained, is generally accepted as the age of the Yamashitacho remains (Kaifu & Fujita, 2012:5). While some authors expressed a sense of unease about the nature of the “association” with the dated sample and the human remains (e.g. Kondo & Matsu’ura, 2007:46–7), recent investigations at the Sakitari Cave in Nanjo City on the west side of the same Okinawa Island (Fijita et al., 2016) indicate that human presence on the island started no later than 30–35 Ka BP, based on multiple radiocarbon dates. Sakitari Cave is one of the many limestone cave systems along the Yuhi River that flows southeast to the Pacific Ocean. It is a large cave, with the surface area of about 620 m2 and the average ceiling height of 7 m. Presently located at 40 m above sea level and 2 km from the coast, the distance from the coast would have been about 5 km during the LGM. The investigation that started in 2009 revealed, below the topsoil and the flowstone layers, three definable Pleistocene units, termed Layer I, Layer II and Layer III in the descending stratigraphic order. Forty-two AMS radiocarbon dates on woody charcoal, seashell, snail and crab samples, that are highly consistent with the stratigraphic provenance of the samples, suggest the dates as follows: Layer I about 11–17 Ka BP; Layer II 20–23 Ka BP; and Layer III 23.5–36.5 Ka BP (Fujita et al., 2016, Figs. 3 and 4). Small amounts of human remains were recovered from all three Layers: a deciduous canine and carpal bone in Layer I, a lower molar and tarsal bone in Layer II, and fragments of a rib and vertebral disc of an infant in Layer III. The presence of skeletal remains in multiple layers suggests either (a) their repeated arrivals over the open sea in some kinds of watercraft, or (b) their successful adaptation to the island habitat enabling their continued occupation through the Late Pleistocene into the Early Holocene. The Sakitari site is unique among the Palaeolithic sites in the Japanese Archipelago for the presence of hominin remains in association with artifacts and food remains. Layer III, the lowest level for which the information is available, contained, below the infant skeleton, charred deer bone, remains of freshwater crab, freshwater fish, and land snails, together with charcoal fragments dated to 36.5 Ka BP. By the time of Layers II and I, the deer must have become extinct, as

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it was replaced by wild boar as a hunted mammal, while freshwater crabs and snails continued to be consumed. As to the tools used in procurement and processing of these resources, stone tools are extremely rare. Only three flake tools made of quartz have been recovered. As quartz is not available in the vicinity of the Cave, the lithic material must have been brought in from the central part of Okinawa Island 30 km away (Takamiya et al., 2019). The bulk of the tool kit is made of utensils made of seashells, which again must have been brought in from some distance, since the coastline, which is now 2 km away, would have been much further away during the period of lowered sea level. Of particular interest among the tools is the world’s oldest fishhook, found in situ from a layer dated to 23 Ka BP. This and another unfinished piece are made of Trochus shells from the Ocean, to be used in catching freshwater fishes from the near-by streams. While the behavioural characteristics of the Sakitari Cave inhabitants are well demonstrated by the artifacts, charcoal and food residue, the skeletal materials are too fragmentary to provide much information about their physical characteristics. For this we turn to a neighbouring site of Minatogawa, located about 1 km south of the Sakitari Cave. The hominid remains recovered from the Minatogawa fissure site from 1969 to1974 are exceptional for the completeness of some of the specimens (Suzuki & Hanihara, 1982). It includes four partial skeletons recovered during the excavations in 1970 and 1971, and an additional nine postcranial bone fragments from at least three individuals that had been collected from a somewhat higher horizon of the fissure in 1968. The former has been known as the “Minatogawa Man” series (MMS) in the literature, and the latter as the “Upper Minatogawa” series (UMS). Radiocarbon dates of 18,250 ± 650 (TK-99) and 16,600 ± 300 (TK-142) 14 C BP on charcoal from the clay layer that contained the skeletal remains have been attributed to the MMS specimens, but Matsu’ura and Kondo (2011:179) note that the exact relation of the charcoal samples to human remains is uncertain. According to the multielement analyses of human and faunal bones from the site conducted by the same authors, the MMS and UMS specimens overlap in age, leading to a recommendation that the two series should not be treated as chronologically separate groups. It appears that the Minatogawa series consists of specimens of different time periods, from over 20 to about 12 Ka BP. Morphologically, the original investigators found the skulls to be similar to the Liujiang cranium of South China (Suzuki, 1982). However, connections to more southern regions have been suggested by various authors in recent years, ranging from Wajak in Indonesia, Niah Cave in Borneo, and Keilor in Australia, (summarized by Kaifu & Fujita, 2012: 7). It has also been pointed out that the limb fragments from the upper levels of the Minatagawa fissure show features reminiscent of Jomon limb bones, while those from the lower levels do not (Baba, 2006). We have seen a similar observation regarding the Hamakita specimens on the Paleo-Honshu Island. To the south of the Minatogawa fissures on Okinawa Island are two more sites, from which hominid remains showing affinity to the lower-level specimens from the Minatogawa fissure have been reported: the Pinza-abu Cave on Miyako Island and Shiraho Saonetabaru Cave on Ishigaki Island (Fig. 2, Table 1). The latter is very close

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Table 1 Chronological positions of some of the Palaeolithic assemblages and hominid fossils mentioned in the text

to Taiwan which was attached to the Asian mainland during the period of lowered sea levels. The hominid collection from the Pinza-abu Cave, consisting of cranial and post-cranial fragments and three teeth, are said to resemble the remains from the older part of the Minatogawa fissure (Kaifu & Fujita, 2012:9). Radiocarbon dates of 26,800 ± 1300 (Tk-605) and 25,800 ± 900 (Tk-535) 14 C BP on charcoal recovered from the same layer were applied to the hominid remains, although some authors felt uneasy about the nature of the association (Kondo & Matsu’ura, 2007:46–7). In the case of the Shiraho Saonetabaru Cave, however, radiocarbon dates of 23,593 ± 122 14 C BP (MTC-14190) for the metatarsal and 21,020 ± 70 14 C BP (PLD19661) for the fibula, both of which come out to be older than 25 Ka BP when calibrated, were taken on the collagen extracted from the human bones themselves (Yoneda et al., 2013). Mitochondria DNA analysis of the dated samples by Shinoda and Adachi (2013) points to the general area of South China and Southeast Asia, the same direction as a possible home of the Minatogawa hominids, as the homeland of the Paleolithic inhabitants of the Shiraho Saonetabaru Cave. About 400 additional

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pieces of human bones were recovered during the excavation in 2010 from the cave, which appears to have been used as a burial ground for the area inhabitants from the Late Pleistocene to historic times. To summarize, starting about 37 Ka years ago, there is clear evidence of human presence, in the form of actual fossils, in the Ryukyu Island chain at the southern end of the Japanese Archipelago. Available morphological and DNA evidence suggest their origin in the general area of South China, Southeast Asia, and AustraloMelanesian region. As there was no land connection to these areas even during the period of lowered sea levels, they must have had seaworthy watercrafts. Multilevel occurrence of hominid remains at several sites in the Ryukyu chain suggest repeated arrivals over the open sea, and/or successful long-term occupation of the small islands with limited resources. Artifacts, wood charcoal, and food residues recovered from the Sakitari Cave indicate the manner of adaptation to the aquatic environment. Evidence at such sites as Minatogawa on Okinawa Island and Hamakita on the Paleo-Honshu indicates later arrivals from different source(s) that contributed to the make-up of the later inhabitants of those areas. In any event, an arrival by about 40 Ka ago of a population with a southern affiliation followed by new arrival(s) from other source(s) sometime before 20 Ka ago would be consistent with the artifactual evidence, as will be discussed below.

3 Obsidian Procurement The case of Kozu Island obsidian being found in Palaeolithic sites on Honshu Island (Fig. 2) is now often cited in international literature (e.g., Braje et al., 2020:4). These islands were separated from each other by 30–40 km of open sea even in the LGM. This indirect but compelling evidence for the use of seafaring watercrafts by Palaeolithic hominins, surprising at the time, has since been confirmed by multiple sources. This line of research was initiated by Masao Suzuki in his doctoral dissertation presented to the University of Tokyo in 1973 (Masao Suzuki, 1973, 1974). The methodology he used in his work over 50 years ago was to determine the eruption ages of the volcanic rock from eight known sources of obsidian around the Kanto Plain by means of fission-track dating and measurements of uranium contents and match them with the ages of some 2000 archaeological specimens from 130 sites. One of the oldest assemblages analyzed at the time was from the Level BB2L (the Lower part of the buried humus layer 2) of the Tsukimino site in Kanagawa Prefecture (Fig. 2), dated by Fission-track and Obsidian-hydration methods to be 20,700 ± 250 BP. Of the 23 obsidian flakes and chips obtained from that level, 18 specimens were judged to have come from the source in the mountainous region of central Honshu, but the remaining 5 (22%) were thought to have been derived from Kozu Island. The obsidian from Kozu Island continued to be present, albeit in small numbers, in later phases at the other sites in the Kanto Plain, as well.

