Spatio-temporal distribution of hunter–gatherer archaeological sites in the Hokkaido region (northern Japan): An overview

Abstract

The spatio-temporal distribution of archaeological sites in the Hokkaido region reveals hunter–gatherer population dynamics from the Upper Palaeolithic (>14,000 cal. yr BP) through the Neolithic/Jomon and Epi Jomom period ( c. 14,000–1300 cal. yr BP) to the historic Ainu period ( c. 700–100 cal. yr BP). It appears that most cultural transitions coincide with periods of climate and environmental change. However, this observation does not automatically mean causality and, therefore, other potential driving factors must be checked. The data support the hypothesis that Palaeolithic subsistence was (at least partly) based on terrestrial hunting. Paralleled by lateglacial climate amelioration, rising sea levels and a change in marine currents, this strategy shifted towards marine resources and plant exploitation at the beginning of the Jomon period. Along with continuous Holocene climate warming, Hokkaido’s Neolithic Jomon population increased culminating in the Middle Jomon period (5000–4000 cal. yr BP). Simultaneously, Jomon subsistence underwent a process of diversification and intensification in exploitation of food resources. This practice probably allowed the persistence of the Middle Jomon culture beyond the Holocene temperature optimum (around 5000 cal. yr BP). Thereafter, the population decreased until the end of the Jomon culture accompanied by a trend towards cooler climate conditions and a shift in subsistence towards a more narrow range of food resources with increased hunting and less plant food. Population re-increased during the Satsumon/Okhotsk culture periods (1500–700 cal. yr BP), which may be the result of Okhotsk immigration because of climate cooling in the regions north of Hokkaido and enhanced inner-Hokkaido trade (between Satsumon and Okhotsk) and trade with communities outside Hokkaido. During the Ainu period ( c. 700–100 cal. yr BP), site, and possibly population numbers, re-decreased significantly and concentrated in eastern Hokkaido. Whether social and/or climatic factors brought about the Satsumon–Ainu cultural transition and the observed change in population pattern remains unresolved.

Barley (Hordeum vulgare) in the Okhotsk culture (5th–10th century AD) of northern Japan and the role of cultivated plants in hunter–gatherer economies

“…These climate changes may have played a role in the southward spread (ca. 500 AD) of these people to Hokkaido [34] and their later absorption/replacement (by ca. 1000–1200 cal yr AD; [26, 27]).…”

In-site pollen record from the Dadiwan archaeological site and the human-environment relationship during Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 3

“…The number of archaeological sites are frequently used as a proxy for paleo-demography (Chamberlain, 2009), and time-series analysis of archaeological site numbers, site density, and size have all been widely used in interpreting human activities and its relationship with climate change (e.g., An et al, 2004; Zheng et al, 2008a; Wagner et al, 2013; Abe et al, 2016). As shown in Figure 5A, the temporal distribution of the sites that have been dated can be divided into four time intervals.…”

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

“…This progression towards data science has been driven by an increase in the collation of and access to large archaeological–chronological data sets (e.g., Gajewski et al, 2011; Gayo et al, 2015; Loftus et al, 2019; Vermeersch, 2019) and geospatial “big data” (e.g., earth observations, climatic simulations) that can be utilised or transformed. One such transformation is the development of statistical frequency analysis methods (e.g., summed probability distribution [SPD]) that attempt to meaningfully summarise (Achino & Capuzzo, 2015; Ballenger & Mabry, 2011; Bluhm & Surovell, 2018; Chaput & Gajewski, 2016; Contreras & Meadows, 2014; Crema et al, 2017; Müller & Diachenko, 2019; Riris, 2018; Surovell & Brantingham, 2007) and apply these large data sets to derive human‐behavioural dynamics at regional and continental scales across all parts of the globe, including Europe (e.g., Crombe & Robinson, 2014; French & Collins, 2015; Palmisano et al, 2017; Pardo‐Gordó & Carvalho, 2020; Porčić, 2020; Reide, 2009; Shennan et al, 2013; Warden et al, 2017), the Americas (e.g., Williams et al, 2008; Gayo et al, 2015; A. Goldberg et al, 2016; McMichael & Bush, 2019; Méndez et al, 2015; Muscio & López, 2016; Peros et al, 2010; Riris & Arroyo‐Kalin, 2019; Williams et al, 2008), Asia and Australasia (Abe et al, 2016; A. A.…”

“…Routes of human migration to Australia and the developmental changes of Aboriginal populations through time necessarily involves the recognition of past sea‐level changes and their influences upon environments and human activities (M. I. Bird et al, 2016; Groucutt et al, 2015; Westaway, 2019). Radiocarbon date proxies have been used to explore climate‐driven fluctuations in sea level (Geyh, 1971, 1980) and associated human demographic change (e.g., Abe et al, 2016).…”

“…As noted by Williams et al (2018, p. 3), SPD analyses are likely to be more robust for time periods or geographic regions that are more well‐studied (i.e., are more visible and/or have more radiocarbon data). There is also an implicit view that a larger sample size provides a more complete record and/or reduced error, leading to arguments for more targeted dating of specific chronological or culturally transitional periods or of understudied areas (e.g., Abe et al, 2016; Delgado et al, 2015). However, as well as depending on the number and accuracy of the dates themselves, reliability also depends on precisely how the dates are associated with their depositional and cultural contexts (Phillips, 2013).…”