Spacio-temporal changes in Sambucus (red elderberry) seed remains and seed impressions on clay vessels in the Japanese Islands

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  • 日本の遺跡におけるニワトコ属Sambucus 核の出土事例およびニワトコ属核土器圧痕の検出事例の分析
  • ニホン ノ イセキ ニ オケル ニワトコゾク Sambucusカク ノ シュツド ジレイ オヨビ ニワトコゾクカク ドキアツコン ノ ケンシュツ ジレイ ノ ブンセキ

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The seeds (stones) of the red elderberry Sambucus racemosa are frequently found in Jomon archaeological sites in Japan. However, due to the scarcity of ethnographic information in East Asia, the use of fruit during the Jomon period is poorly understood. This study addresses this issue through examinations of the spacio-temporal change in the occurrence of Sambucus seed remains throughout the Paleolithic to the Modern Age, a composition of seed remains and seed impressions on clay vessels during the Jomon, and the macro-fossils of other plants associated with Sambucus seeds at Jomon sites. As a result, the occurrence of Sambucus seeds from archaeological sites in the Japanese Islands increased in the Jomon period and the Early Modern times and decreased between the Yayoi period and the Medieval Age. However, the occurrence of Sambucus seeds remains high in Hokkaido after the Jomon period(21.4-68.0%). In the Tohoku region, the decrease in Sambucus seeds occurs in later periods and is more gradual than in the south of the Kanto region. It is suggested that the use of red elderberry fruit in northern Japan, including the current distribution area of S. racemosa subsp. kamtschatica, may persist for a longer period than in other regions of the Japanese island area. Additionally, the occurrence of charred Sambucus seeds tends to be high in northern Japan and inland in Central Japan (Chubu region), all of which showed more than 75%. Furthermore, we revealed the frequencies of berries, nuts, Fabaceae spp., and Perilla spp. associated with Sambucus seeds in each archaeological feature varied depending on the condition of materials, such as uncharred, charred, and impressions on ceramics. This strongly indicates that the methods for using Sambucus fruit varied depending on the role of the locations in archaeological sites. Consequently, the spacio-temporal changes in Sambucus seeds from archaeological sites in the Japanese Islands have a close relationship with various human fruit use and the current distribution of subspecies in Sambucus.

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