Futatsumori Shell Midden
Futatsumori Kaizuka · Futatsumori Site
Early to Middle Jomon 4500–2500 BCE (Jomon 2–4)·Early–Middle Jomon (Tōhoku coastal)·🇯🇵 Aomori Prefecture, Kamikita District, Shichinohe Town (Lake Ogawara lowland), Japan
About
About Futatsumori Shell Midden
Early–Middle Jomon coastal shell midden and settlement (c.4500–2500 BCE) at Shichinohe on the Lake Ogawara plain — massive shell mound 120×80 m (Late Jomon layers 3 m thick) with 40+ pit dwellings, burial pits, and deep shell lens (Corbicula and oyster) 4 m thick. Excavated 1998–2006, Futatsumori shows Jomon marine resource intensification (fish bones 20 species, sea mammal), lacquerware, and the longest-lived tidal shell midden in northern Honshu; UNESCO Jomon component (1632-006) contrasting inland stone circles.
Why it mattersLargest Early–Middle Jomon shell midden in Aomori; proves marine sedentism and long-distance obsidian-lacquer exchange before stone-circle Late Jomon.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why shift from Early coastal midden to inland Late stone circles?
Theories
- 01Sea-level highstand resource boom → later inland ritual aggregation
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.4500 BCE Early Jomon; shell mound 3500–2500 BCE peak
- Period
- Early to Middle Jomon 4500–2500 BCE (Jomon 2–4)
- Culture
- Early–Middle Jomon (Tōhoku coastal)
- Builders
- Jomon fisher-hunter-gatherers (Lake Ogawara)
- Purpose
- Permanent coastal fishing village and shell-processing–burial center
- Abandoned
- c.2300 BCE (sea-level fall)
- Rediscovered
- 1998–2006 Aomori Prefecture excavation
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.4500 BCE
Early Jomon pit dwellings founded on beach ridge
c.3500–2500 BCE
Massive Corbicula/oyster shell mound 120×80 m accumulated; 40 pit houses
2021
UNESCO Jomon Prehistoric Sites 1632-006 inscription
On the ground
Structures & features
40.7485° N · 141.2298° E · 30 m · 2 mapped features
Shell mound lens
midden120×80 m Corbicula/oyster shell lens 4 m thick with fish bones
40.7486° N · 141.2297° EPit-dwelling cluster
settlement40 pit dwellings 4–6 m dia. with hearths on beach ridge
40.7482° N · 141.2300° E
Gallery