Ancient Dwellings Uncovered in Tokyo

TOKYO, JAPAN—The Mainichi reports that traces of 28 pit houses were uncovered in central Tokyo during a construction project. Three of the dwellings have been dated to the Jomon period, when hunter-gatherers and early agriculturalists lived in the region. Discarded mollusk shells were found in one of these houses. Another 21 pit houses have been dated to the first and second centuries A.D., and the late Yayoi period. Pottery from both of these periods, a wooden water pipe, a well, and a more recent cellar were also unearthed. “I was surprised by this discovery in the center of the city,” said archaeologist Hideshi Ishikawa of Meiji University. “Few settlements from the first half of the late Yayoi period with this many dwellings have been discovered in the southern Kanto region.” The site will be backfilled before the construction project continues. To read more about Jomon hunter-gatherers and Yayoi farmers, go to “Japan’s Genetic History.”