Iyai Project Findings: Lives of Initial Jomon People Revealed through Rock Shelter Skeletons
Term：Mar. 4, 2021(Thu) - May 8 (Sat)
Iyai Rock Shelter is a small ruin dated from the Jomon Period located in the foothills of the Joshinetsu Mountains in the northwestern part of Gunma Prefecture. This rock shelter was found to have been used most actively in the Initial Jomon Period (ca. 10,000 - 8,000 years ago), when a hunter-gatherer lifestyle supported by abundant nature was being established and the Jomon Culture was being formed. What distinguishes this ruin from others is that household waste left by the Jomon people living in the mountains and their buried skeletons were found in a thick ash-colored deposit in an ideal state of preservation. It is a valuable site that enables us to reconstruct in detail the life and culture of the Initial Jomon people who were progressing toward a more settled lifestyle.
This special exhibition is organized to display the artifacts and human skeletons unearthed by the Kokugakuin University Archeological Research Office in its excavation project on the Iyai Rock Shelter, ongoing since 2014. It also presents the results of a joint research project between the Office and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, subsidized by the Society’s “Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research” program. The exhibition aims to reveal the life and culture of the Initial Jomon people, using a cutting-edge research approach resulting from the collaboration between archeology and natural science.
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Outline
| Admission Fee | Free |
|---|---|
| Term | Mar. 4, 2021(Thu) - May 8 (Sat) |
| Place | Kokugakuin University Museum, Special Exhibition Space |
| Access | Accessible on foot or by bus, 10-15 minutes from Shibuya, Omote-sandō, or Ebisu Station. Directions to Kokugakuin University Museum |
| Hours | Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, from 12:00 to 17:00（Last admission 16:30） |
| Closed | Sun. Mon. Tue. |