The first piece of stone painted with a human face dating from the Jomon Pottery Culture (c. 8000 BC-300 BC) has been found here and hailed as a very important discovery.
A stone piece bearing the painting of a human face and found in Kikonai, Hokkaido [Credit: Yoshinori Toyomane] |
The Hokkaido Archaeological Operations Center said Nov. 29 that the stone fragment from the latter half of the mid-Jomon period (4,300 years ago) was unearthed on Oct. 19 from 50 centimeters beneath the ground where a pit house used to stand.
The discovery location is part of the Koren five archaeological sites in Kikonai.
Measuring 12 to 13 cm per side and 1.4 cm thick, the stone, flattened with a whetstone or other tools, is shaped like an inverted triangle.
Credit: The Asahi Shimbun |
Although how the stone piece was actually used remains unclear, experts said the object may have been used for religious services and other purposes in ancient times.
A painting of a human body drawn with pigments at the lower part of the earthenware unearthed at the Todonomiya archaeological site in Nagano Prefecture is known to have been made during the Jomon Pottery Culture, but no face drawings have previously been found across Japan, according to center officials.
Author: Fumiko Yoshigaki | Source: The Asahi Shimbun [December 18, 2017]