#ryukyult — Public Fediverse posts

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Unten_harbour_old_tombs
ah, i knew i had uploaded those pics.
(recent wooden tombs in unter harbour)
#RyukyuLT

#RyukyuLT there is a nuru-baka in kanna too.

and it's 17:00 and the museum is very strict about time so we cut here suddenly, despite it's evident there is at least 4 hours of discussions and questions left…

#RyukyuLT there are people who consider themselves are descendants and pray there, whether they ＊really＊are descendants or not shall not be questionned, archaeology cannot ignore the sacredness of sites just because we want to know.
in the kyuyo there are example when they want to pray for rain, people gather the bones scattered in woods or caves and put them in tombs.
also, the last person put in kanna is a noro, but we don't know if the tomb is particularly related to noro,

#RyukyuLT chinese Buddhist decoration → the zushis that come just after the wooden tomb are very chinese-influenced. are the house-shape wooden tombs also an influence of chinese Buddhism ?

in unten, the oldest tombs are the highest ones, it is not sure they were all built by the same group of people.
tombs of ancestors are sacred, they are not used anymore but still sacred, it is difficult to consider them as archaeological sites that belong to everyone and should be surveyed. as long as

#RyukyuLT (and i don't say that because i live in urasoe, hiroki just said the same and he's from ginowan)
the rooftiles in urasoe yodore are particularly interesting. it's not just a wooden box, that's a ＊real＊building, not a ＊representation of a building＊. also there was a temple just below, so all those people in the tomb could also be related to the presence of this temple.
relation with Buddhism might be interesting as well. the stone zushis of the yodore come from china. with very clear

#RyukyuLT damaged at the same locations as the old one was damaged : there is water dripping at those location.
other tombs also are 1300-1400 ad
urasoe yodore datation of wood and lacquer →some 13, 14, 15th century → old + re-made often.
the bones have been genetically analysed but very bad conservation. datation, not only eiso period but also 14-15th c→ other dynasties as well ? who the hell are those hundreds of people in this single tomb ?
(urasoe gusuku and yodore are very interesting)

#RyukyuLT it is thought that the bones in kanna come from scattered bones in the wood around that were gathered in the tomb, probably starting in the 16th c. the bones are neatly arranged in the tomb.

discussion
the origin of the wooden tombs. wooden tombs are old in the bone-washing tradition of okinawa.
kanna wood dated 1300 ad was a surprise, people all thought it was early modern. so they re-dated an other bit, 1240 ad. they gave up and accepted it was old 😁
the current tomb is

#RyukyuLT
questions what is the difference between wooden tombs and ita-zushi ?
the size. the wooden tombs really are buildings, and there sometimes are ita-zushi inside.

question about reports : most of them are in libraries

question : bones of ginoza have been analysed ?
those bones are still sacred for the people, we don't forcibly make genetic studies (that's a not hidden reference to japanese researchers who just take the bones and do what they want)

didn't hear the question, but

#RyukyuLT door of cave smaller than wooden tomb → built directly inside.
not conserved but talked about in ethnographic studies quite numerous as well.
constructions, sizes, materials all very various.
in caves, in rock shelters.
many with wooden boxes inside (not always)
often lacquered
where did it come from ? noone knows. we're looking for older examples.
start in gusuku, the oldest ones known are from aristocracy.
end of com, we'll start discussion.

#RyukyuLT kikai, in cave, from outside, normal cave tomb dug in cliffand inside, surprise, wooden tomb, with deco on the roof.

#RyukyuLT and seven wooden boxes inside.
there are more wooden tombs there in the same group, all hidden with stone walls after the fall of the kingdom by the japanese administrators who thought bones rolling around was unhigyenic.
→in total 4 wooden tombs conserved around mumujana-baka
then in unten, there is another one that is probably recent but has not been surveyed.
in uruma yakena, one that looks like the one in ginoza. there are zushis inside, not surveyed, a wall on the side,
in

#RyukyuLT nakijin, there are 60 tombs, repartited on the cliff in high, middle and low tombs. mumujana-baka is one of the high ones.
nowadays most of the tombs are closed by concrete and stones, but wooden ones also exist.
i possibly uploaded photos in wikimedia commons…
mumujana-baka was until recently not closed by stones.
the wooden tomb of mumujana-baka is mentioned in the kyuyo (there is a kyuyo article in wiki, i wrote it.)
in mumujana-baka, there was a roof on pilars with no walls

#RyukyuLT
then 「tombs」the shape of which evolve to the turtle-shell tombs (turtle-shell tombs are ＊new＊)
and the wooden tombs are the oldest of those recent ryukyuan tombs.
wooden tombs found from kikai to okinawa
mumujana-baka and urasoe yodore are very old but some are of the 17th c → this shape used a very long time.
the mura-baka (village tombs) start to be made in stone after the kingdom falls : they replace old wooden mura-baka. (during kingdom stone only for aristocracy)
in unten in

#RyukyuLT nuts bamboo container too. with the nuts still inside.
＊little break＊

#RyukyuLT ah, tasato also regrets his excavation methods of 20 years ago and thinks he should have dug the whole cave and not just the place with the tomb.
the tomb is said to have been moved to the cave → maybe made for a queen in the 13th 14th but moved and used in the 16th ?
a new chaagi tomb has been made and now, 20 years later, apparently, the new tomb is in the same state as the old one 😁
again photo of the tomb in ginoza museum, did i say you should go ? they have kaizuka period

#RyukyuLT
(used until recently)
a ceram jishi of the taisho period inside is the one of the last woman to have been put inside. heads on the west, other long bones on the east.
stone wall inside to make an 「entrance hall」behind the door without bones.
also other partitions in flat stones inside
on the lowest part, artefacts appear.
there is no planks on the ground → the ground was surveyed as well.
the bedrock was dug with holes to insert the wooden pillars.
old bones not found.

