Doctoral Dissertation Research: Trade and Entanglement in Precolonial Hokkaido: The Formation of the Okhotsk Culture

本文研究了贸易和文化接触对日本北海道北部热本岛前殖民时期觅食社会的影响，有助于更广泛地了解北太平洋海洋觅食适应。这项提议的工作探索了鄂霍次克文化的形成，鄂霍次克文化是一个亚北极海洋适应社会，大约在公元400年到1000年在鄂霍次克海沿岸发现。他们假设鄂霍次克文化起源于公元第一个千年中期，北海道的外显绳纹社区和库页岛的苏须屋社区之间的互动增加。鄂霍次克人成为连接日本和亚洲大陆的贸易网络的主要参与者，并为北海道、库页岛和千岛群岛的土著阿伊努人的形成做出了贡献。非本地材料流通的模式将揭示曾经截然不同的文化传统之间的融合程度，而陶器、埋葬习俗和家庭结构将提供关于不断变化的社会身份的数据。这项研究促进了全球对北太平洋海洋适应以及相互作用和交流模式的理解，对在世界各地沿海和岛屿环境中工作的考古学家具有启示意义。本次研究将采用两种证据：北海道热本岛滨中2多组分遗址出土的陶器，以及对已发表数据的二次分析。Hamanaka 2号陶器组合来自于从外壁绳纹到历史上的阿伊努人的文化地层。这项工作将从连续的家庭职业中对陶器进行排序，并使用热释光测年法建立一个绝对的年表。通过x射线荧光光谱法和等离子体质谱法对陶器进行地球化学分析，将使pi能够区分粘土来源并跟踪贸易网络。陶器的薄片分析将提供矿物组成、颗粒大小和孔隙度的数据。最后，对壁厚、形状和尺寸的形式化分析将为生产方法提供数据。除了陶器分析之外，调查团还将对北海道北部的外壁绳纹和鄂霍次克考古遗址的档案资料和出版报告进行审查，重点研究埋葬习俗和房屋结构，以评估社会分化程度和社会身份标志。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This dissertation research examines the impact of trade and culture contact on precolonial foraging societies on Rebun Island in Northern Hokkaido, Japan, and contributes to broader understanding of maritime foraging adaptations in the North Pacific. The proposed work explores the formation of Okhotsk culture, a subarctic maritime-adapted society found along the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk circa 400 to 1000 CE. The PIs hypothesize that the Okhotsk culture arose amidst increased interactions between Epi-Jomon communities in Hokkaido and Susuya communities on Sakhalin Island in the mid-first millennium CE. Okhotsk people became key players in trade networks connecting Japan and mainland Asia, and contributed to the formation of the Indigenous Ainu of Hokkaido, Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. Patterns in the circulation of non-local materials will shed light on the degree of syncretism among once-distinct cultural traditions, while pottery, burial practices, and household structures will provide data on changing social identities. This research advances global understanding of maritime adaptations and modes of interaction and exchange in the North Pacific, with implications for archaeologists working in coastal and island contexts worldwide.This research will employ two lines of evidence: excavated pottery from the multicomponent site of Hamanaka 2 on Rebun Island, Hokkaido, and the secondary analysis of published data. The Hamanaka 2 pottery assemblages derive from cultural strata dating from the Epi-Jomon to the historic Ainu. The proposed work will seriate pottery from sequential household occupations and build an absolute chronology using thermoluminescence dating. Geochemical analysis of pottery, via X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and plasma-mass spectrometry, will enable the PIs to differentiate clay sources and track trade networks. Thin-section analysis of pottery will provide data on mineral composition, grain size, and porosity. Finally, formal analysis of wall thickness, shape and size will contribute data on production methods. In addition to pottery analysis, the PIs will review archival data and published reports on Epi-Jomon and Okhotsk archaeological sites from North Hokkaido, focusing on burial practices and house structure in order to evaluate degree of social differentiation and markers of social identity.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.