Osteology and Archaeology Research of Ancient Weapons in Japan

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The purpose of the present research was that oteology and archaeology specialists who have been involved for long time in the studies of injuries in ancient human skeletal materials or of ancient weapons, work cooperatively to analyse in more detail both the skeletal wounds and the Yayoi-period weapon materials, and to make clear the causative relations between the both as well. The osteology group has advanced methods to describe weapon injuries and to diagnose cuts, thrusts, stabs and arrow shoots on the bone. The archaeology group have made some 50 replicas of the bronze and stone weapon-like materials excavated at the Yayoi period sites, in which the well-known bronze swords and halberds found at the Yoshitake-Takagi site, Hukuoka Prefecture, are included. After making those replicas and collecting Japanese-monkey fresh skeletons, a kind of simulative experiment was carried out to injure bones using replicated weapons. In the last year of the research, a workshop was held at Tottori University to discuss about weapons likely to cause many types of bone injuries which were very recently found on the human skeletal remains from the Aoya-Kamijichi site. One of the most remarkable results obtained in the research, is that a probability of several injuries on ancient human bones being caused by bronze instruments has been suggested through discussion among the research members. The possibility has been reconstructed by the simulative experiment of monkey skeletons using the replica of bronze weapons. Its implications are that the Yayoi-period bronze weapons should be rethinked as to if those were actually used in warfare or in such situations. Further, it should be noted that a way to diagnose arrow injuries on ancient human bones has been explored in the present research.