Obsidian resource use from the Jomon to Okhotsk period on Rebun Island: An analysis of archaeological obsidian.
Résumé
Hokkaido obsidian sources have been widely exploited by hunter-gatherer groups in Northeast Asia since the
Upper Paleolithic (~30,000 cal. BP). Rebun Island is located 50 km from the northwest tip of Hokkaido in the
Sea of Japan. Given that obsidian does not occur naturally on Rebun Island, all obsidian materials found there
are the result prehistoric transportation of these resources. Examination of 133 obsidian artifacts collected
from excavations on Rebun Island employing portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) provides data for assessment
of obsidian resource use during the Middle Jomon, Epi-Jomon, and Okhotsk periods on Rebun Island. Previously
published data are also consulted for the Late and Final Jomon, and Epi-Jomon period on Rebun Island. The findings
of this study suggest that the most prevalent changes in obsidian resource use on Rebun Island occur between
the Middle and Late Jomon periods, and the Late Jomon and Okhotsk periods. These results
demonstrate that variation in obsidian resource use during these periods is closely associated with patterns of
culture change, in Hokkaido, and on Rebun Island.