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FUKUI, JAPAN—The Asahi Shimbun reports that a piece of iron with a bent end unearthed at the Hayashi-Fugishima archaeological site in central Honshu has been identified as an early saw. The beak-shaped object has a pointed tip, is less than two inches long, and has tiny triangular teeth along its edge. The tool is estimated to date to the late second century a.d. “The artifact could be an important piece of evidence supporting the advancement of ironware culture along the Sea of Japan coast during the Yayoi period,” said Tomokatsu Uozu of the Fukui Prefectural Archaeological Research Center. Similar saws dated to the second and third centuries have been found in China. For more on the Yayoi period, go to "Japan's Genetic History."
