The Pioneer Phase of Obsidian Use and the Emergence of Modern Human Behavior in the Japanese Archipelago

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Unequivocal archaeological evidence on human activities in Japan occurred in ca. 40ka cal. BP. At the same time, obsidian sources in mountainous areas over 1500m a.s.l. and on the Pacific discovered and the utilization of obsidian as a non-local lithic raw material begun. Comprehensive surveys for natural resource environment across a vast area conducted by the first settlers likely triggered the exploitation of obsidian sources in the places difficult to find. The beginning of obsidian use is one of archaeological evidence indicating the date of modern human dispersal from Africa into Far Eastern Eurasia and the emergence of "modern human behavior" in the Japanese Archipelago.