Kabayama Site

Kabayama Site
樺山遺跡
Location in Japan
Kabayama Site
Location in Japan
Kabayama Site (Japan)
Location Kitakami, Iwate, Japan
Region Tōhoku region
Coordinates 39°14′21″N 141°07′48″E / 39.23917°N 141.13000°E / 39.23917; 141.13000
Altitude 270 m (886 ft)
Type settlement
History
Periods middle Jōmon
Site notes
Ownership National Historic Site
Public access Yes

Kabayama Site (樺山遺跡, Kabayama Iseki) is a Japanese National Historic Site located in Kitakami, Iwate, in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan.[1]

The Kabayama site is the location of a Jōmon period settlement and possible ceremonial center. It is located approximately seven kilometers south of the center of the modern city of Kitakami, on the Kitakami River near the foot of the Kitakami Mountains. The site was discovered in 1945 and has been excavated numerous times.

The site is located on two levels of a low hill. The lower tier consists of 32 circular arrangements of elongated river stones in a radial pattern, each with a diameter of 1.2 meters, with a central dolmen. Dating from the middle Jōmon period, others may have been destroyed or relocated. As the soil underneath these stones is undisturbed, these are not burial markers, and the formations are too small to serve as a defensive perimeter. It is thought that these stones had a ceremonial meaning, similar to stone circles found at other Jōmon period sites, such as at the Ōyu Stone Circles discovered in Akita Prefecture.

The upper level is located 20 meters higher, and consists of the remains of a number of pit dwellings. Fragments of earthenware and a number of jar coffins were found in the upper level, and have been dated to 5000 years ago for the eastern side of the hill, and 4000 years ago on the western side, indicating a long period of settlement.

The site received protection as a national historic site in 1977. The site contains a number of reconstructed pit dwellings, and a small museum.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Agency for Cultural Affairs - Cultural Heritage Online (in Japanese)
  2. ↑ Kabayama Rekishi no Hiroba Jomon-kan(in Japanese)
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