Ecological and cultural shifts of hunter‐gatherers of the Jomon period paralleled with environmental changes

Kusaka, Shinpei; Yamada, Yasuhiro; Yoneda, Minoru

doi:10.1002/ajpa.23638

Cited by 10 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 58 publications

(82 reference statements)

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“…The reduction in sex-related differences to carbon and nitrogen isotopes at Tsukumo compared to O ̄ta, may further support more homogenised diets in the latter site due to food sharing (Kusaka et al 2010). Our sample was too small to assess sex-related differences in prevalence but a similar argument has been made at several Jomon sites, where similar diets have been shared across different sexes and identities (Yoneda et al 1996;Temple et al 2011;Kusaka et al 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Nutritional deficiency and ecological stress in the Middle to Final western Jōmon

Vlok,

McFadden,

Matsumura

et al. 2024

Antiquity

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Despite significant research, the direct and indirect causes of a population decline in the eponymous foragers of the Late Jōmon period (c. 4500–2300 BP) in Japan remains undetermined. Here, the authors examine the impact of nutritional stress, using scurvy as a case study, on Middle and a Late/Final Jōmon populations. While an increase in the prevalence of scurvy between the time periods is apparent, no associated change in age at death was observed. The authors argue that the Late Jōmon adapted their food-sharing practices in times of ecological stress, and they highlight the need to consider morbidity and mortality together in palaeopathological assessments and the growing evidence for a non-nutritional cause in the Late Jōmon population decline.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Nutritional deficiency and ecological stress in the Middle to Final western Jōmon

Vlok,

McFadden,

Matsumura

et al. 2024

Antiquity

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“…3200–2800 cal bp ) and the Inariyama shell mound from the Final Jomon period (ca. 3200–2200 cal bp ; Kusaka, Yamada, & Yoneda, in press) are located in the Aichi Prefecture of the Tokai region in eastern Japan. In this study, 38 individuals from Yoshigo and 17 from Inariyama were analysed.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stable isotope analysis of human bone hydroxyapatite and collagen for the reconstruction of dietary patterns of hunter‐gatherers from Jomon populations

Kusaka

2018

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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Stable isotope analysis on human skeletal remains is a powerful tool to reconstruct prehistoric human diet. A previous study used carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of bone collagen to reveal that the incorporation of marine resources was significant in the diet of people in the Jomon period. It was found that carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in bone collagen reflect those of protein sources in the diet during adulthood, whereas the incorporation of terrestrial plants could not be evaluated. In this study, we assessed the consumption of terrestrial plants during adulthood by analysing the carbon isotope ratios in bone hydroxyapatite, which reflect the respective values in the whole diet (carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins). We studied 55 human skeletal remains from the Yoshigo and Inariyama shell mounds of the Tokai region in Japan. The carbon isotope ratios in bone hydroxyapatite from these samples were analysed to evaluate the dietary dependence on marine and terrestrial resources. We discovered that the carbon isotope ratios in the bone hydroxyapatite were as low as those in terrestrial mammals, thereby indicating that C3 plants and terrestrial mammals were the main sources of dietary energy for the Jomon people. This result suggests that the dietary incorporation of terrestrial resources was recorded in the bone hydroxyapatite. Finally, the difference between the carbon isotope ratios of the bone hydroxyapatite and collagen was correlated to the nitrogen isotope ratios of the bone collagen, thereby suggesting the large dietary variation among individuals. This study highlighted the utility of carbon isotope analysis of bone hydroxyapatite and bone collagen from human skeletal remains in the investigation of the prehistoric diet of Jomon populations.

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“…Indeed Veth (2014) suggested that “such datasets…are being used as a mainstream proxy to explore archaeological trends and specifically demographic fluctuations” for some regions of Australia. Hence, the purpose and some of the key limitations of such modelling have been overlooked, with the end effect that the results may be uncritically treated as fact (e.g., Brockwell et al, 2017; Cook, 2019; Kusaka et al, 2018; Lancelotti et al, 2016; Lopez et al, 2019; McDonald, 2016; McDonald et al, 2018; Reynen et al, 2018; Tibby et al, 2018; Zeanah et al, 2017) and even used as foundational premises of further demographic frequency analysis. We explore some of these radiocarbon age‐based studies and some of their underlying premises below.…”

Section: Archaeology's Grand Challenges and The Role Of “Big Data”mentioning

confidence: 99%

Sedimentary unknowns constrain the current use of frequency analysis of radiocarbon data sets in forming regional models of demographic change

Ward

Larcombe

2021

Geoarchaeology

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Statistical manipulation of large radiometric data sets (big data) is increasingly applied to those grand challenges in archaeology that relate to past human‐behavioural dynamics and includes frequency analysis of radiocarbon ages (summed probability distributions [SPDs]). Australian SPD studies use the radiocarbon database “AustArch” to examine regional‐ and continental‐scale demographic change. We review Australian studies, focussing on sampling bias and taphonomic bias, finding that (i) time‐averaged radiometric data cannot simply be correlated across regions, and (ii) sedimentology imposes genuine constraints upon what can be known. Internationally, flaws in SPD use occur in all main research phases, and most importantly, at the initial phase of defining research questions, logic and general approach. Major problems stem from not planning to obtain a sound understanding of the variability of past sedimentary environments, potential occupation sites and site formation processes. Thus, cultural inferences are too often made from archaeological data without due consideration of the natural processes that may explain the data. Highlighting exemplar studies, we present practical approaches to improve SPD use for exploring changes in demography, aimed at reducing uncertainties and reconnecting archaeological, chronological, geological and sedimentary data. Most important is to increase understanding of physical processes and their control on the archaeological record.

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Ecological and cultural shifts of hunter‐gatherers of the Jomon period paralleled with environmental changes

Abstract: These temporal changes of diet and tooth ablation types occurred in parallel with climatic cooling and environmental change and help reveal how Holocene hunter-gatherers adapted to the changing environments.

Cited by 10 publications

References 58 publications

Nutritional deficiency and ecological stress in the Middle to Final western Jōmon

Nutritional deficiency and ecological stress in the Middle to Final western Jōmon

Stable isotope analysis of human bone hydroxyapatite and collagen for the reconstruction of dietary patterns of hunter‐gatherers from Jomon populations

Sedimentary unknowns constrain the current use of frequency analysis of radiocarbon data sets in forming regional models of demographic change

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