Reconnaissance of Paleolithic sites yielding mammalian remains and tephonomy

喀斯特地区洞穴沉积物的发掘和勘察我们发掘了冈山县新密县NT洞和小森-安娜洞的洞穴沉积物。NT洞是一个直径约1米的垂直小洞，洞内充斥着化石沉积物。我们在4.5m深处的发掘发现，该沉积物为含石灰岩角砾岩的未分层泥，其中含有大量哺乳动物遗骸，包括大型野猪(Sus cf.lydekkeri)、大型鹿(Cervus sp.)和体型较小的鹿(Hypotes cf.inemis)。这一化石组合具有日本鲜为人知的中更新世中期动物群的特征，是日本洞穴和裂隙动物群中最古老的，从古生物学的角度来看是非常重要的。在小森-安南洞，我们进行了地形测绘和试探性发掘。含化石水沉积的研究和勘察在长崎县池冈县阿什部的Hatahoko河河床上进行了野外调查，发现大象的臼齿和骨头碎片产于半固结砾石床中，新命名为Hatahokogawa组，该组夹在一层薄的火山灰岩层中。用14&gt；C法测得地层中的木质碎片的年代约为40kyr.B.P.骨头碎片散落在数百米长的河床上。从攻丝学的观点来看，这种发生模式非常有趣。此外，我们还在九州、本州和北海道的许多化石地点和考古遗址进行了实地调查或勘察，包括大分县的平岛岛、宫崎县的托诺戈里和静冈县的佐滨。在这些地点和地点，我们检查了哺乳动物化石(主要是大象)和旧石器时代的文物。

Excavation and reconnaissance of cave sedimets in Karst areasWe excavated the cave sediments of NT Cave and Komori-ana Cave in Niimi, Okayama Prefecture. NT Cave is small vertical cave with a diameter of about 1m, which is filled with fossiliferous sediments. Our excavations to the depth of 4.5m have revealed that the sediments are unstratified mud with limestone breccia which contain a large number of mammalian remains including large wild boar (Sus cf.lydekkeri), larger deer (Cervus sp.) and smaller deer (Hydropotes cf.inermis). This fossil assemblage is very important from paleontological view points, because it possesses the characters of the middle Middle Pleistocene fauna which is poorly known in Japan, and is the oldest among the faunas of caves and fissures in Japan. In Komori-anan Cave, we carried out a topographic mapping and a tentative excavation.Research and reconnaissance of fossil-bearing aqueous sedimentsOru field survey on the riverbed of Hatahoko River in Ashibe, Iki-gun, Nagasaki Prefecture, revealed that molars and bone fragments of elephant occurred from semi-consolidated gravel bed, newly named the Hatahokogawa Formation, which intercalated a thin tephra bed. Wood fragments from the formaiton are dated as about 40kyr.B.P.by ^<14>C method. The bone fragments were scattered on the riverbed with lengths of a few hundred meters. This mode of occurrence is very interesting from taphonomic viewpoints. Additionally, we carried out field survey or reconnaissance at many fossil localities and archaeological sites in Kyushu, Honshu and Hokkaido including Himeshima Island of Oita Prefecture, Tonogori of Miyazaki Prefecture nd Sahama of Shizuoka Prefecture. At these localities and sites, we examined mammalian fossils (mainly elephants) and artifacts of Paleolithic age.