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Similar results were obtained some 10 years later by Warashina and Higashimura (1988). They analyzed obsidian pieces from the Musashidai site in Tokyo (Fig. 2) through X-ray Fluorescence analyses of obsidian and sanukite samples obtained from a large number of Palaeolithic and Jomon sites in the Archipelago. The obsidian pieces came from Level X of the Musashidai site, located below the Aira-Tanzawa Tephra. As this widespread tephra is dated to about 28 Ka BP by numerous radiocarbon determinations (Fig. 1), the obsidian pieces in question are thought to date between 30 and 32 Ka ago. The archaeological community was reluctant to accept the results obtained by Masao Suzuki (1973, 1974) and Warashina and Higashimura (1988), in the face of the generally accepted view that humans did not venture onto water until post-glacial times. To be sure, there was no direct evidence of boats, rafts, or paddles. Also, the numbers of specimens identified as being of Kozu Island origin were small, both in absolute numbers, as well as a proportion of all the tested pieces. In the Tsukimino sample studied by Suzuki, only 22 specimens were analyzed, of which 5 (22%) were thought to be of Kozu Island origin. In the Musashidai case, only one out of 11 pieces (9%) matched the characteristics of Kozu Island obsidian. Hence, it was felt (1) that they could have been so identified through some procedural error, and/or (2) that there could be a yet-unknown source of obsidian which had characteristics similar to the Kozu Island one. In the last few decades, many new outcrops have been identified, through the application of such techniques as Instrument Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) and Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA/ICP-MS), that allow identification of a greater number of elements. For example, five distinct sources have been identified within the area of what used to be lumped together as “Wadatoge” in the central mountainous area of Honshu. On Kozu Island itself there are four separate locations from which obsidian with different chemical signatures could have been collected (Mochizuki et al., 1994:4). Additionally, with the increase in the number of teams working in this field, cross-checking of the analytical results is being attempted. A comparison of results obtained by four different teams, working with different methods, shows a remarkable agreement as to the identification of the sources (Ikeya et al., 2005). An increase in the size of the samples tested from the same assemblage, often in the hundreds, also has contributed towards a greater confidence in the results. Shimada (2012:231) shows the results of provenance analyses applied to obsidian artifacts dating to the 35–38 Ka BP period from 67 sites in Central Honshu. Of the 16,049 artifacts analyzed, 831 (5.2%), have been identified as being of Kozu Island origin. That includes obsidian pieces recovered at the Ide-Maruyama site in the Fuji-Hakone area (Fig. 2), from a level radiocarbon-dated to 37–38 Ka BP. This seems to be the earliest date for the transport of the Kozu Island obsidian to Central Honshu. As noted above, Kozu Island is separated by 54 km of sea at present, and it remained separated by some 30–40 km of ocean even during the LGM. Ikeya (2015) calculates that, if the Paleolithic seafarers rowed at the speed of 5 km per hour, it would have taken 8 h to cross the 40 km of open water that existed between the island and the nearest coast of Honshu, even when the sea level was 100 m lower than it

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is today. He notes that it would have required a considerable planning and technical skill to construct a seaworthy watercraft that could withstand use for that long. There are two other areas in the Archipelago, besides the central mountainous area of Honshu, where obsidian sources are densely concentrated: northeastern Hokkaido and northwestern Kyushu. As to the Hokkaido cluster with the prolific sources in Shirataki and Okedo, Fukuda et al. (see Chapter Synthetic Perspective on Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherer Adaptations and Landscape Change in Northern Japan herein) state that there is little evidence of Hokkaido obsidian being transported by Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers to Paleo-Honshu until the very end of the Pleistocene, when Shirataki-type microblade users brought Shirataki obsidian across the Tsugaru Strait. In northwestern Kyushu there was the important obsidian source of Koshidake, from which lithic material were widely circulated. This obsidian was not only dispersed all over Kyushu, but also in the northern Ryukyus and in the southern part of Korea. Among the South Korean locations where Koshidake obsidian have been identified is the microblade industry site of Shingbuk, which has been radiocarbon dated to 18.5–25.5 Ka BP (Kim et al., 2007; Kuzmin, 2010:145). Since the Tsushima Strait is thought to have remained open even during LGM, transport of Koshidake obsidian to Korea would have involved seafaring watercraft out of the Japanese Archipelago to the Asian mainland. If so, this case indicates “out of the Archipelago to the Asian mainland” instead of “into the Archipelago”, providing a segment of the ‘Obsidian Road’ or the ‘Circum-Japan Sea Corridor’ referred to by various authors (e.g. Ambiru, 2008; Kimura, 2005; Sato, 2012) that encircled the Japan Sea.

4 Lithic Technologies 4.1 Early Palaeolithic As we noted above, hominid skeletal remains in the Ryukyu Island chain and obsidian procurement patterns in Paleo-Honshu Island indicate that humans were present in the Japanese Archipelago by 38 Ka ago, and that they must have arrived there by means of seafaring watercrafts. As to the evidence of earlier presence of humans in the Archipelago, the Japanese archaeological community appears to be divided into two camps. On the one hand are those who hold that peopling of the Japanese Archipelago did not take place until about 40 Ka ago, in the middle of MIS3 (Ambiru, 2010; Ono, 2011; Tsutsumi, 2012), while on the other are those who are prepared to accept at least some of the assemblages, such as the Culture Layers 3 and 4 of the Kanedori site in the north and the Culture Layers 1 and 2 assemblages of the Sunabara site on the Japan Sea side of western Honshu, dating back to MIS 4 and 5 (Table 1; Fig. 2), as possible evidence of earlier presence of hominins in the Archipelago (Matsufuji, 2014; Sato, 2013a). These assemblages share certain features, such as: (1) an absence of standardized flake removal methods; (2) a predominance of minimally retouched small flake tools; and (3) the frequency of denticulates, notched scrapers and becs

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(Takehana, 2012). These are characteristics that are found in early assemblages on the Asian Continent, such as Houjiayao in North China and Mansuri in Korea, except that spherical stones, which are often present in continental counterparts, are very rare in Japanese assemblages. There are about 50 assemblages in the Archipelago which consist mainly of amorphous flakes and are reported to be older than 40 Ka BP. I refer to them as part of the Early Palaeolithic Tradition of South and East Asia. I use the word “tradition”, rather than “period”, because assemblages mostly made of minimally retouched amorphous flakes continue to occur through the Pleistocene and even into the Holocene. This is a case with Japan, too, as will be seen below. We adopted this two-fold division of the Early and Late Palaeolithic, at the 1973 Conference on Early Paleolithic of South and East Asia in Montreal, when the participants actively debated what “Upper Paleolithic” and “Middle Paleolithic” meant in the South and East Asian contexts and opted to avoid them all together by adopting the two-fold division (Ikawa-Smith, 1978). In spite of the recent increase in the use of the terms, “Middle Paleolithic” and “Upper Paleolithic” in Japanese literature (e.g. Fukuda et al., 2022; Sato, 2013b), some of us believe (such as Dennell, 2009; Gao & Norton, 2002; Seong & Bae, 2016) that the tripartite division of the Paleolithic, particularly the concept of the “Middle Palaeolithic”, is not warranted in the East Asian situation. In any event, it is simply a matter of terminology, because the starting date of the Late Paleolithic period in Japan is about 40 Ka ago, the same as the beginning date of the Upper Palaeolithic in the tripartite scheme.

