Human responses to the Younger Dryas in Japan

Abstract

The effect of the Younger Dryas cold reversal on the survival of Late Glacial hunter-gatherers in the Japanese Archipelago is evaluated, through a synthetic compilation of 14 C dates obtained from excavated Late Glacial and initial Holocene sites (332 14 C dates from 88 sites). The estimated East Asian monsoon intensity and vegetation history based on the loess accumulations in varved sediments and pollen records in and around the Japanese Archipelago suggest an abrupt change to cool and dry climate at the onset of Younger Dryas, coupled with the Dansgaard-Oeschger Cycles as recorded in Greenland. The chronometric placement of sites based on an assessment of 14 C dates show that the site numbers decrease from the Bølling-Allerød to Younger Dryas and increase from the Younger Dryas to Preboreal. However, human population dynamics inferred from a site distribution analysis was little changed from the previous Bølling-Allerød and to the following Preboreal. Moreover, hunter-gatherers consistently employed ceramic pottery technology since its emergence prior to the onset of Younger Dryas, while the quantity of ceramic vessels that were undermined during the Younger Dryas dramatically increased at the onset of the Holocene, implying that a substantial change in hunter-gatherer socioeconomy occurred after the end of Younger Dryas.

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

“…This brought about disparity between Hokkaido and Honshu in terms of various cultural features and the composition of the faunal community during the Upper Palaeolithic [33][34][35]. Some researchers suggest that by the onset of the Bølling-Allerød interstadial the bridge between Sakhalin and Hokkaido had disappeared and Hokkaido was surrounded by ocean [26].…”

“…This brought about disparity between Hokkaido and Honshu in terms of various cultural features and the composition of the faunal community during the Upper Palaeolithic [33][34][35]. Some researchers suggest that by the onset of the Bølling-Allerød interstadial the bridge between Sakhalin and Hokkaido had disappeared and Hokkaido was surrounded by ocean [26]. The analysis of oxygen isotope ratios and dust in varved sediment has led to highly detailed explanations of climate changes from the Last Glacial, which experienced drastic fluctuations in temperature, to the Holocene.…”

“…Techno-typological comparisons and some radiocarbon dates show that microblade technology disappeared in Hokkaido during the terminal Pleistocene [2][3][4]26,27]. To explain the background of the disappearance of microblade technology in terms of relationship to palaeoenvironment change would offer valuable insights into the nature of the technological and behavioural characteristics of microblade technology in Hokkaido, as would identifying the differences with regions such as Siberia, Mongolia and North China, where microblade technology continued after the onset of the Holocene [8,21].…”

Sedentism, pottery and inland fishing in Late Glacial Japan: a reassessment of the Maedakochi site

“…In East Asia, the time period from the Last Glacial Maximum (30–19ka cal BP (Lambeck & Chappell 2001)) to the Post Glacial is divided into four chronozones (Nakazawa et al . 2011; Kudo 2012; Morisaki et al . 2015, 2018): the stage prior to the Late Glacial warm period; the Late Glacial warm period ( c. 14 700–12 800 cal BP); the Late Glacial cold period ( c. 12 800–11 500 cal BP); and the Post Glacial (Wang et al .…”

Darts, Arrows, and Archaeologists: Distinguishing Dart and Arrow Points in the Archaeological Record

“…(Riede 2008). Archaeologists in Japan and Northeast Asia also routinely interpret smaller Terminal Pleistocene points as arrowheads (e.g., Aikens and Higuchi 1982;Kiryak 1996;Nakazawa et al 2011). On the east side of the Pacific, however, most New World archaeologists believe the bow and arrow was introduced into the Americas during the Late Holocene (Bingham et al 2013;Blitz 1988;Hughes 1998; cf.…”