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

Abstract

Archaeological research, for several decades, has shown that various microblade technologies using obsidian and hard shale appeared and developed from the Last Glacial Maximum to the terminal Pleistocene (Bølling–Allerød–Younger Dryas) in Hokkaido, Northern Japan. It is well accepted that microblade technology was closely related to the high mobility of foragers to adapt to harsh environments. Recent archaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence from Hokkaido demonstrates that the disappearance of microblade technology occurred during the terminal Pleistocene, influenced by a wide range of factors, including changes in landscape, climate, subsistence and human populations. The goal of this paper is to provide an overview of the current state of research on the process and background of the disappearance of microblade technology and to discuss prospects for future research. This paper will (1) review palaeoenvironmental research in Hokkaido on changes in climate and biological composition from the terminal Pleistocene to the initial Holocene; (2) survey changes in the technological adaptations and resource use of humans based on the archaeological evidence; and (3) discuss how the abrupt fluctuations of climate that occurred in the terminal Pleistocene affected human behaviour and demographics in Hokkaido.

New Discoveries and Theoretical Implications for the Last Foraging and First Farming in East Asia

“…However, let me make two comments that might be useful in understanding why microblade technology disappears. First, Takakura [5] and Zhang [8] associate the decline in microblade technology with the demise of the large Pleistocene fauna of Hokkaido-and that association indeed appears to be true. Although in the US, large fauna, including mammoths and mastodons were hunted with Clovis spearpoints, large bifacial points, a technology that, invented by a population that migrated to North America from Asia about 15,000 years ago, almost certainly came out of a microblade tradition.…”

“…Takakura [5] looks at the archaeology of Hokkaido, Japan's northern island. Here he finds, as others have, that microblade technology disappears during the Younger Dryas (YD) cooling, perhaps, quite possibly, because the human population itself disappears at this time (although the ages of the boat-shaped tool assemblages are not well dated and may fall within the YD).…”

Human Population Dynamics and the Emergence of Microblade Technology in Northeast Asia during the Upper Palaeolithic: A Current View

“…To allow for a comprehensive discussion based on lithic records from various regions, concepts used to classify and describe archaeological materials should be distinguished from those used for behavioural interpretation. Therefore, to investigate the spatiotemporal variation of lithic assemblages across North and Northeast Asia from MIS 3 to MIS 2, the research could, first, define a microblade according to morphometric criteria (microblade refers to parallel-sided small artefacts possessing one or more ridges running parallel to their long axes, generally 4-10 mm wide and 1-2 mm thick) [82] and select the lithic assemblages to be analysed from that definition. From these, the diversity and interrelationship of microblade technology across various regions should be investigated using technological and functional perspectives.…”

Introduction: New Discoveries and Theoretical Implications for the Last Foraging and First Farming in East Asia

“…This may have been the case because the diverse natural resources of forests, rivers and sea in the Japanese archipelago were abundant, secure, and stable. In fact, it has been revealed that human cultures changed from the late Pleistocene to the early Holocene in Hokkaido [18]. In the eastern part of Hokkaido the discovery of many early Holocene pit dwellings are evidence that the number of settlements was increasing, suggestive of higher population densities, or growing sedentism, or both.…”