The Tochibara rockshelter is the name of an inland, Early Jomon period archaeological site overlooking the Aiki river in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. The site contains skeletal remains of 12 individuals, eight adults, two children and two infants. The two children are believed to have been killed in a rockfall; the others were purposefully interred.
Ceramics recovered from the site are identified as Early Jomon through Yayoi period; the skeletons are accompanied by the "Oshigata-mon" type pottery, dated to the early Jomon period. Faunal remains at the site included Japanese deer and Japanese wild boar, as well as fish and shellfish. Stable isotope analysis of the skeletal material suggest a diet heavy in terrestrial protein (deer, wild boar), with perhaps a small amount of seafood, particularly in contrast to coastal Jomon settlements.
AMS radiocarbon dating of the skeletal material and charcoal located near the deposits reveals a date between 8260 and 8580 years before the present, making the burials at Tochibara the earliest Jomon skeletons recovered to date.
Sources
This glossary entry is a part of the About.com Guide to the Jomon, and part of the Dictionary of Archaeology.Yoneda, Minoru, et al. 2004 Radiocarbon and stable isotope analyses on the earliest Jomon skeletons from the Tochibara rockshelter, Nagano, Japan. Radiocarbon 44(2):549–557.
