Tawayama Shell Midden
Tawayama Kaizuka · Tawayama Jomon Shell Mound
Jomon Early 5000 BP → Late Jomon 3000 BP·Jomon San'in coastal — Tawayama Hamayu tradition·🇯🇵 Japan, Chugoku, Tottori Prefecture, Tottori City, Tawayama hill at Lake Koyama coast (Sea of Japan) 5 km northwest of Tottori, San'in coast, Japan
About
About Tawayama Shell Midden
Tawayama Shell Midden — Jomon mid-to-late shell midden (5000–3000 BP) on Tawayama hill at Lake Koyama 5 km NW Tottori, San'in Sea of Japan coast, excavated 1980s–90s by Tottori University. Tawayama revealed 3-m shell midden (9300+ years) with Hamayu-style pottery, drilled shell bracelets, whale bone, deer antler, and brackish Corbicula–Meretrix indicating Jomon coastal foraging and early pottery incipience. Unornamented Hamayu Jomon (Early Jomon 7000 BP) and Urabayashi-type display San'in Jomon marine adaptation distinct from Kanto. Human burials with shell goods show ritual.
Why it mattersSan'in Jomon coastal type-site — Hamayu pottery and brackish shell ecology linking Jomon maritime
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Brackish vs marine shell shift — climate or cultivation?
Theories
- 01San'in Jomon as Japan Sea maritime pioneer
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.5000 BP Jomon shell midden inception (Early Hamayu)
- Period
- Jomon Early 5000 BP → Late Jomon 3000 BP
- Culture
- Jomon San'in coastal — Tawayama Hamayu tradition
- Builders
- Jomon foragers on Lake Koyama coast
- Purpose
- Coastal shell midden and Hamayu pottery centre showing San'in marine adaptation
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.5000 BP
Hamayu shell midden starts at Lake Koyama
1980s
Tottori University midden stratigraphy
1995
Board report defines San'in coastal adaptation
On the ground
Structures & features
35.4850° N · 134.2420° E · 15 m · 2 mapped features
Central Shell Midden Exposure
midden3-m brackish Corbicula midden exposure with Hamayu pottery on central hill
35.4855° N · 134.2425° EBurial Cluster with Shell Bracelets
burialJomon flexed burials with drilled shell bracelets on southern terrace
35.4845° N · 134.2415° E