「野尻湖周辺の人類遺跡と古環境」のまとめと今後の課題  [in Japanese] The Results and the Further Problems for the Study of "The Paleolithic Sites and Paleoenvironment in and around the Lake Nojiri"  [in Japanese]

Lake Nojiri (Nojiri-ko) is located in the northern part of Nagano Prefecture at lat. 36°49'N, long. 138°12'E. It is a unique site where a wealth of mammalian fossil bones and many Paleolithic artifacts have been unearthed from the subaqueous sediments. The first Lake Nojiri Excavation was undertaken in March 1962 on the shores of the lake where a fossil molar tooth of Palaeoloxodon naumanni (Naumann's elephant) had been found in 1948 by a proprietor of the Lakeside Hotel. As a result of the excavation more than twenty fossil specimens were collected, including at high-bone of Palaeoloxodon naumanni and the upper jaw of Sinomegaceros yabei (Yabe's giant deer) from the Nojiri-ko Formation. The third excavation in 1964 succeeded in finding two pieces of stone flakes from the Nojiri-ko Formation at Tategahana. The Lake Nojiri Excavation marked a significant step in the search for possible links between Paleolithic Man and Wurmian large mammals in Japan. After a seven-year recess, the fifth excavation in 1973 was undertaken by 1,107 people who came from all over Japan. Most of the participants were initially non-specialists including schoolboys and girls, students, teachers, workers, farmers, housewives, etc., who had become quite skilled and played a central role in the Nojiri-ko Excavation Research Group. During the sixth excavation in 1975, the Nojiri-ko Tomo-no-kai (Friends of the Lake Nojiri Excavation) was organized in 25 districts all over Japan. The resultant 25 provincial organizations of the Tomo-no-kaj and the Research Project Groups became the fundamental elements of the Nojiri-ko Excavation Research Group after the sixth excavation. The Nojiri-ko Excavation Research Group is thus coordinated by the Nojiri-ko Tomo-no-kai and the Research Project Groups just like a strong fabric woven with warps of the former and woofs of the latter. There are eleven project groups on geology, anthropology and archaeology, volcanic ash, paleomagnetism, diatoms, pollen, plants, molluses, insects, mammals, and trace fossils. The project groups are composed of members of the Tomo-no-kai who are interested in studying the above-mentioned topics. The Lake Nojiri Excavation also marked a highly significant step in establishing a satisfactory connection between geology and archaeology in Japan on the basis of precise stratigraphic research. It set out to reconstruct a standard history of Late Pleistocene men and the natural world around them in Japan. The early results have been published in the book entitted "The Lake Nojiri Excavation 1962-1973" (Kyoritsu Publishing Co., Tokyo, 1975, 278 pp., in Japanse with an English resume). All papers in the present volume were prepared by the Research Project Groups, focussing on results obtained in the research work since the sixth excavation in 1975. However, it should be emphasized that the data represent the joint efforts of all members who have participated in the excavations since 1962. The excavation results cover three stratigraphic successions involving aeolian deposits of loam and weathered tephra around Lake Nojiri (Fig.1-A), subaqueous sediments at the excavation site of Tategahana (Fig. 1-B・C), and terrestrial deposits on the western hill side of the lake (Fig.1-A・B). The aeolian and terrestrial deposits underlain unconformably by the Ikejirigawa Mud Flow Formation were divided into the Kamiyama Loam, Nojiri Loam and Kashiwabara Black Volcanic Ash Formations in ascending order. The Nojiri Loam Formation was further subdivided into three members: Lower, Middle and Upper. The Nojiri-ko Formation of subaqueous sediments underlain by the Kannoki Formation was also divided into three formations: Lower, Middle and Upper. The Middle and Upper Nojiri-ko Members were further subdivided into three Sections (I, II and III) and the Lower Member into four Sections (I, II, III and "IV") in ascending order. The Nojiri-ko Formation of subaqueous sediments bears both fossil mammals and human artifacts, a