4.2 Late Palaeolithic I (40–30 Ka BP) With the exception of some 50 assemblages mentioned above, the remainder of over 14,500 Paleolithic assemblages in the Archipelago belong to the Late Paleolithic category, dating to the latter part of MIS3 and MIS2, from about 40 Ka BP until about 16 Ka BP for Paleo-Honshu Island and about 10 Ka BP for Paleo-SH Peninsula (Table 1). The Late Paleolithic assemblages of the Archipelago may be sub-divided into two distinct groups, typologically as well as stratigraphically: Late Paleolithic I, from about 40 Ka to 30 Ka BP; and Late Paleolithic II, from 30 Ka to the start of the Jomon Period. The boundary between the Late Paleolithic I and II coincides with the time of transition from MIS3 to MIS2. The Aira-Tanzawa Tephra (or AT for short) horizon is also situated at about this time (Fig. 1; Table 1). Resulting from a massive volcanic eruption at the southern end of Kyushu, this horizon-marker pumice is most useful for interregional correlation, as it is found not only all over Japan, but also in adjacent parts of continental northeast Asia, as well. The assemblages that date to the Late Paleolithic I segment number about 500. As noted above, the amorphous flakes of the Early Palaeolithic Tradition continue, but the assemblages of this stage, which are characterized by Sato (2013a) as having “dual structure”, also contain tools made on long flakes of blade proportions, even those struck with the classic blade technique. While amorphous flakes were made of

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locally available chert and andesite, high quality lithic materials, such as obsidian, were used in production of blade tools. It is in this connection that the Palaeolithic hunters of Honshu got into seafaring watercraft to obtain fine quality obsidian from Kozu Island. We noted above that obsidian pieces recovered from the level dated 37–38 Ka BP, the very start of Late Palaeolithic I Stage, were of Kozu Island origin. The Kôsaka-yama site in the mountainous region of Central Honshu (Fig. 2), recently re-investigated by Kunitake (2020), provides an early example of bladebased assemblage in Japan. Recovered from the stratum radiocarbon-dated to 36– 37 Ka BP, situated clearly below the AT pumice horizon, were some 400 artifacts, including very large, parallel-sided blades, smaller blades, and large triangular projectile points. Kunitake, the lead investigator, who has also worked on Central Asian sites, is exploring the nature of links with similar assemblages on continental Asia, including North China and Korea Peninsula, where they are reported to be dated as 44 Ka and 42 Ka, respectively. While it is not hard to imagine hunter-gatherers equipped with blade technology traversing across continental Asia and along the present-day Korea Peninsula, then crossing the Korea Strait when it became very narrow or even dry to reach the Japanese Archipelago, the Kôsaka-yama assemblage presents us with a challenging problem. It is the presence of a heavy-duty tool with partial polish on one end (Edgeground axe). There is one such artifact reported from the Kôsaka-yama site, but it is one of about 1000 others recovered from over 200 sites of the Late Palaeolithic I Stage in Paleo-Honshu. These artifacts were thought to be used in butchering and hide-processing (Ikawa-Smith, 2004:294–6), but more recent use-wear analysis by Tsutsumi (2012) suggests that the larger axes were probably used for heavy duty work, such as tree-felling, while smaller ones, probably recycled after breakage, were used for hide-processing. This supports Sato’s (2006) interpretation that the axes were wood-working tools, used for preparing shafts for stone tools and even tent poles. They could very well have been useful in construction and maintenance work on dugout canoes, as well. It further suggests that if these hunter-gatherers were in possession of seafaring vessels and were familiar with coastal and maritime environments, they must have utilized such resources as fish, mollusks, kelp, and other sea weeds, even though actual remains of food resources have not survived in the archaeological records. What remains to be explored is where did this useful tool come from? As the occurrence of edge-ground axes is rare in Paleo-SH Peninsula (Fukuda et al., n.d.) and none at all are known from the Ryukyu islands with Palaeolithic contexts, the likely route appears to be by way of Korea, but none are known, to this day, from China nor Korea. Under these circumstances, Tsutsumi (2012:71) attributes the appearance of edge-ground axes to independent invention in Japan.

4.3 Late Palaeolithic II (30–16/10 Ka BP) The disappearance of assemblages containing edge-ground axes at the end of the Late Palaeolithic I stage, marked by the wide-spread AT tephra fall, probably indicates

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re-organization of subsistence and mobility strategies in the face of the ecological disturbance created by the volcanic eruption, which coincides with the onset of cold climate of MIS2. The number of sites remained small, or even decreased, immediately after the AT horizon, then it went through a dramatic, even explosive, increase in many parts of the Japanese Archipelago, such as in the Kyushu area in the south and the Kanto plain in central Honshu (Ambiru, 2010:181–3). New arrivals from the continent may have contributed to the population influx. As the climate deteriorated on the Continent, the lowered sea levels would have made the Archipelago more accessible. The expanded population was equipped with new kinds of stone tools. In contrast to the relative uniformity of assemblages throughout the Paleo-Honshu Island during the previous period, Late Paleolithic II assemblages exhibit marked regional characteristics, both in the primary reduction method of detaching tool blanks from the core, and the secondary retouching method to shape the blanks into tools. In the southern Part of Paleo-Honshu, what is referred to as hakuhen sentoki (flake point) makes a brief appearance shortly after the AT eruption in a wide area. Morisaki (2015) characterizes the phenomenon of the rapid spread as a recolonization of the area devastated by the massive volcanic eruption. Since similar flake points are known in Korea and the Maritime Province of Russia, they probably indicate population movement from, or cultural interaction with those areas. In the west-central part of Paleo-Honshu, the fracture pattern of the local andesite led to the development of a unique reduction method, called the Setouchi technique, of producing a series of regularly shaped side-blow flakes. These were then made into points with steeply retouched backs, named Ko-type points after the site in Osaka Prefecture where they were first identified. In the northeastern part of the Archipelago, from the southern end of the Paleo-SH Peninsula to present central Honshu, on the other hand, the tool blanks were typically produced by the blade technique, with the resultant tool blanks shaped into functionally specific and stylistically distinctive tools. Regional diversification is particularly evident in the manner in which the blade blanks were retouched into what is referred to in the literature as naifugata sekki (knife-shaped tools), which, according to experimental work by Midoshima (1996), actually served as projectile heads. Some of the well-known regional variants, named after the type-sites, are Hirosato-type of Hokkaido, Higashiyama- and Sugikubotypes of northeastern Honshu, and Moro-type of central Honshu (Fig. 3). Bifacial leaf-shaped points were also made in some parts of Paleo-Honshu Island, such as the central mountainous area. The high degree of regional diversification of assemblages during the Late Palaeolithic II stage could be understood as the results of adaptation to environmental changes. As large mammals of the Paleoloxodon/Sinomegaceros complex became extinct on Paleo-Honshu Island by the onset of LGM (Iwase et al., 2012), humans would have become dependent on small and medium-sized animals with smaller ranges, with the consequence that their own foraging range would have become smaller, with a more localized mobility strategy (Morisaki, 2012; Sato, 2013a). As the dense populations congregated to form regional communities, they would have

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Fig. 3 Regional variations in the “Knife-shaped tool” (projectile head) of late Palaeolithic II (Compiled with images from Inada (1988) and Ono et al. (1992))

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Fig. 4 Complimentary distribution of a the Yubetsu- and, b Yadegawa-method of microblade industries. (After Ambiru (2010) with additions by the author)

promoted the sense of group identity that was expressed as stylistic differences in their hunting and processing tools. Towards the end of the Pleistocene, however, the Paleo-Honshu Island was once again characterized by relatively homogenous assemblages, divided into two complementary spheres of microblade industries: the wedge-shaped core technology in the northeast along the Japan Sea coast, and the conical-core technology in the southwest facing the Pacific Ocean (Fig. 4). The conical core technology is known as the Yadegawa technique, after the site in central Honshu where it was first recovered in the 1950s. Among the well-known sites, beside the type of site of Yadegawa, are the Yasumiba site in Shizuoka Prefecture and the Nodake site in Kyushu (Fig. 2). While the Yadegawa technique appear to have been developed by about 20 Ka BP, the microblade industry based on the Yubetsu-method of core-preparation was derived from the Paleo-HS Peninsula. It had been well established in the area of current Hokkaido since the arrival at Kashiwadai I site at about 25 Ka BP, crossed the Tsugaru Strait and spread into the Paleo-Honshu, reaching the famous Araya site at about 17 Ka BP. At Araya, over 100,000 lithic specimens, including about 6000 microblades and 700 burins, were recovered (Akoshima & Kanomata, 2013). An outlier of this northern type microblade industry is found as far west as Onbara in Okayama Prefecture. Locations of Yubetsu-method microblade sites along the rivers, led Sato and Tsutsumi (2007:62–63) to suggest that the southward spread of the wedge-shaped core technology was in response to the warming climate of

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the Terminal Pleistocene, which resulted in a rise in sea level and an abundance of anadromous fish in inland rivers of the Paleo-Honshu Island. Direct evidence of such resource use, unfortunately, is lacking, but it could foreshadow the maritime resource utilization in the Jomon subsistence strategy. The sweep of microblade industries, however, was relatively short-lived, as assemblages with regionally distinctive bifacial points became established in various parts of the Archipelago. To this diversified landscape is added the baked clay vessels heralding the end of the Paleolithic Period; at about 16 Ka BP in Paleo-Honshu, and about 10 Ka BP in Paleo-Hokkaido.

