Hunter-gatherers in transition:Cultural diversity and change as seen through the mortuary practices of Hokkaido hunter-gatherers during the transition to agriculture in the Japanese archipelago

During the adoption of large-scale wet rice agriculture in the Japanese archipelago, it was supposed that people living in the most northern island, Hokkaido, continued living in a way broadly similar to how they had been for centuries. Essentially, these people were supposed to have been “left behind”, a narrative common to studies of hunter-gatherer groups the world over. Analysis of the evidence from both the Final Jomon and Epi-Jomon periods shows this to be untrue. Attempting to actively challenge prevailing notions of monolithic cultures and unchanging hunter-gatherer societies, this research was based on the analysis of mortuary practices at 4 Jomon sites across the island of Hokkaido, Northern Japan. By taking a diachronic approach to the analysis, changing traditions and varying developments were illustrated, and by taking a synchronic approach to the evidence, a diversity in practices was also illuminated, already in the Final Jomon period. The rich and well published data from excavations in Japan allowed an in-depth view of regional variation in cultural practices, and an exploration of this cultural diversity in a way that highlighted the dynamic processes at play in hunter-gatherer cultural developments.