Sannai Maruyama Site
Designated as a historic site on November 24, 2000


Full view of the Sannai-Maruyama Site
This is a large settlement site from the middle of the Early Jomon period to the end of the Middle Jomon period (approx. 3,900 – 2,200 BCE), representing the Jomon archaeological sites of Japan. It is located on a 20 m high terrace on the right bank of the Okidate River, at the tip of a rolling hill extending from the Hakkoda mountain system in the southwest part of Aomori City.
The site covers an area of 42 ha, where the remains of pit dwellings and pillar-supported buildings, aligned pit graves, buried pottery, mounds, storage pits, roads and the remains of large buildings are systematically arranged. A great amount of earthenware and stoneware have been unearthed, including approximately 2,000 clay figures (the largest in Japan), animal and plant remains unearthed from low-lying areas that show the dietary life and the environment, and organic remains such as wood products, bones and antler objects, baskets and lacquerware, as well as jade and trading goods like obsidian from distant lands and asphalt.
These unearthed remains and articles present a real picture of stable settlements. However, the analysis of food residues and lifestyles at that time has provided no evidence of agriculture and livestock farming.
Various structures were constructed in the same place for a long time, which means systematic land use. Pollen DNA assays and other research have made it clear that Jomon people were actively engaged in the natural surroundings with Japanese beech and other deciduous broad-leaved trees to maintain and manage the natural resources, and that they established an artificial ecosystem called Jomon satoyama (community-based woods) consisting of useful trees such as chestnuts, walnuts and lacquer trees to sustain their lives.
The way of land use for sustainable settlement by skillfully using natural resources presents an outstanding example of negotiation between humans and the environment.
Library *Click to enlarge.
Literature
- The Sannai Maruyama Site – An Extraordinarily Large Settlement in Prehistoric Japan [pamphlet, January 2012]
Japanese(PDF:7.63MB)|English(PDF:3.66MB) - Special National Historical Site – Sannai-Maruyama Site [leaflet, April 2019]
Japanese(PDF:6.74MB)|English(PDF:8.23MB)
Simplified Chinese(PDF:11.2MB)|Traditional Chinese(PDF:11.2MB)
Korean(PDF:11.1MB)|Thai(PDF:11.2MB) - Jomon Archaeological Sites in Hokkaido and Northern Tohoku, Special historic Sannai-Maruyama Site [June 2019] (PDF:4.41MB)
Video
Basic Information
Display the Sannai-Maruyama Site
on an enlarged map.
Site Location
Sannai-Maruyama, Aomori City, Aomori Prefecture
Facility Exhibiting Excavated Articles
Sannai-Maruyama Jomon Culture Center
Address
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Sannai-Maruyama 305, Aomori, Aomori prefecture, 038-0031 |
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Tel
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017-766-8282 / +81-17-766-8282 |
Website
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Sannai-Maruyama Site |
Hours
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9-00 – 17:00 (last admission: 30 minutes before the closing time) Golden week, June 1 – September 30: until 18:00 |
Closed
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The fourth Monday Year-end and New Year holidays (Dec. 30 – Jan. 1) |
Admission
fee |
[Individuals] adults: 410 yen; high school/ university students: 200 yen; children (incl. elementary/junior high school students): Free (Groups 20 or more): adults: 330 yen; high school/ university students: 160 yen; children (incl. elementary/junior high school students): Free |
Access
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■~20 min. by car from JR Aomori Station (Ou Line) (~30 min. by municipal bus for Sannai-Maruyama Site) (~40 min. by the Shuttle de Route Bus Nebutan-go for Sannai-Maruyama Site) ■~10 min. by car from JR Shin-Aomori Station (Tohoku Shinkansen Line) (~20 min. by the Shuttle de Route Bus Nebutan-go for Sannai-Maruyama Site) ■~5 min. by car from Aomori IC on the Tohoku Expressway |
![]() Sannai-Maruyama Site mascot |
Inquiries
Sannai-Maruyama Jomon Culture Center
Address
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Sannai-Maruyama 305, Aomori, Aomori prefecture, 038-0031 |
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Tel
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017-766-8282 / +81-17-766-8282 |
Check here, too!
Aomori Prefectural Museum
A great number of artifacts that were unearthed in Aomori and are related to the Paleolithic period to the Yayoi period, such as a goggle-eyed clay figurine (replica, Kamegaoka Site), are on display in the archaeological exhibition room (permanent exhibition) of the museum. A variety of projects/special exhibitions are held here.
Aomori Museum of Art
Approximately 10 minutes on foot from the Sannai-Maruyama Site.
Links
- Jomon Archaeological Site in Aomori – Aiming for Inscription on the World Heritage List (World Cultural Heritage Registration Promotion Office, Planning and Regulation Division, Aomori Prefectural Government)
- Cultural Properties in Aomori (Cultural Properties Protection Division, Aomori Prefectural Board of Education)
- NPO Sannai-Maruyama Jomon Information Association / Jomon File