5 Summary and Conclusions During the cold phases of the Pleistocene, the four major islands of the Japanese Archipelago merged into two: the Paleo-Honshu Island, consisting of the present Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu islands, and the Paleo-Sakhalin-Hokkaido (PaleoSH) Peninsula connected to the present day Russian Far East. Further to the south were islands of the Ryukyu chain, which would have been made of a smaller number of larger islands than today. For hominids entering Paleo-Honshu from the continent, there were three possible routes: from Taiwan via the Ryukyus Island chain; down from Korea and across the Korea Strait; or down the Paleo-SH Peninsula and over the Tsugaru Strait. Since both the Tsugaru Strait and the Korea Strait are believed to have remained open even during the LGM, and the Ryukyu Island chain was not connected to mainland Asia through Taiwan, it would have required seaworthy watercraft and navigational skills to arrive in the Japanese Archipelago during most of the late Pleistocene. Following Chapter Maritime Prehistory of Korea: An Archaeological Review, dealing with the Paleo-SH Peninsula, this chapter presents direct and indirect evidence pertaining to aquatic activities and maritime adaption of the inhabitants of the Paleo-Honshu Island during the Pleistocene. In the previous sections the question was addressed by means of reviewing three sources of data: (1) Age and affinities of Hominid fossils (2) Lithic material procurement patterns, and (3) Appearances of new tool-making technologies. In this section, the information elicited from the three sources are woven into a single narrative of the aquatic adaption of the Palaeolithic inhabitants of Paleo-Honshu, which could have made them equipped to make the journey along the North Pacific Rim, before the Ice-free corridor became available in the interior of North America. While indisputable evidence of hominid presence in the Japanese Archipelago begins about 38 Ka BP, professional opinion is divided over the nature of evidence for earlier presence. There are about 50 assemblages which are purported to be older than 38 Ka BP, including the Cultural layers 1 and 2 of the Sunabara site (Table 1, Fig. 2), which are referred to the early part of MIS5, over 100 Ka ago. These assemblages consist mainly of amorphous flakes with minimum retouch, which are characteristic of the Early Palaeolithic Tradition of South and East Asia. As assemblages with similar features occur in North China and Korea, the Japanese counterparts

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may well have arrived by way of Korea, when it was connected to Paleo-Honshu. Physical appearance of those who left the Early Palaeolithic remains is unknown, as no hominid fossils are reported from these sites. Starting about the middle of MIS3 (38 Ka BP), there is clear evidence of human presence, in the form of skeletal remains as well as undisputed 14 C-dated artifactual assemblages. Almost all the skeletal remains come from limestone caves and fissures in the Ryukyu islands, with morphological and DNA evidence pointing to the general direction of southeast Asia and Australo-Melanesian region as their possible origin. As there was no land connection to these areas even during the period of lowered sea levels, they must have had seaworthy watercraft. Multi-level occurrence of hominid remains at several sites in the Ryukyu islands suggest repeated arrivals over the open sea, and/or successful long-term occupation of the small islands with limited resources. Artifacts, including the oldest fishhook made of shell, and food residues recovered from the Sakitari Cave on Okinawa Island suggest a way of life welladapted to the aquatic environment. Multi-level occurrences of skeletal remains at such sites as Minatogawa on Okinawa Island and Hamakita on Paleo-Honshu suggest later arrivals from different sources that contributed to the make-up of the inhabitants of those areas. An earlier arrival by about 40 Ka ago of a population with a southern affiliation followed by new arrivals from other sources sometime before 20 Ka ago echoes the chronological division based on lithic technologies of Late Palaeolithic I (40–30 Ka BP) and Late Palaeolithic II (30–16/10 Ka BP), even though skeletal remains are not associated with lithic assemblages. Late-Palaeolithic I Period of Paleo-Honshu is represented by about 500 assemblages. While the bulk of the assemblage consists of small flake tools, struck in the manner of the Early Palaeolithic tradition, new items are added: tools made on long flakes of blade proportions and heavy-duty tools with partially polished edge (edgeground axes). It was for the blade tool production that high-quality lithic materials, such as obsidian, was sought and procured even from the offshore island of Kozu, as early as 37–38 Ka BP. The edge-ground axes would have been useful in construction and maintenance of watercraft necessary for the trip. Of the three possible routes to Paleo-Honshu Island, blade technology, with or without the practitioners themselves, could have arrived by way of the Paleo-SH Peninsula or Korea. As to the edge-ground axes, a likely source is hard to locate. The start of Late Palaeolithic II period, to which the remainder of over 14,000 assemblages belongs, is marked by the AT tephra fall, which coincides with the onset of cold climate of MIS2. After the devastation and a brief period of population decline caused by the tephra fall, there are indications of dramatic population increase. New arrivals from the continent may have contributed to the population influx. As the climate deteriorated on the Continent, the lowered sea levels would have made the Archipelago more accessible. In contrast to the relative uniformity of assemblages throughout the Paleo-Honshu Island during the previous period, Late Paleolithic II assemblages exhibit marked regional characteristics, both in the primary flake detachment method and the method of shaping them into tools. It starts with a brief but rapid spread of what is referred to as hakuhen sentoki (flake point) in Kyushu, which probably indicates population movement from, or cultural interaction with

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Korea. The rest of Paleo-Honshu saw development of a variety of retouched blades used as projectile heads, referred to in the Japanese literature as naifugata sekki (knife-shaped tools). The high degree of regional diversification of artifact styles is seen as the results of the localization of dense populations dependant on smaller animals after the demise of mega-fauna. Starting about 17 Ka ago, however, the cultural landscape changed again, with the sweep of microlithic industries. As the microblade industry based on wedge-shaped cores arrived from the north, crossing the Tsugaru Strait, and reaching as far as Onbara in western Honshu, it encroaches upon the area of microblade based on Yadegawa-type conical cores. Locations of Yubetsu-method microblade sites along the rivers led some authors to suggest that the southward spread of the wedge-shaped core technology was in response to the warming climate of the Terminal Pleistocene, which resulted in a rise in sea level and abundance of anadromous fish in inland rivers of the Paleo-Honshu Island. For a brief period, the Paleo-Honshu Island is divided in two spheres, before assemblages with regionally distinctive bifacial points became established in various parts of the Archipelago. To this diversified landscape is added the baked clay vessels; at about 16 Ka BP on Paleo-Honshu, and about 10 Ka BP on Paleo-SH heralding the beginning of the Jomon Period, when full-scale aquatic adaption becomes apparent.

