Pleistocene human remains from Shiraho-Saonetabaru Cave on Ishigaki Island, Okinawa, Japan, and their radiocarbon dating

Bibliographic Data

ID6135741
AuthorsRyohei Nakagawa (0000-0003-1205-1414, Aichi University of Education, corresponding author), Naomi Doi (University of the Ryukyus), Yuichiro Nishioka (Phylogeny and Systematics Section, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama), Shin Nunami (Kyoto University), Heizaburo Yamauchi (Okinawa Caving Association, Yaese), Masaki Fujita (0000-0003-3202-5264, Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum, Naha), Shinji Yamazaki (Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum, Naha), Masaaki Yamamoto (Okinawa Prefectural Archaeological Center, Nishihara), Chiaki Katagiri (0000-0003-0483-4718, Okinawa Prefectural Archaeological Center, Nishihara), Hitoshi Mukai (National Institute for Environmental Studies), Hiroyuki Matsuzaki (0000-0001-8521-3029, The University of Tokyo), Takashi Gakuhari (0000-0003-1855-8371, The University of Tokyo), Mai Takigami (0000-0003-3996-1661, The University of Tokyo), Minoru Yoneda (0000-0003-0129-8921, The University of Tokyo)
Year2010
Volume118
Issue3
Pages173-183
Publication date2010-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAnthropological Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0918-7960 • E-ISSN: 1348-8570
PublisherAnthropological Society of Nippon (PUBLISHER • JP)
DOI10.1537/ase.091214
OpenAlexW2073269762
LanguageEN
Citations received24
References cited25

Nine human remains were recovered from Shiraho-Saonetabaru Cave on Ishigaki Island, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, between 2007 and 2009. Six of the nine samples produced well-preserved biogenic collagen, which was submitted to radiocarbon dating by accelerator mass spectrometry. Three human samples (Nos. 2, 4, and 8) from the fossil chamber were dated to between 16 and 20 ka BP, and can clearly be assigned to the Late Pleistocene. One animal bone from the same chamber which was treated and measured for radiocarbon independently was also of great antiquity (c. 12 ka BP). These dates are the first concrete evidence of human occupation on the Ryukyu Islands during the Pleistocene, based on the direct radiocarbon dates of human remains. It is expected that more human remains and archaeological objects of the Pleistocene will be recovered from Shiraho-Saonetabaru Cave and the surrounding region by future intensive collaborations between anthropologists, archaeologists, and speleologists

Accelerator mass spectrometry · Archaeology · Cave · Geography · Pleistocene · Radiocarbon dating · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Geology · Paleontology