A functional approach to the use of the earliest blade technology in Upper Paleolithic Hokkaido, northern Japan

Abstract

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.

Rethinking the Disappearance of Microblade Technology in the Terminal Pleistocene of Hokkaido, Northern Japan: Looking at Archaeological and Palaeoenvironmental Evidence

“…In recent years, it has been shown that there were hunter-gatherers in Hokkaido during the Bølling-Allerød who produced and used potteries but did not use microblades [27,89,90]. From the excavation at the Taisho-3 site in eastern Hokkaido, a lithic assemblage composed mainly of small obsidian bifacial points associated with potteries has been discovered ( Figure 5).…”

“…The Taisho-3 site is located on a slightly elevated terrace that forms a natural embankment adjacent to a river ( Figure 6). Just below the stratum containing the cultural horizon during the terminal Pleistocene is a gravel layer that was formed by river flooding; thus, human activity was conducted in a riverbed-like environment [90]. Unlike the Taisho-3 site, almost all other sites where microblade assemblages have been discovered are located on river terraces at a distance from rivers.…”

“…Reliable evidence of human activity in eastern Hokkaido in the initial Holocene has been found through excavations at the Taisho-6 site [102]. This site includes lithic assemblages composed of stone arrowheads, burins, side-scrapers and polished stone axes associated with flat-bottom potteries, defined as the Tenneru-Akatsuki type [27,89,[100][101][102]. Radiocarbon dating of the charred materials from potteries shows that human activities at the Taisho-6 site began around 11,000 years ago.…”

“…Distant view of excavation at the Taisho-3 site. Reproduced from[90], with the permission of the Obihiro Centennial City Museum.…”

“…These are the so-called nail-impressed wares. Reproduced from[90], with the permission of the Obihiro Centennial City Museum.…”