References Akoshima, K., & Kanomata, Y. (2013). Site structure and human behavior at the Araya site, Northeastern Japan. In Y. Lee, X. Gao, & F. Xie (Eds.), The 16th International Symposium: Suyanggae and Her Neighbours in Nihewan (pp. 173–192). Ocean Press. Ambiru, M. (2008). Obsidian culture and obsidian road. In Y. Lee, M. Ambiru, & K. Shimada (Eds.), The 13th International Symposium for the Commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of Suyanggae and Her Neighbours (pp. 51–52). Saitobaru Archaeological Museum of Miyazaki. Ambiru, M. (2010). Kyusekki jidai no Nihon Retto-shi [History of the Japanese Archipelago on the Paleolithic Period]. Gakuseisha. Baba, H. (2006). Nippon retto no kyusekki-jin [The Palaeolithic people of the Japanese Archipelago]. In National Museum of Nature and Science (Eds.), Nippon retto no shizenshi [The natural history of the Japanese Archipelago] (pp. 263–275). Tokai University Press. Braje, T. J., Erlandson, J. M., Rick, T. C., Davis, L., Dillehay, T., Fedje, D. W., Froese, D., Gusick, A., Mackie, Q., McLaren, D., Pitblado, B., Raff, J., Reeder-Myers, L., & Waters, M. R. (2020). Fladmark + 40: What have we learned about a potential pacific coast peopling of the Americas? American Antiquity, 85, 1–21. Dennell, R. (2009). The palaeolithic settlement of Asia. Cambridge University Press. Fujita, M., Yamasaki, S., Katagin, C., Oshiro, I., Sano, K., Durozumi, T., Sugawara, H., Kunikita, D., Matsuzaki, H., Kano, A., Okumura, T., Sone, T., Fujita, H., Kobayashi, S., Naruse, T., Kondo, M., Matsu’ura, S., Suwa, G., & Kaifu, Y. (2016). Advanced maritime adaptation in the western Pacific coastal region extends back to 35,000–30,000 years before present. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 113(40), 11184–11189. Fukuda, M., Morisaki, K., & Sato, H. (2022). Synthetic perspective on prehistoric hunter-gatherer adaptations and landscape change in northern Japan. In J. Cassidy, I. Ponkratova, & B. Fitzhugh (Eds.), Maritime prehistory of northeast Asia. Springer Nature. Gao, X., & Norton, C. J. (2002). A critique of the Chinese Middle Palaeolithic. Antiquity, 76, 397–412.

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Suzuki, H., & Hanihara, K. (Eds.). (1982). The Minatgawa Man: The Upper Pleistocene Man from the Island of Okinawa. University Museum, the University of Tokyo, Bulletin No. 19. Suzuki, M. (1973). Chronology of prehistoric human activity in Kanto, Japan. Part I—Framework for reconstructing prehistoric human activity in obsidian. Journal of the Faculty of Science, IV (3), 241–318 (The University of Tokyo, Sec. V). Suzuki, M. (1974). Chronology of prehistoric human activity in Kanto, Japan. Part II—Timespace analysis of obsidian transportation. Journal of the Faculty of Science, IV (4), 395–469 (The University of Tokyo, Sec. V). Takamiya, H., Katagiri, C., Yamasaki, S., & Fujita, M. (2019). Human colonization of the Central Ryukyus (Amami and Okinawa Archipelagos), Japan. The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564894.2018.1501443. Takehana, K. (2012). Houjiayao・Xibaimaying iseki sekkigun no gijutsu・ruikeigaku-teki kansatsu [Techno-typological observation on the lithic industries of Houjiayao and Xibaimaying sites, Hebei, China]. In Proceedings of the open international symposium in Paleo-environmental changes and Paleolithic chronology in Northeast Asia, at Doshisha University, 24–25 November (pp. 24–37). Tsutsumi, T. (2012). MIS3 edge-ground axes and the arrival of the first Homo sapiens in the Japanese archipelago. Quaternary International, 248, 70–78. Warashina, K., & Higashimura, T. (1988). Sekki genzai no sanchi bunseki [Sourcing of lithic materials]. In C. Serizawa et al. (Eds.), Kamaki Yoshimasa sensei Kokikenen Ronshu: Kokogaku to kanreikagaku {Festschrift for Professor Yoshima Kamaki: Archaeology and Sciences] (pp. 447– 491). Institute of Anthropology, Okayama Science University. Yamasaki, S. (Ed.). (2018). Okinawa-ken Nanjo-shi Sakitari-do Iseki Hakkutsuchosa Hokokusho I (Excavation Report of the Sakitari-do Cave site, Nanjo city, Okinawa pref.). Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum. Yoneda, M., Kakuhari, T., Naito, Y., Itabashi, Y., Takigami, M., Omori, T., Matsuzaki, H., Kobayashi, K., Hirota, M., & Ito, S. (2013). Shiraho Saonetabaru Doketsu Iseki ni okeru ningen katsudo no nendaigaku-teki kento [Chronological analysis of the human activities at the Shiraho Saonetabaru Cave site]. Research Reports of the Buried Properties Center of Okinawa Prefecture, 65, 201–209.

Synthetic Perspective on Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherer Adaptations and Landscape Change in Northern Japan Masahiro Fukuda, Kazuki Morisaki, and Hiroyuki Sato

Abstract Arguments pertaining to the peopling of America have long addressed the proposed late Pleistocene human migration from Northeast Asia. In this context, the northern part of the Japanese archipelago has received considerable attention from many international scholars as one of the potential homelands of this migration. This chapter provides an overview of archaeological records dated between 33.0 and 7.0 ka cal BP for the southern Paleo-Sakhalin-Hokkaido-Kuril peninsula (PaleoSHK: present Hokkaido) and the northernmost Japanese archipelago. These data synthesize adaptive strategies and landscape changes during the transition from the Upper Paleolithic to the Early Jomon time periods in an effort to reconstruct longterm environmental adaptation history. Our results indicate hunter-gatherers in this region first adapted to a dense coniferous forest landscape with stone tool small flake and trapezoidal industries. They then shifted to hunting in open forest and steppe landscapes during the Last Glacial Maximum (30.0–19.0 ka cal BP) with the use of various microblade techniques. After the tentative occurrence of smallscaled population movements associated with the conveyance of the earliest forms of pottery from Paleo-Honshu to the southern Paleo-SHK during the Late Glacial warming, hunter-gatherer populations expanded and settled down creating more sites in the Early Holocene. This was followed by repeated changes in technological and subsistence strategies. These rapid and extreme changes of adaptative strategies appear to have been stimulated by severe climate fluctuations across the subarctic and temperate climate boundary zones.

M. Fukuda (B) · H. Sato Department of Archaeology, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan e-mail: [email protected] H. Sato e-mail: [email protected] K. Morisaki Palace Site Investigations, Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Nara, Japan e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 J. Cassidy et al. (eds.), Maritime Prehistory of Northeast Asia, The Archaeology of Asia-Pacific Navigation https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1118-7_4

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Keywords Hokkaido · Paleo-SHK · Landscape · Adaptations · Lithic industry · Pottery culture · Obsidian

1 Introduction In debates to discover the origins of migrating populations from Eurasia to North America, the archaeological cultures of Northeast Asia have attracted attention as the possible homeland of the First Americans. Recently, it has been suggested that one of the candidates for the origin of Homo sapiens migration into North America could be the northern part of the Japanese archipelago (Davis et al., 2019; Jordan et al., 2020). Based on the results of the author’s research and previous studies in Japan and Russia, this chapter provides an overview of archaeological evidence of Pleistocene to Early Holocene hunter-gatherers in Hokkaido, which is located between the Russian Far East and the Central Japanese archipelago. This especially focuses on eastern Hokkaido that faces the Okhotsk Sea, aiming to provide a meaningful contribution to the discussions on human adaptive radiation in Northeast Asia and the First American’s migration. Through this chapter, changes in archaeological cultures and adaptive strategies of prehistoric populations during 30.0–7.0 ka cal BP will be outlined to show a specific long-term transition suitable for the geographical and topographical environment of the Japanese archipelago. This is characterized by it being surrounded by the ocean, and the development of the Neolithic/Jomon culture through their establishment and diversification since the emergence of Homo sapiens inhabitants in the islands.

2 Regional Setting 2.1 Geography and Topography The present Japanese archipelago consists of more than 6000 islands including the four main landmasses of Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, which extends between 20–46 °N and 123–154 °E (Fig. 1a). This geographic area covers various ecosystems supported by a wide range of climatic zones and mountainous topography, creating a diverse mosaic of local ecological patches. These habitats have been occupied since the Upper Paleolithic period (40.0–16.0 ka cal BP (thousand years before present)). This regional setting also continued after the onset of the Neolithic period and provided a background of broad-spectrum adaptation to forest and marine resources after the Middle Holocene (around 7.0 ka cal BP and later: after the Early Jomon in Japan).

