Archaeological Study Of Modern Human Spread Via Southern Route.pdf

- Title: Archaeological Research on the Significance of Southern Routes in Asia for the Emergence and Diffusion of Modern Humans
- Funding Agency: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)
- Research Period: 2018-2020
- Researcher: Hiroyuki Sato
- Funding Amount: ¥12,900,000 (total for the research period)
- Field of Study: Humanities
- Keywords: Modern human diffusion, Southern route, Late Paleolithic, Stone tool technology, Dating, Movius Line, Adaptive behavior

Research Background and Objectives:
- Modern humans emerged in Africa around 300,000 years ago and spread to Asia via Northern and Southern routes, bypassing the Tibetan Plateau.
- The first modern human culture in the Japanese Archipelago is believed to have arrived via the Southern route, but its details remain unclear.
- The research aims to verify the validity of the Southern route by analyzing the latest archaeological data from India through Southeast Asia to the Japanese Archipelago.

Research Methods:
1. Field surveys and observations of major late Pleistocene sites in South Asia, Southeast Asia, South China, and the Korean Peninsula.
2. Dating of undated sites using luminescence dating and AMS radiocarbon dating.
3. Construction of behavioral strategy models for prehistoric humans in diverse environmental conditions along the Southern route.
4. Integration of research findings to clarify the actual significance of the Southern route and explain the historical process of modern human diffusion in the Japanese Archipelago.

Research Results:
1. The study identified three cultural regions in Asia during the Paleolithic era, with distinct stone tool traditions.
2. The transition from Middle to Late Paleolithic in South Asia was confirmed through luminescence dating at the Jwalapuram site group.
3. A behavioral strategy model was developed, suggesting that modern humans adapted to wet environments by shifting to a multi-faceted subsistence strategy, including small game hunting, fishing, and plant collecting.
4. The research proposed a historical model for modern human diffusion in the Japanese Archipelago, involving three routes: the ancient Sakhalin-Hokkaido-South Kuril Islands route, the Tsushima Strait route, and the Ryukyu Islands route.

Publications and Presentations:
- 19 journal articles, including 12 peer-reviewed publications.
- 22 conference presentations.
- 1 edited book.
- 2 other publications.