Naomi Kami
Principal Investigator
National Museum of Japanese History
Project Overview
"Sakhalin pig" (Sus sp., Sus inoi) refers to a wild boar species whose excavation is limited only in the Okhotsk culture period, mainly in Sakhalin and Hokkaido. From the viewpoint of traits and zoogeography, the hypothesis [Naora 1937] that this species was introduced to Hokkaido from East Asia via Sakhalin has been proposed. Since then, in addition to the examination of traits and excavation trends [Nishimoto 1978, Kaneko and Nishimoto 1987, Uchiyama 2003], recent years have seen a dramatic improvement in analytical techniques that have led to phylogenetic analysis [[Watanobe et al. 2001, Ishiguro and Watanabe 2005], observation of teeth and morphology [Hattori, Sawada, Sato 2013], food isotope Tsutaya 2018;2022] have also been conducted, reinforcing the validity of the hypothesis. On the other hand, it is still unclear why pigs disappeared over time while once deployed in various regions.
By conducting physical and chemical analyses of the Karafuto pig data and adding archaeological interpretations, this study aims to determine the route of introduction of livestock into the Okhotsk culture, to estimate the actual conditions of animal husbandry (feeding methods, breeding management, etc.), and to elucidate the factors behind the disappearance of the pigs. Specifically, we will address the following four issues. This research will be conducted with the cooperation of Group B02 (Group leader: Prof. Hirofumi Kato) and other research groups.
(1) Seasonal and regional differences in livestock introduction and disappearance (zooarchaeological analysis)
(2) Timing and regional differences in feeding (carbon-14 dating, dietary isotope analysis)
(3) Phylogenetic analysis among samples (ancient-DNA analysis)
(4) Morphological characteristics of the skull of the pink pig, degree of reproductive management and breeding (morphological analysis)
