5 Shichinohe Town, Aomori

Futatsumori Site

Designated as a Historic Site on January 16, 1998
Stage IIa (ca. 3,500 BCE – 3,000 BCE)　 (Historic Site: ca. 3,500 BCE – 2,000 BCE))

Cross-section of a shell mound: The shell layers are approx. 1.5 meters thick. The lower layers contain the shells of common Orient clams and scallops, and the upper layers contain those of Japanese basket clams.

Whale-bone implement shaped like a Chinese broadsword (left) and comb made of antler (right): Both of these elaborately crafted artifacts have been designated as Treasures (Tangible Important Cultural Properties) by the Aomori Prefectural Government.

Futatsumori Shell Midden Museum: This facility displays artifacts unearthed at the Futatsumori Site and surface peel specimens collected from a cross-section of shell layers.

This site is located in Shichinohe Town in eastern Aomori Prefecture, on a terrace at an elevation of approximately 30 meters on the west bank of Lake Ogawara along the Pacific Ocean. It lies in the most inland area of what used to be lakes and marshes during a marine transgression period. This place was ideal for inland-water fishing and shellfish harvesting. Deciduous broadleaved forests spread in the hinterland.

The numerous remains of pit dwellings and storage pits that have been found here indicate that it was a large settlement. Shell mounds are found on the northern and southern slopes of the plateau. The lower layers contain the shells of saltwater shellfishes, and the upper layers contain those of brackish shellfishes. This clearly demonstrates environmental changes caused by marine transgression and regression.

The shell mounds have yielded shells (from Japanese basket clams, common Orient clams, etc.), fish bones (from Japanese sea bass, red sea bream, puffer fish, etc.), bird bones (from swans, ducks, etc.) and mammal bones (from deer, wild boar, etc.), as well as bone and antler objects such as fishhooks and harpoons. Among them, an exquisitely crafted antler comb demonstrates a high degree of spirituality and artisanship for the period. These artifacts serve as valuable sources of information on the diet and subsistence activities, including hunting, fishing, and gathering, of people at that time.

This component part, dating from the first half of the development stage of sedentism, is an archaeological site of a settlement accompanied by large shell mounds. It is an important archaeological site that attests to a livelihood oriented around lakes and marshes and to people’s adaptation to environmental changes, such as marine transgressions and regressions.