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No. 4 Plate No. of the report PL. 2-1 Description Pit House 7a, around the northern main post Photographed year 1999 Size 6×9 Comment Carbonized wood found close to the wall on the opening side of Pit House 7a. The wood in the center of the photograph is the main post (Photograph 6) at the northern end of the long axis of the pit house. On both sides of the main post, pieces of bark, which covered the wall; and logs, which were arranged upright in contact with the wall, are lying inside the pit house. -
No. 5 Plate No. of the report PL. 2-2 Description Pit House 7a, wall material to the west of the northern main post Photographed year 1999 Size 6×9 Comment Wall material at the west of the main post after removal of the bark further than as shown in Photograph 4. It can be seen that the wall was made by covering pieces of bark on the wall with the outer side facing outward, and arranging logs of 8 to 10 cm in diameter and up to 50 cm long in the surrounding ditch placed nearby the wall. -
No. 6 Plate No. of the report Front1-1 Description Pit House 7a, main post at the opening side Photographed year 1999 Size 6×9 Comment A rare example of a house post having been carbonized and remaining in situ. In this pit house, two main post-holes were found along the long axis, and in the northern hole there was a bundle of seven logs with a diameter of about 10 cm wrapped in bark. -
No. 7 Plate No. of the report PL. 3-1 Description Pit House 7a, main post at the opening side Photographed year 1999 Size 6×4.5 Comment The main post excavated further than as shown in Photograph 6, showing the floor is getting close. Seven logs with a diameter of 10 cm can be seen inside a hole. Abies firma (Abies sachalinensis), Taxus cuspidata, and Picea jezoensis var. (Picea jezoensis) were used as post materials. -
No. 8 Plate No. of the report No publication Description Pit House 7, carbonized wood row near a wall (7a and 7b) Photographed year 1998 Size 6×9 Comment Carbonized wood found in the northern area of the west wall of Pit House 7. At the front is the wall of Pit House 7a, and at the back is that of Pit House 7b. The latter was reconstructed inside the former after it was burnt down. On the wall of 7a are pieces of bark and logs are arranged inside them. -
No. 9 Plate No. of the report PL. 3-2 Description Pit House 7a, excavated whale-bone artifact Photographed year 1998 Size 6×9 Comment Excavated from the pit house floor. The find is a plate-form bone artifact made of whale scapula, which is an extra-large implement with a maximum width of 91.4 cm. The upper part has a handle and the other sides are formed with wavy edges. -
No. 10 Plate No. of the report PL. 4-1 Description Pit House 7a, boards near a wall Photographed year 1999 Size 6×4.5 Comment Carbonized wood found in the southern area of the west wall of Pit House 7a. The wooden board to the back is wall material, and the horizontal board placed a few centimeters above the floor to the front of it forms the structure of a bed. Many wooden artifacts were found below the bedlike board. -
No. 11 Plate No. of the report PL. 4-2 Description Pit House 7a, wooden artifacts found below the boards near a wall Photographed year 1999 Size 6×4.5 Comment This photograph shows the state after removing the bedlike board in Photograph 10. From this area (“wooden artifacts concentration of 7a”), 22 carbonized wooden artifacts, including arrowhead, spoons, handle of tosu (small knife), carvings, and spatula-like objects, were found. This shows that the wooden artifacts were being stored together below the bedlike board. -
No. 12 Plate No. of the report Front1-2 Description Pit House 7a, Bone Mound a Photographed year 1999 Size 6×9 Comment Bone mound, which is a pile of bones such as brown bear (Ursus arctos) skulls, is a typical feature of Okhotsk culture. Shown here in the corner opposite the opening of the U-shaped clay floor, the mound could be considered as an “altar.” This bone mound is the largest to have been found in Hokkaido, and animal bones, such as the craniums and jawbones of brown bears 110, Hokkaido deer (Cervus nippon yesoensis) 69, raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides) 30, and foxes (Vulpes vulpes schrencki) 26 were found. The upper part of the photograph shows the innermost area of the pit house. -
No. 13 Plate No. of the report PL. 5-1 Description Pit House 7a, Bone Mound a Photographed year 1999 Size 6×9 Comment View of the bone mound (Photograph 12) from the side (east). It can be seen that the lower jawbones of brown bears (Ursus arctos) are stacked from the innermost side to the front side. In this bone mound, many pottery fragments, as well as stone, bone and wooden artifacts were also found. -
No. 14 Plate No. of the report PL. 5-2 Description Pit House 7a, lowest layer of Bone Mound a Photographed year 1999 Size 6×9 Comment The lowest layer of the bone mound of Photograph 12. In this bone mound, at least four rows of piles of brown bear (Ursus arctos) skulls facing front to the opening side are found, and the skulls, which are the base of the rows, can be seen. Behind the skulls, a vessel was placed upside down. -
No. 15 Plate No. of the report PL. 6-1 Description Pit House 7b, carbonized wood row near a wall Photographed year 1999 Size 6×4.5 Comment Carbonized wood found in the northern area of the west wall of Pit House 7b. The same as for Pit House 7a, the structure of the wall was made by placing pieces of bark on the wall and arranging logs inside them in the surrounding ditch. For the material, 15 to 20 cm wide boards of Fraxinus (for example Fraxinus mandshurica var.) are used. -
No. 16 Plate No. of the report PL. 6-2 Description Pit House 7b, excavated wooden artifacts Photographed year 1999 Size 6×4.5 Comment Carbonized wood found near the wall in the northeastern area of Pit House 7b (“wooden artifact concentration of 7b”). On a large container that measures more than 90 cm in length, a 50 cm long ladle was found. From this area, other wooden artifacts such as a tray, a square tray, and a fragment of a bowl-form hollowed object were unearthed. -
No. 17 Plate No. of the report PL. 7-1 Description Pit House 7b, excavated pottery Photographed year 1999 Size 6×4.5 Comment Okhotsk Haritsuke-mon series pottery found in a group near the edge of the U-shaped clay floor in the northeastern area of Pit House 7b. All the potteries found in the bone mound and the floor of Pit House 7b belong to the latter stage of the Okhotsk Haritsuke-mon series pottery. -
No. 18 Plate No. of the report PL. 7-2 Description Pit House 7, Hearth a and Hearth b Photographed year 1999 Size 6×9 Comment In Pit House 7, several hearths were found along the long axis. The stone-lined hearth in the center of the photograph (Hearth a) is regarded as being older, and the two hearths in the north and south of it surrounded by carbonized woods (Hearth b) are considered to be newer. The former seems to belong to Pit House 7a and the latter to Pit House 7b. -
No. 19 Plate No. of the report PL. 8-1 Description Pit House 7b, Bone Mound b Photographed year 1999 Size 6×9 Comment Bone Mound b found in the innermost area of Pit House 7b. The innermost wall is in the upper right part of the photograph. The size is much smaller than the bone mound of Pit House 7a and the arrangement of brown bear (Ursus arctos) skulls was not found. The majority of the animal bones were raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) skulls, and there were also a few other animal skulls (for example brown bear and fox (Vulpes vulpes)), and the bones of mammals and birds. -
No. 20 Plate No. of the report PL. 8-2 Description Pit House 7 (overall view) Photographed year 1999 Size 6×9 Comment Following the excavation of Pit House 7, the photograph shows Pit House 7a on the outside with a hexagonal shape that has a long axis measuring 12 m. Pit House 7b was reconstructed by scaling down the innermost side and the west side of 7b, and the hexagonal shape has a long axis measuring 8.5 m.