Around the 12th century AD in Japan, a cultural transition takes place on the northern island of Hokkaido: Okhotsk culture and Satsumon culture (approx. 6th to 12th century AD) come to an end as...Show moreAround the 12th century AD in Japan, a cultural transition takes place on the northern island of Hokkaido: Okhotsk culture and Satsumon culture (approx. 6th to 12th century AD) come to an end as Ainu culture emerges. The Okhotsk people, focused strongly on exploitation of marine resources, originated on the island of Sakhalin and migrated south to Hokkaido and along its northeastern coast. The Satsumon people on the other hand, lived mostly in riverine settlements on the southern half and inland of Hokkaido. They practiced agriculture of wheat, barley and millet, as well as salmon fishing. This cultural transition is not yet well understood. I will focus on the role of Okhotsk culture in this process. How did interaction and exchange of Okhotsk people with Satsumon culture impact its decline and the transition to proto-Ainu culture on Hokkaido? To investigate this issue, Peer Polity Interaction theory is applied. Within this framework, eight different types of interaction are defined: competition, competitive emulation, warfare, transmission of innovation, symbolic entrainment, ceremonial exchange of valuables, flow of commodities, and language and ethnicity. This theory avoids insinuating dominance of one group over the other, and allows for the incorporation not just of material culture but also symbolic aspects. Using the English sources available, 32 Okhotsk sites have been examined for evidence of interaction and exchange with Satsumon culture according to these categories. The existing theories about the decline of Okhotsk culture involving migration, trade and warfare have been analyzed, and then reevaluated based on the results of the Peer Polity Interaction approach. Evidence of Satsumon pottery at Okhotsk sites, iron goods and import of bear cubs all points to a larger reliance on trade and exchange than previously assumed, to the detriment of Okhotsk production. This increased interaction allowed for symbolic entrainment to occur, leading to a more widespread adoption of an early form of the bear sending ceremony. This ritual is known ethnographically from later Ainu culture, but not Satsumon culture which is said to be its main ancestor. This research aims to contribute to our understanding of interaction between marine hunter-gatherers and agricultural people.Show less
The famous archaeological site of Bamiyan in present day Afghanistan, besides portraying grand achievements of culture and religion, was also the foci for trans migration around the Hindu Kush...Show moreThe famous archaeological site of Bamiyan in present day Afghanistan, besides portraying grand achievements of culture and religion, was also the foci for trans migration around the Hindu Kush region. Between the 5th and 8th centuries, Bamiyan and other adjacent archaeological sites in Central Asia, were connected by a highly developed network of trade. The visual culture of Bamiyan, aside from the two Great Buddhas, suggests there was a necessity to represent ideology and power of the social elite in symbolic ways. At Bamiyan, frescos depict many figures with different type headdresses or crowns. The depiction of these crowns is also found in other archaeological sites and on coins distributed throughout present day Central Asia and China. The details of a headdress or crown suggest characteristics of the social or political identities of the individual or group depicted. The similar type crowns found on figures in other geographical contexts may indicate a degree of interaction between Bamiyan and other religious and trade centers.Show less
