The research team consisting of?Associate Professor?Yuka Sasaki from?Kanazawa University Institute for the Study of Ancient Civilizations and Cultural Resources? (Visiting Researcher, Obsidian Research Center, Meiji University), Professor Kenichi Kobayashi (Chuo University), and Masahiro Miyata (Tokyo National Museum) investigated and analyzed Katsusaka style earthenware excavated from a site in Fuchu City, Tokyo, in February 2021. They scientifically showed that the decoration on the earthenware was made by pressing and embedding cultigen-size soybean seeds.
In recent years, indentations left on the surfaces of earthenware vessel have been attracting attention of archaeologists. Particularly, the use of the replica method (*l) has led to the suggestion that beans were cultivated during the Jomon period (e.g. Obata 2016, Nakayama 2020). In cooperation with the Fuchu City government's project to publish the New Fuchu City History, this research team examined pottery excavated from the Shimizugaoka site, a large settlement of the middle Jomon period in Fuchu City. To find out how the dents on pottery surfaces were made, obtained replicas were observed with a stereo microscope and a scanning electron microscope (*2).? The observation revealed that one indentation was a seed of the soybean genus judging from the shape and size of the seed replica. Furthermore, X-ray CT revealed another indentation embedded in a ridge of the earthenware vessel clay, that was not visible from the outside, but was outside the vessel body. These results indicated that soybean seed indentations exist only in the areas where soybean seeds were applied as decorations after shaping the earthenware body, and that the applied seeds were as large as modern cultivated soybeans. These are the first evidence that humans intentionally embedded soybean seeds in prehistoric pottery in the Japanese archipelago for decorative or ceremonial purposes.?
The results of this study were published in the "New Fuchu City History, Primitive and Ancient Times" published on May 25, 2024. The discovered earthenware is stored in the Fuchu City Museum and will be displayed to the public from July 20 (Sat.) onward.
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【Glossary】
?*1: Replica method
Silicon is poured into the holes in the earthenware vessel surfaces, and molds of the holes are obtained as replicas. The obtained replicas are observed with a scanning electron microscope to identify the original materials (plant seeds, insects, etc.) and to reconstruct the Jomon environment, plant use, and the various activities of the Jomon people during pottery production. (From the Website of Professor Hiroki Obata's lab, Kumamoto University)
*2: Scanning electron microscope
Optical microscopes that observe objects with light cannot observe objects smaller than the wavelength of light, making it difficult to observe nanostructures. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a microscope that uses electron beams with shorter wavelengths than those of light to observe structures as small as several nm (nanometers).
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Click here to see the press release【Japanese only】
Researcher's Information: Yuka Sasaki
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