Awazu Shell Midden
Awazu Kaizuka · 粟津貝塚 · Otsu Awazu
Incipient Jomon (12000) → Early Jomon 8000–6000 BCE (Jomon lakeshore forager)·Jomon (Lake Biwa Incipient–Early Jomon)·🇯🇵 Shiga Prefecture, Otsu City, Awazu lakeshore (southern Lake Biwa east bank, Seta River outflow near Otsu castle), Japan
About
About Awazu Shell Midden
Incipient–Early Jomon lakeshore shell midden (c.12000–6000 BCE) on Lake Biwa eastern bank at Awazu, Otsu — 0.8 ha freshwater shell mound (Seta shijimi clam) excavated 1962–86 by Shiga Prefecture, with unique freshwater shell plus wooden artifacts: worked wood, cord-marked incipient Jomon pottery 12,000 BCE (among oldest in Honshu), nut processing pits and animal bones. Awazu is the largest freshwater shell midden of Lake Biwa Jomon and pairs with Torihama (Wakasa) as west Honshu wetland Jomon duo proving lacustrine resource sedentism independent of marine shell middens (like Natsushima), bridging Paleolithic to early Jomon pottery use by 10,000 BCE on the Biwa plain before Yayoi rice.
Why it mattersLargest Lake Biwa freshwater midden — proves lacustrine Jomon sedentism distinct from coastal Jomon; incipient pottery 12,000 BCE pairing with Torihama for wetland Jomon model.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Was Biwa shijimi managed or just gathered?
Theories
- 01Freshwater Jomon as rice predecessor without marine adaptation (Shiga lacustrine model)
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.12000–10000 BCE incipient Jomon freshwater forager camps
- Period
- Incipient Jomon (12000) → Early Jomon 8000–6000 BCE (Jomon lakeshore forager)
- Culture
- Jomon (Lake Biwa Incipient–Early Jomon)
- Builders
- Lake Biwa Jomon lake foragers (western Honshu Jomon)
- Purpose
- Freshwater clam lakeshore fishing camp and nut-processing workshop on Biwa
- Abandoned
- c.6000 BCE (Lake Biwa transgression siltation)
- Rediscovered
- 1962 Shiga development rescue (Biwa lakeside road)
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.12000–10000 BCE
Incipient cord-marked pottery and shijimi clam midden on paleo-shore
c.10000–6000 BCE
Early Jomon wood, nut pits, and expanded midden with lipided pottery
1962–86
Shiga Prefecture rescue and analysis; paired with Torihama
On the ground
Structures & features
35.0200° N · 135.9000° E · 85 m · 2 mapped features
Freshwater Shell Midden Core
middenShijimi clam shell layer 1.2 m with incipient cord pottery in center
35.0205° N · 135.9005° ENut Processing Pit Area
storageChestnut and walnut processing pits with wooden tool debris on mound edge
35.0195° N · 135.8995° E
Gallery