Ōzakai cave dwelling site

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The Ōzakai cave dwelling (大境洞窟住居跡, Ōzakai dōkutsu jūkyo ato) is an archaeological site consisting of a cave dwelling in the Ōzakai neighborhood of the city of Himi, Toyama Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1986.[1]

Ōzakai cave dwelling site
大境洞窟住居跡
Ōzakai cave dwelling site
Ōzakai cave dwelling site is located in Toyama Prefecture
Ōzakai cave dwelling site
Ōzakai cave dwelling
Ōzakai cave dwelling site is located in Japan
Ōzakai cave dwelling site
Ōzakai cave dwelling site (Japan)
LocationHimi, Toyama, Japan
RegionHokuriku region
Coordinates36°55′22.0″N 137°1′48.8″E / 36.922778°N 137.030222°E / 36.922778; 137.030222
Typesettlement
History
PeriodsJōmon to Kamakura
Site notes
Public accessYes

Overview

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The site was discovered when a Shinto shrine was being renovated near the fishing port of Himi in 1918. Within a large natural cave created by wave action, a number of bones and Jōmon pottery fragments were discovered and during a subsequent excavation by the Tokyo Imperial University, stone tools, earthenware, the bones of approximately 20 people were found. [2]

The cave has a depth of 35 meters, with an entrance 16 meters wide, and eight meters high. The current floor is about four meters higher than the present sea level. The Ōzakai site was the first cave site in Japan and stratigraphic examination indicated that it had been occupied from the middle Jōmon period through the Kamakura period:

The discovery of the Yayoi period human remains drew attention to the Yayoi custom of ritual tooth extraction and secondary burial (the skulls had red paint).

The site is located about 20 minutes by car from Himi Station on the JR West Himi Line.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "大境洞窟住居跡" [Ōzakai dōkutsu jūkyo ato] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Isomura, Yukio; Sakai, Hideya (2012). (国指定史跡事典) National Historic Site Encyclopedia. 学生社. ISBN 4311750404.(in Japanese)
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