This study reconstructs food habits through carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis, and C/N analysis of charred residues inside pottery from Amur River sites in Russia (Goncharka 1 site, Novotroitskoe 10 site, Kondon 1 site) and in Hokkaido, Japan (Taisho 3 site, Yachiyo A site). We obtained dates from 12,330 to 7920 BP for these sites. There are major differences in the carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios between the Taisho 3 site (δ13C: -21.7 to -24.1; δ15N: 11.9–14.7%) and the other sites (δ13C:-22.0 to -27.1%; δ15N: 7.1–13.1%), suggesting that the people of the Taisho 3 site made use of anadromous fish such as salmonids and some species of trout, as well as marine resources. The dates from the other sites except Taisho 3 were assumed to be from a mixture of marine foods, C3 plants and terrestrial animals, and freshwater fish. The food boiled in the pots also indicated a high dependence on marine resources during the initial stages of the emergence of pottery.

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To understand the behavioral significance of the emergence and proliferation of blade technology in the northeastern Asian Upper Paleolithic, this paper explores the function of the earliest blade technology in Hokkaido, northern Japan, through an integrated analysis of edge morphology and use-wears on blade tools from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) assemblage of Kawanishi C. Although varied edge morphologies (i.e., straight, convex, concave, denticulate) have been distinguished, the results of use-wear analysis suggest that morphological differences of edges are not related to specific functions. Straight and convex edges experienced different use-lives and use-trajectories: both straight and convex edges were principally served for cutting/sawing and whittling, while some edges changed their functions to scraping as edge resharpening blunted the edges. The results of use-wear analysis also suggest that LGM blades were intensively used for performing a narrow range of activities (e.g., skin and meat stripping). Because this blade technology differs from the dominant flake technology in LGM Hokkaido, LGM foragers were able to employ it to perform intensive processing activity to exploit critical faunal resources that may have been sporadically clumped in the landscape.

As debates about the late Pleistocene human occupation of northeast Asia continue, the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) prehistory of Hokkaido becomes more relevant. A geoarchaeological evaluation of key sites on the island will provide important evidence to understand human adaptive responses to LGM environments. Kawanishi‐C is located on the middle terrace of the Satsunai River, eastern Hokkaido. Previous salvage excavations totaling 5756 m2 revealed three archaeological layers in eolian sediments: (1) an early Jomon component above the Ta‐d tephra (∼7000 cal. yr B.P.), (2) a microblade component between the Ta‐d and En‐a tephras (∼15,000 cal. yr B.P.), and (3) a blade/flake‐based assemblage between the En‐a and Spfa‐1 tephras (27,000–25,000 cal. yr B.P.). Integration of geoarchaeological investigations and statistical analysis of the artifacts’ spatial distribution indicates that the relatively low energy eolian matrix preserved the site's behavioral context, though some post‐depositional agent, such as frost heaving, may have slightly displaced the artifacts vertically.

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