帝釈大風呂洞窟遺跡（第19・20次）の調査

Taishaku-Ōburo cave site is located in Nagano, Jinseki-kōgen-chō, Jinseki-gun, Hiroshima Prefecture, on the upper side of the Taishaku-Kannondō cave site. The small sized cave is 11 m wide, 4 m deep, 3-3.5 m high. The surface of its terrace is approximately 40 m2. The cave was discovered in 1984 and for the last 21 years 20 excavation campaigns were carried out. According to the results obtained in these excavations, artefacts dating from the Nara period to the Muromachi period were found within the 1st or the 2nd layer, pottery and common orient clams (hamaguri, Meretrix lusoria) dating from the Late Jōmon period were found within the 3rd layer, artefacts dating from the Incipient Jomon period to the Initial Jōmon period were found within the upper part of the 5th layer. Some bones from animals extinct since the Pleistocene were found within the 5th and 6th layer.

Remains of scorched soil etc. were found in the stratigraphy in the back of the cave in the 2nd and the 3rd layers. Especially, in the D-5 section in the Late Jōmon period many remains of fireplaces were found. One assumes that their vicinity was used as living space. Pottery and stone tools were abandoned in the west part of the cave. Bones of small animals like snakes, mices, moles etc. didn’t show traces of heating. Therefore, it is conceivable that large animals like deer, wild boar etc. were eaten.