弥生時代中四国地方における注口付きの脚台付鉢形土器

Examples of spouted bowl-shaped pottery with attached pedestal foot (kyakudaitsuki hachigata doki) comprise ceramic vessels with a high foot and spouted body. These large, highly decorated ceramic objects have been unearthed in the northern part of Bingo (eastern part of Hiroshima Pref.). They have been investigated alongside with the characteristic burials of this region, rectangular graves with burial mound and four corner projections (yosumi tosshutsugata funkyū bo). It is also the case that similar pottery is distributed over a wide area encompassing the Chūgoku and Shikoku regions. Comparative research concerning patterns, surface finishing, feature situations, and the means of the attachment of the spout suggests that these artefacts can be roughly divided into those from the northern part of Bingo and those from other areas. This result further demonstrates the uniqueness of the northern part of Bingo.
In the northern part of Bingo these large objects were continuously manufactured from the end of the Middle Yayoi period throughout the first third of the Late Yayoi period (1st century AD). This special pottery was used for funerary rituals. Particularly, it was commonly placed as offerings in the Sata-dani and Sata-dao groups of graves with burial mound in Shōbara city, Hiroshima Pref. Concerning forms and manners of offering, it is thought to have been strongly influenced by the southern part of Okayama Prefecture (Kibi). In addition to strong influences of the Kibi region, funerary rituals were performed using traditional ritual utensils.