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

本论文研究探讨贸易和文化接触的影响，殖民前觅食社会的北方北海道，日本礼文岛，并有助于更广泛地了解海洋觅食适应北太平洋。拟议的工作探讨鄂霍次克文化的形成，一个亚北极海洋适应社会发现沿着鄂霍次克海海岸约公元400至1000年。PI假设鄂霍次克文化是在公元第一个千年中期，在北海道的Epi-Jomon社区和萨哈林岛的Susuya社区之间增加的相互作用中出现的。鄂霍次克人成为连接日本和亚洲大陆的贸易网络的关键人物，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。非本地材料的流通模式将揭示曾经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。本研究将通过对北海道礼文岛滨中2号遗址出土的陶器和对已发表数据的二次分析，为世界各地的沿海和岛屿考古工作者提供证据。滨中2号陶器组合来自于从Epi-Jomon到历史上的阿伊努人的文化地层。拟议的工作将连续的陶器从连续的家庭职业和建立一个绝对的年表使用热释光测年。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成分、粒度和孔隙度的数据。最后，对壁厚、形状和尺寸的正式分析将有助于生产方法的数据。除了陶器分析，PI将审查档案数据和出版的报告Epi-Jomon和鄂霍次克考古遗址从北北海道，该奖项反映了NSF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进行评估，被认为值得支持的搜索.

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.