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Primorye Hokkaido

Sakhalin

Honshu -40m

Shikoku Kyushu

Soya Strait

-120m

-40m -70m

Japan Sea

A

-110m

Okhotsk Sea

Shirataki Region Kamikawa Region Shirataki

Kitami Region

Kunashir

-110m

-40m

Shikotan

Oketo Tokachi Akaigawa

Ishikari Lowland

Tokachi Region

Donan District

Pacific Ocean Tsugaru Strait

Honshu

B

Fig. 1 Topographic map showing regions and major obsidian provenance. a Japanese archipelago, b Paleo-Sakhalin-Hokkaido-Kurile Peninsula

Recently, Yokoyama et al. (2019) and Clark et al. (2012) presented a model of global mean sea-level (GMSL) change during Early Upper Paleolithic (40.0– 30.0 ka cal BP). These studies indicate GMSL of the latter half of the marine isotope stage (MIS) 3 interstadial that was −70 m from the present sea level, and that of the MIS 2 stadial dropped to more than −100 m. The island of Honshu became attached to Shikoku and Kyushu islands, thereby forming the Paleo-Honshu Island. Therefore, the landmasses of the Japanese archipelago during Upper Paleolithic mainly consisted of two distinct parts; the Paleo-SHK Peninsula and Paleo-Honshu Island (Sato et al., 2011; Morisaki et al., 2018a). As a result of the submergence of the Soya Strait between Sakhalin and Hokkaido islands and the Mamiya/Tatar Strait between the Eurasian Continent and Sakhalin Island, Hokkaido became the southern extension of the Paleo-SHK Peninsula which also connected to the peninsula to

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the southern Kurile islands of Kunashir and Shikotan Islands (Fig. 1b). However, we still need to investigate whether the Soya Strait, at the maximum depth of − 60 m, was not fully submerged during Early Upper Paleolithic. A rise in sea level after the terminal Pleistocene caused the inundation of the Soya Strait, although the precise timing is a matter for future investigation (Ono, 1990; Kan, 2004). Honshu became attached to Shikoku and Kyushu forming Paleo-Honshu Island. Throughout the Upper Paleolithic, the Tsugaru Strait separated these two landmasses, and the narrowed Tsushima Strait (Matsui et al., 1998) also separated Paleo-Honshu Island from the Korean Peninsula.

2.2 Natural Environment 2.2.1

Flora

Since the warm and humid climate during the Holocene decomposed organic matter in the Japanese archipelago, the reconstruction of the paleo-environment and food resources has suffered from considerable constraints. Past studies, however, provide a diachronic and regional outline of the flora and fauna of the Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene in this archipelago. Paleo-vegetation has been outlined by a number of researchers, including Ono and Igarashi (1991), Yamada (1998), Igarashi (2011), Takahara (2011), Takahara and Hayashi (2015), and Ooi (2016). On the basis of pollen analysis, these monographs illustrate that the distribution of terrestrial vegetation changed according to Quaternary transitions between stadial and interstadial intervals (Table 1). Temporary vegetation was formed according to species-specific habitat in each period; Late MIS (Marine Isotope Stage) 3 (40.0–30.0 ka cal BP): In the south-western part of the southern Paleo-SHK Peninsula, dense coniferous forests of spruce and Table 1 Correlation of fauna, flora, and climate in Paleo-SHK and Paleo-Honshu during the terminal Pleistocene Climate Age

MIS3

MIS2 30

(cal ka BP) 40 Flora

Mixed forest

Fauna

PSC

15

11

Cool temperate coniferous forest

Northern PaleoHonshu Island

Flora

Fauna including asiatic black bear

Dense coniferous forest (SW)/ Open forest (NE)

Southern Paleo-

Open forest/patchy grassland

Coniferous forest

SHK Peninsula Fauna

MFC

PSC: Palaeoloxodon-Shinomegaceroides Complex MFC: Mammoth Fauna Complex

PSC

MFC

Fauna including brown bear

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larch dominated during Marine Isotope Stage 3. Evergreen conifers (fir, hemlock, spruce, and pine) with deciduous broadleaf trees (beech, oak, and elm) dominated in the northeastern Paleo-Honshu Island, whereas mixed forests of temperate conifers (Cryptomeria, Sciadopitys, and Cupressaceae) and deciduous broadleaf trees (beech, oak, and elm) dominated in southwestern Paleo-Honshu Island. MIS 2 (30.0–15.0 ka cal BP): Cold grasslands and open forests of larch became prevalent in Paleo-SHK. At this stage, Hokkaido was also covered with permafrost. Meanwhile, pine trees (spruce, hemlock, fir, and pine) widely covered Paleo-Honshu under the cold environment after an Aira Volcanic eruption (30.0 ka cal BP; Smith et al., 2013). MIS 2 Late Glacial (15.0–11.0 ka cal BP) and later: Open forests of larch decreased, and coniferous forests of spruce dominated again in Paleo-SHK. A warm and humid climate conditions existed after the climatic amelioration of the Holocene brought about a decrease in spruce, Manchurian walnut and elm. Mixed forests of conifers and broad-leaved trees spread and larch, a representative species of the glacial period, disappeared around 8.0 ka cal BP in Hokkaido. In the Paleo-Honshu, pine trees decreased, and deciduous trees dominated after Holocene. 2.2.2

Fauna

Following an initial study by Kawamura (1998), Takahashi and Izuho (2012; Takahashi 2007) have studied changes in large mammal faunal assemblages in Japan. Recently, Iwase et al. (2012, 2015) thoroughly re-investigated radiocarbon dates obtained from faunal records in the Japanese archipelago. Late Pleistocene fauna in this archipelago can be divided into two groups: the Palaeoloxodon-Sinomegaceroides complex with Nauman’s elephant (Palaeoloxodon naumanni) that preferred temperate forests and was dominant on Paleo-Honshu Island (Kawamura, 1998), whereas the Mammoth Fauna complex (Mammuthus primigenius) preferred colder environments and was dominant on Paleo-SHK (Table 1) (Kirillova, 2003; Kuzmin et al., 2005; Vasilevski, 2008; Takahashi, 2007). During MIS 3, however, some species associated with the PalaeoloxodonSinomegaceroides complex are also found in the southern Paleo-SHK of Hokkaido. It seems that the two, usually geographically distinct groups, may have co-existed at times as particular species migrated north or south according to species-specific habitat and temperature preferences (Takahashi, 2011). Recently, Iwase et al. (2015) suggested that this phenomenon does not imply the co-existence of two complexes, but rather indicates that the boundaries of these two complexes were temporarily in southern Hokkaido during MIS 3. In the context of hunting behavior, the timing of megafaunal extinction should be a matter of focus. Iwase et al. (2015) claims that large mammals’ extinction, such as Palaeoloxodon and Sinomegaceroides, progressed just after the onset of MIS 2 (Last Glacial Maximum) on the Paleo-Honshu Island on the basis of past radiocarbon

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dates. In contrast, mammoth and bison still survived during MIS 2 on Paleo-SHK and became extinct or relocated to the north after the Last Glacial Maximum.

2.2.3

Summary

In summary, there were various evolving ecosystems in the Japanese archipelago dating from the terminal Pleistocene to the Holocene. The southern Paleo-SHK, Hokkaido, was connected to the continent via present day Sakhalin Island and covered with a continental environment of open forest and grassland that Mammoth Fauna inhabited during MIS 2. Consequently, human groups adapted to this environment in a different way than the way Paleo-Honshu developed. The straits around Hokkaido were submerged because of the marine transgression around the onset of the Holocene. The Replacement of subarctic vegetation and cool temperate forests covered Hokkaido except in the Okhotsk region, which was the boundary area of vegetation regimes. Based on the Palao-environmental condition of Paleo-SHK, we evaluate human adaptation strategy from Upper Paleolithic to the Early Neolithic (Initial Jomon in Japan) from a synthetic perspective provided by multi-dimensional evidence.

3 Late Palaeolithic Environmental Adaptation Models in the Southern Paleo-SHK 3.1 Chronology Currently, several Paleolithic sites predating the Early Upper Paleolithic (EUP: 38.0– 16.0 ka cal BP) are known across the Japanese archipelago (Sato, 2005, 2016; Anzai & Sato, 1990; Ikawa-Smith, this volume). Most of these sites, however, lack evidence on the provenance of lithics and radiometric dates, and their positions in the local chronology are unclear (Naganuma, 2015). The Rubeno-sawa site in the north of Hokkaido is one of these sites. Test trench 37–20 has yielded discoidal and prismatic cores with a few blades and blade cores, which seem to be similar to the northeast Asian Middle Paleolithic Industry, although further verification remains as future work (Takakura et al., 2004). The continental area of the Russian Far East also lacks archaeological sites evidently predating EUP. Unresolved issues on the timing of the formation of the Soya Strait makes it difficult to ascertain when humans migrated to Hokkaido. A Lower Paleolithic assemblage was reported from the Sennaya 1 site in the south of Sakhalin Island (Vasilevski, 2008, Vasilevski, this volume). Further efforts on radiometric dating and geochronology in the site will help us understand the initial migration timing into northern Japan.

