Late Pleistocene Skeletal Remains from the Shiraho-Saonetabaru Cave Site

KONO Reiko T.1*, KATAGIRI Chiaki2, and OKAZAKI Kenji3

Excavations at the Shiraho-Saonetabaru Cave site on Ishigaki Island, Okinawa Prefecture, have revealed archaeological evidence of continual and intermittent human use of this cave from late Late Pleistocene to Holocene. From the 1000+ largely fragmented human skeletal remains found in late Late Pleistocene layers, nineteen individuals were identified, including one near-complete and two partial skeletons. Detailed documentation of the excavated remains allows us to infer that the cave was used as a gravesite, as well as that the Pleistocene people may have treated the corpses in a manner similar to the traditional funeral process called “fuso”. Aside from such evidence of fuso mortuary practice, we did not find any signs of cultural activity of these people from the Pleistocene layers. The human remains themselves, however, show several traces of their lives. Also, dentition of the Shiraho people tells us some cultural aspects as well as their anatomical characteristics. Our analysis of the Shiraho skull specimens indicates morphological affinity with the Pleistocene people of southern origin, such as Vietnamese specimens. We are continuing our analysis of these abundant remains in order to reveal the life of Shiraho people. We are also trying to further elucidate their relationship with the people from neighbouring areas, as well as with the people of preceding and/or following chronological time period.