Index to Research Reports

• A Bibliography of Publications on Japanese Archaeology and Prehistory by Westerners

  This file is a Microsoft Word .doc file rather than an HTML file. It presently prints to 49 pages. Most of the text is in English, but there is some Japanese in it, too. This bibliography was put together originally as part of the background research for a public lecture (in Japanese) on Westerners who have contributed to Japanese archaeology. It should be viewed as an incomplete rough draft -- a bit messy overall, but usable. (last revised: February 17, 2008) (PDF version)

  Additional bibliography acquired since 2008 is available in PDF format. (additional bibliography)

  The lecture notes are in Japanese but available here in PDF format. (lecture notes)

• A Criticism of Wikipedia: Wikipedia and Japanese Archaeology

  To me it is glaringly obvious that the Wikipedia system cannot produce useful information. Yet I get the impression that a lot of supposedly intelligent people use Wikipedia like it was the source of "The Word" on whatever subject. And Wikipedia seems to be selling itself as such. In fact, Wikipedia likely is the greatest source of misinformation the world has ever had. This report gives my reasons for feeling Wikipedia is not a reliable source of information on any topic. (last revised: January 12, 2008) ( PDF version on a different web site)

• Foreigners, too, Want to Know about Japanese Archaeology: The Role of Electronic Publishing

  This paper is in Japanese. It discusses the desire of foreigners to know more about Japanese archaeology, and it uses the contacts my web site gets to illustrate the degree of that interest. (January 25, 2007) (PDF version)

• Academic Elitists and Elite Academics: An Essay

  An essay discussing the difference between academic elitists and elite academics. The main example of an elite academic given in this essay is the Japanese archaeologist Sahara Makoto. (last revised: January 2, 2006)

• List of Books (in Japanese) with the Main Character a Japanese Archaeologist Doing Japanese Archaeology

  This list of books was recommended to me by my local city librarian, for a research project on the topic of Japanese archaeology in modern Japanese literature. (last revised: October 18, 2009)

• English-Language Bibliography for Jomon Subsistence and Diet Studies

  Non-Japanese language publications on the Jomon culture are not at all common. But there are a lot of English-language publications availble for studying Jomon subsistence and diet. This list is extensive, but certainly not complete. (last revised: April 20, 2005)

• "Fakery" at the Beginning, the Ending and the Middle of the Jomon Period.

  This paper was published in the Bulletin of the International Jomon Culture Conference, 1: 45-50 (Japanese translation: pp. 129-132). The "fakery" is accidental, the results of archaeologists not understanding the calibration of radiocarbon dates and thus giving dates for the beginning, middle and end of the Jomon Period that were not correct, that is, radiocarbon dates that were not calibrated. Calbrated dates make many theories about the Jomon Period invalid. (2004) (PDF file of Japanese translation).

• Bad Science and the Distortion of History: Radiocarbon Dating in Japanese Archaeology

  Since 1999 or shortly before, radiocarbon dates older than those expected, or published previously, have been making the news -- and causing concern, confusion and even shock among archaeologists. The reason many (far too many) archaeologists are confused or shocked by the new dates is their lack of understanding of radiocarbon dating. And this lack of understanding of radiocarbon dating has resulted in archaeologists writing a very incorrect history of prehistoric Japan for at least the past 25 or 30 years. (last revised: May 14, 2004)

• The First Radiocarbon Dates for Japan

  A chart and references for the first radiocarbon dates for the Jomon Period, 1951-1970. (last revised: April 14, 2004)

• Table of Pleistocene Human Fossils from Japan

  This table lists the known claims for Pleistocene human fossils in Japan and gives the present status of each. Recent re-evaluations by Baba Hisao and Matsuura Hideji have concluded that most of the fossils are not Pleistocene in age, with the exceptions of those from Okinawa. (last revised: October 27, 2003)

• The Story of the Excavation of the Yamanesakue and Haketaue Sites in Hamura

  The story of a four-year excavation project in western Tokyo, from 1977-1981; a personal introduction to Japanese contract field archaeology. (last revised: June 14, 2003)

• An Explanation of the Large Pillars at the Sannai Maruyama Site

  A brief discussion of one possible explanation for the large pillar structures at the Sannai Maruyama site in Aomori City. (last revised: April 25, 2001)

• Dirt and Japan's Early Palaeolithic Hoax

  Japan's "Early Palaeolithic Hoax" involves 186 sites, 162 of them pre-dating 35,000 years ago, and 33 of them excavated. One of the major factors allowing a person to plant sites on so many sites for over 20 years was a lack of understanding of site taphonomy, that is, of dirt. (last revised: November 20, 2001)

• Oldest Coins in Japan Found Recently

  A short paper based mostly on front-page news on Jan. 20, 1999. These coins were found at the Asukaike site in Nara Prefecture, and they date to the late 7th century. (last revised: April 18, 2008)

• Prehistoric and Historic Settlement Patterns in the Takase River Drainage, Northeastern Japan

  This is a long research paper based on research around Lake Ogawara in eastern Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan. The research was conducted in the early 1980s, but the conclusions remain basically valid today. (last revised: May 27, 1997)

• A Model for the Origins of the Japanese Paleolithic

  This model suggests that the Japanese islands were not settled by humans until around 35,000 years ago, because before that (1) humans were not in northern China or Korea when landbridges formed and (2) they did not have a means to cross the straits without landbridges. This model was first presented at a conference in 1991. (last revised: May 1991)