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At present, accumulated radiocarbon data indicates that the Paleo-Honshu Island was first populated around 38.0 ka cal BP (Morisaki et al., 2019), while the Ryukyu Islands, the south of Kyushu was around 36.0 ka cal BP (Kaifu et al., 2015; reviewed in Ikawa-Smith, this volume). On the other hand, the oldest Paleolithic occupations in Hokkaido with secure geochronological ages are the Wakabano-mori site, Kyushirataki 3 site, and Shukubai-kaso site (Sato, 2003; Naoe & Nagasaki, 2005; Izuho & Akai, 2005; Terasaki, 2006). These have radiocarbon ages as old as 30.0 ka cal BP. It is likely that the Wakabano-mori site is older than the others (Izuho et al., 2018). These sites are characterized by small flake industry with trapezoids typologically comparable to EUP in northeastern Paleo-Honshu (Sato, 2003, 2020). Recent investigations of surface collections and excavations at the Akita 10 site (Izuho et al., 2011) also have yielded trapezoids and edge-ground axes pertaining to the Paleo-Honshu technological tradition (Oda & Morisaki, 2016). These data imply that the EUP population in northern Honshu migrated into Hokkaido around or before 30.0 ka cal BP, however, there is no secure radiocarbon age at present. Following the oldest occupation in Hokkaido (southern Paleo-SHK), diachronic change in the lithic industry, assemblage groups defined on the basis of technotypological features, between 30.0 and 12.0 ka cal BP could be summarized as follows on the basis of stratigraphic context and geochronology (Izuho & Akai, 2005; Morisaki et al., 2015) (Fig. 2). In Hokkaido, several volcanic tephras plays important roles as gepchronological markers; Shikotsu Dai-1 (Spfa-1, 45.0–40.0 ka cal BP), Daisetsu Ohachidaira (Ds-Oh, >30 ka cal BP), and Eniwa-a (En-a, 21.0–19.0 ka cal BP) (Izuho, 2014). UP-Phase 1 (45.0–40.0 ka cal BP/>30.0 ka cal BP to 21.0–19.0 ka cal BP) Geologic layers positioned between reworked Spfa-1 or Ds-Oh and En-a tephra bears several industries including the small flake industry, trapezoid industry, end scraper industry, and blade industry. Of these industries, some of blade and trapezoid industries were supposedly left by humans who migrated from Paleo-Honshu, because lithic types between them have a clearer typological commonality with those of Paleo-Honshu, rather than on the Continent (Sato, 2003). Of these, end scraper industry lasted until around 25.0 ka cal BP at the earliest from geochronological study (Izuho et al., 2016). On the other hand, Late UP-Phase 1 witnessed the emergence of the oldest, Rankoshi-type microblade industry (Sato & Tsutsumi, 2007), geochronologically dated to around 25.0 ka cal BP, while its origin is still open to discussion. UP-Phase 2 (20.0–19.0 ka cal BP to 12.0 ka cal BP) At the latest, geologic layers positioned to upper En-a tephra bears diverse microblade technologies became dominant in the lithic industry, including the Togeshita-type, Oshorokkotype, Sakkotsu-type, and Hirosato-type. Similar microblade technologies were recognized in the adjacent continental regions including Sakhalin Island. This implies that these technologies were brought from the Continent (Kuzmin et al., 2002; Sato, 2004). According to Yamada (2006), Morisaki et al. (2015) divided these microblade industries into two sub-phases. During the early sub-phase (Late UP-Phase 1), the

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EN-4

Motomura

EN-3

Kyoei B

EN-2

Aoshimanai

EN-1

Yachiyo A

UP-EN transition

Katayama 2

Taisho 7

Chuo A

Taisho 3

Osatsu 16

Akatsuki

UP-2

Oruika 2, LC01

En-a (19.0-21.0 ka cal BP)

Kashiwadai 1, LC-15

Shimaki pots (Katayama,Aoshimanai) 0

5

10cm

pots (others) 0

UP-1

Obarubetsu 2

Shukubai-kaso

lithics 0

10

20cm

5

10cm

Fig. 2 Diachronic schema of archaeological components from Upper Paleolithic to Early Holocene in Hokkaido

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Rankoshi-type microblade industry (Fig. 2; Kashiwadai 1, loc-15) first appeared from 25.0 to 22.0 ka cal BP (early group of early microblade industry), then transformed into the Sakkotsu-type and Togeshita-type microblade industries (Fig. 2; Akatsuki and Oruika 2, LC01) between 19.0 and 16.0 ka cal BP (UP-Phase 2-1; late group of early microblade industry), and subsequently changed to the Oshorokko-type and Hirosato-type microblade industry (Fig. 2; Osatsu 16) in the late phase (UP-Phase 2-2: late microblade industry). This technological change is thought to be due to diachronic environmental change.

3.2 Residential Mobility and Site Occupation 3.2.1

Site Distribution

Site distribution and obsidian exploitation clearly illustrate adaptational strategic changes from UP-Phase 1 to UP-Phase 2. Figure 3 shows the distribution of sites bearing trapezoid industry (30.0–25.0 ka cal BP) and microblade industry (25.0– 12.0 ka cal BP). Position data are gathered and selected from JPRA DB (Japanese Paleolithic Research Association, 2010) and plotted on a Hokkaido hill shade map supplied by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan. The number of trapezoid

Shirataki Oketo

Akaigawa

Tokachi

Obsidian Quarry Microblade Trapezoid

Fig. 3 Site distribution of trapezoid/microblade industries. Archaeological site distribution is based on JPRA DB (JPRA, 2010). The hill shade map is provided by Geospatial Information Authority of Japan

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industry sites are relatively few (n = 28) and they are situated in hilly or mountainous areas in the east of Hokkaido, whereas there are many microblade industry sites (n = 288) situated in various locations from mountainous areas to lower terraces. The number of microblade industry sites far exceed that of trapezoid industries, which means that a stable habitation and adaptation to southern Paleo-SHK was accomplished by humans with various microblade technologies. Nevertheless, it is still difficult to rule out a possibility that this suppositional difference in mobility strategy between the two industries are resulted from taphonomic bias (Surovell & Brantingham, 2007; Surovell et al., 2009). Therefore, we tested this hypothesis by using obsidian sourcing data.

3.2.2

Obsidian Exploitation

Obsidian provenance data provides information concerning mobility and settlement patterns. Here we compare the obsidian exploitation pattern of the trapezoid industry with the Sakkotsu-type microblade industry (late group of early microblade industry) on the basis of obsidian provenance data by Sato and Yakushige (2014) and Yakushige and Sato (2014). First, we listed the number of sites that contain obsidian of quarries for the regions of Shirataki and Kitami in the northeast of Hokkaido, Tokachi in the southeast, Kamikawa in the north-central, and the Ishikari Lowland in the southcentral area (Fig. 1b). The Donan District is the general term used for quarries in the southwest of Hokkaido. Next, we showed the ratio of quarries in each region (Table 2, Fig. 4). These data clearly illustrate obsidian of the trapezoid industry were gathered from the nearest quarry (Sato & Yakushige, 2014; Yakushige & Sato, 2014). For example, the obsidian provenance of sites in the Shirataki region consist of Shirataki quarry obsidian. On the other hand, the Sakkotsu-type microblade industry employed obsidians from distant quarries such as Shirataki, Tokachi, and Oketo as well as those from the nearest quarry. People who employed this microblade industry widely exploited fine quality and large quantity obsidian sources and then reduced them economically in sites located far away from the quarries. Obsidian from the Shirataki and Tokachi quarries, in particular, were used across a wide geographic area. The early group of the microblade industry, however, shows a different exploitation pattern. Obsidian from distant quarries were few in number in each site, although bifacial microblade technology and blade technology indicate a relatively wider foraging strategy than the trapezoid industry based on flake technology. The late microblade industry also used local obsidian in the vicinity of each site for the manufacture of various standardized lithic tools, which implies low residential mobility (Yamada, 2006; Sato et al., 2011). Therefore, the degree of residential mobility increased rapidly from UP-Phase 1 to UP-Phase 2-1, and decreased again in UP-Phase 2-2. The distribution of Hokkaido obsidian was somewhat limited as far up as Sakhalin, but not recognized in the Asian continental zone where obsidians from Mt. Baekdu, located in southern Primorye, and the Kamchatka Peninsula were circulated (Sato,

