Histomorphological species identification of tiny bone fragments from a Paleolithic site in the Northern Japanese Archipelago

AbstractBone histomorphology is an effective method for species identification of fragmentary osseous remains. The 1997–1998 excavations of the Kashiwadai 1 Upper Paleolithic site (ca. 22–20.5 kyBP) in Hokkaido (the northern island of the Japanese Archipelago) yielded tiny bone fragments, which had been burned to white and broken into pieces less than 1 cm in size, making their species identification by gross morphology alone impossible. For the purpose of species identification, histomorphological analyses were performed on thin sections of the Kashiwadai 1 bone fragments. Compact bone cross sections taken from medium- to large-sized land mammals in the Pleistocene and Holocene Hokkaido were prepared for comparison. The structures of the Kashiwadai 1 samples consisted of secondary osteons and plexiform bone. Consideration of the presence versus absence of plexiform bone and quantitative assessments of osteon sizes and bone cortical thickness allows for distinction between medium-sized deer, large-sized artiodactyls, small- to medium-sized carnivores, large-sized carnivores, elephants, and humans. The histomorphological characteristics of the Kashiwadai 1 samples were quite similar to those of both sika deer and ancient sika deer. A probable conclusion is that medium-sized deer was the primary game hunted by Paleolithic people at the Kashiwadai 1 site. Interestingly, the samples did not include elephant or large-sized artiodactyls, which were the predominant species in other Paleolithic sites of the Japanese Archipelago. This is the first evidence of human hunting medium-sized animals in the Upper Paleolithic period of the Japanese Archipelago based on faunal remains

Cranial Thickness of Modern and Neolithic Populations in Japan

Cranial vault thicknesses were measured directly with a spreading caliper at six anatomical reference points in the modern Japanese and Neolithic Jomon series. Because no statistically significant correlation was found between age and cranial thickness in our study, the age-related change in thickness was not indicated in the modern Japanese. The cranial thicknesses at the frontal and parietal eminences were significantly greater in the female than in the male in modern Japanese. In the male series the cranial thickness of the Neolithic Jomon was significantly greater than that of modern Japanese. It is suggested that the temporal change that has occurred in Japan during the last 2000 years is consistent with the trend toward decreasing cranial thickness during the last 10,000 years in many parts of the world

Os zygomaticum bipartitum: frequency distribution in major human populations

The frequency of the Os zygomaticum bipartitum was examined in major human populations around the world. Eastern Asians have a higher frequency of the bipartite zygomatic bone than any other geographical groups. The arctic peoples, Amerindians and the Oceanians, who all may have derived from eastern Asian population stocks, have a considerably low frequency of this trait. The frequency distribution from East/Southeast Asia to Africa and Europe through South/Central/West Asia suggests some clinality for the bipartite zygomatic bone. The second peak in the frequency is seen in Subsaharan Africa. The clinal variation with no identifiable regulation by subsistence patterns and environmental factors suggested a genetic background for the occurrence of the Os zygomaticum bipartitum