Palaeolithic News and Articles

Page [2]

Mary Yamaguchi 

(San Francisco Chronicle, August 22, 2002)

A group of privately funded Japanese scientists has a mammoth project for Siberia -- a safari park they hope might eventually feature a genetic hybrid of the extinct woolly mammals and modern-day elephants.

For several years, the researchers have conducted excavations in Siberia in hopes of finding a frozen specimen well enough preserved in the Siberian tundra for its DNA to be used to impregnate an elephant.

"If we can find a somatic (body) cell, or preferably a sperm cell, that is intact, we can recreate a mammoth," said Shoji Okutsu, a veterinary expert at Kagoshima University. "If everything goes successfully and we have baby mammoths, we don't want to keep them at a zoo. We want them to live in an environment as close as possible to where their ancestors once lived."

Rest here.

Archaeological probe dismisses 'findings' of disgraced Fujimura

(Japan Times Monday, May 27th, 2002)

The Japanese Archaeological Association on Sunday concluded that none of the alleged stone tools that disgraced archaeologist Shinichi Fujimura said date back to the Paleolithic period have any academic value.

The decision by the association's special investigative committee, announced at the group's general assembly held in Tokyo, comes 19 months after the shocking revelation that Fujimura, once a star amateur archaeologist, fabricated his finds at what were claimed to be ancient ruins in northern Japan.

The association has since re-examined ruins that Fujimura, 52, a former deputy director of the Tohoku Paleolithic Institute, was involved in excavating.

A report submitted at Sunday's meeting by the committee, headed by Meiji University professor Mitsunori Tozawa, said it is "impossible to use (Fujimura's finds) as academic materials."

Read the rest here.

Biome classification from Japanese pollen data: application to modern-day and Late Quaternary samples, Quaternary Science Reviews, Vol. 21 (2002), pp. 647-657.

Katsuya Gotanda, Takeshi Nakagawa, Pavel Tarasov, Junko Kitagawa, Yasushi Inoue and Yoshinori Yasuda


Abstract: Thirty four arboreal pollen taxa were assigned to plant functional types and then classified to eight forest biomes in Japan and adjacent areas. When applied to 285 surface pollen spectra from Japan, the method assigns 78% (222 sites) of the samples to the correct biome. The method is particularly good at reconstructing warm-mixed, temperate deciduous, temperate conifer and cool-mixed forests, but the reconstruction of cool-conifer forest was difficult. The method has been applied to the late Quaternary pollen record from Lake Mikata, central Japan (35°33'22" N, 135°53'40" E, 0 m a.s.l.) to reconstruct vegetation changes since ca 40,000 yr BP. The reconstruction shows that temperate deciduous forest dominated around Lake Mikata before 25,000 yr BP. A phase of cool-mixed forest (now present only in Hokkaido, 1000 km to the northeast) is reconstructed between ca 22,000 and ca 18,000 yr BP, corresponding to the coldest stage of the Last Glaciation. This coldest phase is bound by two transition phases that are characterized by co-dominance of cool-mixed and temperate deciduous forest vegetation. The Holocene vegetation is represented by warm-mixed forest that grows around the site today.

Family sues magazine over suicide

OITA (Kyodo) The family of a renowned archaeologist who committed suicide after a magazine alleged he fabricated excavation results filed a damages suit Thursday, seeking 55 million from the magazine's publisher and chief editor.

The family of Mitsuo Kagawa, a Beppu University professor emeritus who committed suicide in March, filed the suit with the Oita District Court against Bungeishunju Ltd., Seigo Kimata, Shukan Bunshun's chief editor, and the reporter who wrote the article, seeking compensation and a published apology for defamation.

According to the suit, the weekly magazine ran stories on four occasions between January and March saying Kagawa was suspected of fabricating finds at the Hijiridaki Cave site in the village of Honjo, Oita Prefecture.

Read the rest here.

Hideji HARUNARI, editor. (2001) Excavation at Hijiridaki Cave, Oita Prefecture, Japan.  Interdisciplinary Study on the Origins of the Japanese People and Cultures, Archaeology Series No. 14.  Sakura: National Museum of Japanese History.

Download the English summary (ADOBE pdf format).

Japanese archaeologist who fooled so many for so long leaves dark legacy of flawed theories

(San Francisco Chronicle August 19, 2001)

Shinichi Fujimura was a superstar in the world of Japanese archaeology. His uncanny ability to make surprising finds earned him the nickname "The Hand of God" and came to define how history books would portray Japan's distant past.