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Table 2 Association of obsidian provenance in each region Trapezoid industry Region

Shirataki

Oketo

Tokachi

Shirataki

6

Kitami

1

Tokachi

1

62

2

1

Akaigawa

Others

Total

Nearest quarry

1

7

Shirataki

7

Kamikawa Ishikari Donan Total

10

7

8

Oketo

63

Tokachi

0

Shirataki

10

13

Akaigawa

1

1

Akaigawa

63

11

1

92

Total

Oketo

Tokachi

Akaigawa

Others

Total

Nearest Quarry

Microblade Industry (Sakkotsu) Region

Shirataki

Shirataki

32

36

Shirataki

Kitami

3

34

2

39

Oketo

Tokachi

50

10

47

107

Tokachi

Kamikawa

11

Ishikari

18

Donan

12

Total

126

4

129 44

19

52

3

230

26

0

11

Shirataki

166

Akaigawa

67

Akaigawa

426

Total

2014; Sato & Yakushige, 2014). Also, almost no samples of Hokkaido obsidian were distributed into Paleo-Honshu during Upper Paleolithic. However, Shirataki obsidian was brought to Paleo-Honshu when people employing the Shirataki-type microblade industry migrated during the end of the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of the Incipient Jomon (Sato & Yakushige, 2014). Subsequently, a lot of obsidian from the south of Hokkaido (Donan), Oketo, and Tokachi, and other small quarries were distributed and consumed in northern Paleo-Honshu during Initial Jomon (11.5–7.0 ka cal BP) (Negishi et al., 2020).

3.2.3

Upper Paleolithic Adaptation Strategy

Synthesizing the above data, here we model the adaptative behavior of Hokkaido (southern PSHK) Upper Paleolithic as a shift from forest to grassland adaptations in accordance with diachronic changes in climate, and associated fauna and flora, and the formation process of the straits surrounding Hokkaido. Site distribution and obsidian exploitation patterns well illustrate that humans with trapezoid industry adapted to forest landscapes in mountainous regions, utilizing the nearest local obsidian source, which indicates low residential mobility. Lithic tool types of this industry implies a relationship with the Paleo-Honshu Upper Paleolithic tradition and is believed to have been left by humans who adapted to the forest

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Trapezoid Industry 0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Shirataki Kitami Tokachi Kamikawa Ishikari Donan Shirataki

Oketo

Tokachi

Akaigawa

Others

Microblade Industry (Sakkotsu type) 0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Shirataki Kitami Tokachi Kamikawa Ishikari Donan Shirataki

Oketo

Tokachi

Akaigawa

Others

Fig. 4 Percentage bar graph of obsidian provenance in each region

environments that similarly covered northern Paleo-Honshu and southern Paleo-SHK (Hokkaido) during the warm phase of late MIS 3 (Morisaki et al., 2015). After the onset of MIS 2, the forest landscape was replaced with an open forest and steppe environment in Hokkaido. The microblade industry was basically derived from the Asian continental zone at this time. The late group employing the early microblade industries of the Sakkotsu-type and Togeshita-type, started to forage not only in mountainous areas, but also on lower terraces covered with open forests and grasslands. Lithic technology, site distribution, and obsidian exploitation patterns demonstrate that these people succeeded in adapting to a steppe environment by hunting aggregated terrestrial mammals, while employing a high residential mobility

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and the embedded consumption of lithic raw material through economical microblade technology. Subsistence activity in the lower flatlands might imply engagement in fishing activities and/or the use of water transportation along river systems but direct evidence, such as use of dugout canoes that characterize Jomon Culture, are not known at present. After the emergence of the early microblade industry, adaptation strategies clearly differ between Paleo-SHK and Paleo-Honshu because steppe adaptation was not recognized to the south of the Tsugaru Strait (Morisaki et al., 2015). Buvit et al. (2016) supposes this steppe adaptation in Hokkaido was established by humans seeking refuge from the harshly cold continental climate by moving to the southern Paleo-SHK. This migration might correspond to the formation of the Soya Strait, which needs to be verified with solid evidence in the future.

4 Emergence of the Earliest Pottery and the Beginning of Neolithic/Jomon Culture 4.1 Hokkaido in the Last Glacial Period: The Emergence of Pottery As mentioned above, the late group of the early microblade industry in the Early Upper Paleolithic was 19.0–16.0 ka cal BP. This was followed by the late microblade industry in the Late Paleolithic (16.0–12.0 ka cal BP), during which period the population of large mammals decreased in the southern Paleo-SHK. Increasing utilization of lithic materials from nearby primary source areas occurred in the late microblade industry, suggesting a small-range foraging pattern. This period coincided with the appearance of the earliest pottery in Hokkaido (Takakura, 2020). Taisho 3 site (Fig. 2; UP-EN Transition) (Kitazawa & Yamahara (Eds.), 2006) and the locality M-1 of the Tachikarushunai site (Natsuki (Ed.), 2020), located in the inland areas of Tokachi and Shitakaki Regions, dated to 15.3–13.6 ka cal BP, in which traces of living activities using ceramic pots and lithic tools were discovered. The emergence of pottery in Hokkaido is not substantially later than that in Paleo-Honshu. The ceramic assemblage (Tsumegatamon series pottery) and lithic technology (bifacial tool production) of the Taisho 3 are similar to the traditions of the Incipient Jomon in Paleo-Honshu, indicating that the occupants here belonged to a different cultural tradition from that of the groups at contemporaneous microblade industry sites (Yamahara, 2008). While there has been no evidence of the use of fishing gear or boats, analyses of charred residues on pottery surfaces have revealed the exploitation of aquatic resources (Kunikita et al., 2013; Craig et al., 2013). It has been suggested that semi-sedentary (continuous or repeated) waterside activities at Taisho 3 were comparable with the lifestyles of Paleo-Honshu Incipient Jomon, where fishing activities were apparent (Fukuda, 2018), and it can also be assumed that some populations in Paleo-Honshu migrated northward as a result of Late Glacial

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warming. Nevertheless, it should be noted that sites characterized by such bifacial tool industries are scattered throughout various landscapes over Hokkaido—mainly in Northeastern Hokkaido; therefore, it cannot be interpreted as a uniform expansion of a common adaptative form. In addition, the occupation pattern does not differ significantly from those of the microblade industry (Natsuki, 2020). Therefore, although the movement was associated with climate warming, it seems that at this stage, ecological requirements were not sufficient to accelerate expansion of the adaptive range for the Paleo-Honshu groups.

4.2 Adaptation Models for Early Holocene Hokkaido: Establishment of a Pottery Culture and a Change in Lithic Industries Previous field surveys have suggested that until the onset of Late Glacial warming (14.7 ka cal BP), which marks the period of pottery emergence, archaeological culture originating in Honshu was absent in Hokkaido. The reason for lack of the archaeological evidence may be due to the effects of the Younger Dryas. The climate continued to warm toward the Early Holocene, and more sedentary settlements and a diversified subsistence regime were initiated in Eastern Hokkaido. In Hokkaido, pottery use became widespread during the Early Holocene, corresponding to the Initial Jomon. However, temperatures were not necessarily increasing in a consistent manner. Until around 8.0 ka cal BP, when Larix gmelinii disappeared, under the expansion of mixed coniferous-deciduous forests with nut-producing deciduous broad-leaf trees, it would have been difficult to establish a lifestyle suitable for a stable temperate Jomon ecosystem. While the Soya Strait was already in existence and the overall shape of Hokkaido Island was roughly the same as present day, the coastline of the Okhotsk Sea and the Pacific Ocean was possibly several hundred meters away from the current coastline, making it difficult to guess at human activities along the coast. The following paragraphs summarize four phases of the overall changes in adaptations in the southwest coastal zone of the Okhotsk Sea for 2000 years up to the peak of the Jomon transgression (Holocene glacial retreat), when sedentary food-gathering societies initially stabilized. Overall, while settlements with pit-dwellings and pottery making spread, lithic technologies changed dramatically from EN-Phases 1: blade and flake industry, 2: flake industry, 3: blade industry, and then 4: flake industry, suggesting that the Early Holocene climate changes and adaptive techniques were related to each other (Following dates are based on Kunikita (2014)). EN-Phase 1 (10.0 ka cal BP to