Osteology and Archaeology Research of Ancient Weapons in Japan

本研究的目的是，通过长期从事古人类骨骼材料或古兵器损伤研究的耳科学和考古学专家的合作，对骨骼损伤和弥生时代兵器材料进行更详细的分析，并弄清两者之间的因果关系。骨学组有先进的方法来描述武器伤害和诊断切割，推力，刺伤和箭射在骨头上。考古小组已经制作了大约50件在弥生时代遗址出土的青铜和石头武器状材料的复制品，其中包括在福冈县吉岳高木遗址发现的著名青铜剑和戟。在制作了这些复制品并收集了日本猴子的新鲜骨骼后，进行了一种模拟实验，使用复制的武器伤害骨骼。在研究的最后一年，鸟取大学举办了一个讲习班，讨论最近在Aoya-Kamijichi遗址的人类骨骼遗骸上发现的可能造成多种骨损伤的武器。研究中取得的最显著的成果之一是，通过研究人员之间的讨论，提出了古代人骨上的几种损伤是由青铜器造成的可能性。利用青铜兵器复制品对猴骨进行模拟实验，重建了这一可能性。它的含义是，弥生时代的青铜武器应该重新思考，如果这些实际上是在战争中使用或在这种情况下。此外，应该指出的是，在本研究中已经探索了一种诊断古代人骨上箭伤的方法。

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.