That history is now being rewritten.

Since Fujimura was caught red-handed and confessed last year that he planted many of his finds, textbooks have been revised, artifacts quietly removed from the National Museum, and theories on Japan's earliest humans reconsidered.

The Fujimura affair, among the worst cases of academic fraud ever in Japan, exposed fundamental problems with the way archaeology is conducted here. And in a country where finds are frequently front-page news, the damage to its reputation may be irreparable.

"It will take a considerable amount of energy for Japanese archaeology to recover," said Toshiaki Kamata, chairman of the Tohoku Paleolithic Institute, which Fujimura helped found. "Such a mistake cannot be erased, even after decades."

Read the rest here.

Scholars devise method to confirm date of stone tools

(Japan Times June 6, 2001)

OSAKA -- A group of scholars in western Japan said Tuesday they have devised a method to assess the age of unearthed stone tools by examining the degree of weathering on their surface.

The group, led by Tsuneto Nagatomo, a professor at Nara University of Education, has found that the approximate age of stone tools could be calculated by measuring the thickness of crumbling layers on the stone's surface.

Nagatomo said he hopes the method will help verify the authenticity of controversial Paleolithic stone tools discovered in northeastern Japan.

Read the rest of the article here.

(Japan Times January 28, 2001)

Shock waves ran through Japan in November after it was revealed that revered amateur archaeologist Shinichi Fujimura had planted findings of early Paleolithic relics at two of his dig sites.

The anguish has since compounded among the nation's archaeological circles, officials at the Cultural Agency and concerned local governments, many of whom now doubt the veracity of other Fujimura findings.

And the process of proving the authenticity of the finds by Fujimura, who was once known as the "God hand," may take years.

Fujimura appeared before the press Nov. 5 and officially admitted fabricating discoveries at two ruins, one in Miyagi Prefecture and the other in Hokkaido. He claimed that all his other discoveries were genuine.

Read the rest of the article here.

Abstract from Naora, N. (2000) Osteology and ecology of Otter from Pleistocene to the Present in Japan, Zoo-archaeology 15, pp. 115-143. (ADOBE pdf format).

Archaeologists worried about Fujimura 'fakes'

(Japan Times December 26, 2000)

Over Christmas weekend there was a conference held by the Ancient Stone Culture in Northeastern Japan in Aizuwakamatsu, Fukishima Prefecture.  the focus of the meeting was to re-examine some of the stone tools from 31 sites that Fujimura excavated at.  There is suspicion that Fujimura has fabricated more discoveries at other sites.

Read Fujimura's defense here.

Abstract from Nakazawa, Y. (2000) Experimental Study for detecting morphological effects of thermal alteration on obsidian artifacts and quantitative examination in an obsidian assemblage, Quaternary Research 39. (Adobe pdf format).

Doubts over archaeologist expand

(Japan Times November 20, 2000)

Examination of the excavation records of the Nakamine C site which was excavated in 1983 with help from Fujimura has been called into question.  The majority of the stone tool discoveries were only by Fujimura when working alone.  The majority of the other finds at the site date to the Heian period.

Read the complete article here.

Officials sorry for archaeologist's fraudulent finds

(Japan Times November 7, 2000)

Toshiaki Kamata, director of the Tohoku Palaeolithic Cultural Research Institute, has issued formal apologies to officials in Miyage Prefecture.  Fujimura has been dismissed from the Tohoku Palaeolithic Cultural Research Institute.  The Cultural Affairs Agency and the Ministry of Education have ordered a review of all the finds of Fujimura in order to determine their authenticity.

Archaeologist admit's planting dig's artifacts
(Japan Times November 6, 2000)
Shinichi Fujimura, deputy director of the Tohoku Palaeolithic Cultural Research Institute and excavator of the Kamitakimori site in Miyage Prefecture, admitted to planting 59-61 of the 63 stone tools found at the site; He has also admitted to planting the stone tools found at the Soshinfudozaka site in Hokkaido.

Archaeologists find 'Oldest' Habitation

(Japan Times October 24, 2000)

Traces of a round building, nearly 2 m in diameter have been found at the Kamitakamori site in Miyagi Prefecture.  Associated with the structure are several pits, some of which contain stone tools.  The features are dated to approximately 600,000 years ago, based on tephra layers.  

Links

Sanwa site, Gunma Prefecture

  Toyama Prefecture Cultural Properties Center article on the Palaeolithic in Toyama Prefecture

Yatsugatake Palaeolithic sites