#RyukyuLT there are tool marks of various types, no nails, all wood, and the wood is chaagi (can't remember the latin name : later), chaagi is so nice that in the 18th century, it is classified as 「royal wood」so lay people can't use it anymore.
the tomb is 13-14th c. so before the ban.
very good preservation (go to the museum, really. it's free), plenty of bones, studied by naomi doi (photo of young naomi😁)
at least 170 corpses, many bones of the early modern and modern period

#RyukyuLT and was buried in another tomb in shuri, so the people used the tomb as a vijlage tomb. (the queen was not to come to ginoza, the tomb was to be sent to shuri)
surveyed in 2004, quite destroyed at the time so the people wanted it to be rebuilt, so survey before reconstruction.
at the period when okinwa tombs were looted by japanese researchers (cough momojana-baka cough), the people in kanna built a wall around the tomb for noone to enter it.

#RyukyuLT
third com, ginoza ! kanna ueenuatai, which you can see for free in ginoza museum. the real one (japanese museums love to only show replicas of things…)
wood at ueenuatai very old, excavations when a road was built, oldest archaeologlcal site of ginoza (kaizuka period). also gusuku period, and ! first time in okinawa a gusuku smithy was found ! (we have plenty now…)
and, so, the tomb. the legends said that a wooden tomb had been built for a queen of shuri, but the queen died too early

#RyukyuLT to ceram, still the house shape (ok, also jar shape- that's not the point : the house-shape still exists nowadays)
size of the foundation stones in urasoe yodore = size of the foundation stones of the main buildings in big gusukus.
the wooden tomb of the urasoe yodore might be the oldest one of okinawa. many nails → rebuilt several times. until replaced by stone zushis.

#RyukyuLT → used and modified constantly since the 13th century.
fragments also found in sho nei's tomb → possibly another wooden tomb there
tomb toyama shiribaru, far smaller than the yodore, 4 foundation stones, bones, urushi… very probably a wooden tomb as well, even if very small. the foundation stones are far smaller too. bones 18 corpses, 13th-15th c → abt same period as yodore and ＊genetically related to momojana-baka in nakijin＊!
from wood to stone, the zushi keep the house-shape. then

#RyukyuLT have been thrown here when the woodem tomb with urushi decoration and golden decorations and korean roof tiles was destroyed to be replaced by the stone zushis.
urushi is also found inside the stone zushis → attached to the bones when transferred to stone zushis.
datation of urushi 14th to beginning of 15th.
datation wood fragments 13th to 15th century. wood fragments possibly the planks of the wooden tomb.
ground of the tomb not yet dug except small trench →more to be found

#RyukyuLT which it is thought there was a wooden tomb, similar to the one that used to be in momojana-baka in nakijin, first sho dynasty, burnt during the war.
in urasoe, chronology : the partition wall was built, then a stone pavement, then the foundation stones. the stone wall uses techniques of the mid 14th c.
many fragments of urushi that fell from the planks and fragments of korean tiles and nails → all hints at a wooden tomb.
this sort of remains have also been found ＊outside＊→ things

#RyukyuLT already terribly late and start the second com.
wooden tombs shaped like houses, probably meant to be the houses of the afterworld.
in okinawa, all container for bones are called zushis (jishi).
urasoe yodore is an old tomb below urasoe gusuku on the cliff, tomb of eiso, an old king of the 13th c. sho nei is also buried there.
the wooden
tomb was in eiso's tomb. now, there are 3 stone zushis, for at least 106 corpses. there are below those stone zushis 12 foundation stones, on

#RyukyuLT
of ones of the boxes than the other wooden tombs. also, very little bones compared to big one.
this small one is the newest one (dendrochronology) the largest is 13th to 14th c. middle one 15th c, small one end 15th to 16th c.
contemp. of the burials in bugeido.
are decorated with urushi.
are found together with later ceram. bone containers.
in all island, the oldest are 1000 ad, but most are 1300-1400 ad.
→thought to be containers for bones after decomposition.
and. we're

#RyukyuLT of bone washing, but who knows ?
then, in meekawa terudabarudachi, they found two wooden tombs in a cave shut by a stone wall. the cave was used during the wall.
very well conserved. many bones in both the tombs. in big ones two wooden boxes inside the wooden tomb, with bones inside too.
very well conserved so possible to study the wood work techniques as well.
in the small one too wooden partitions, less bones, a part of the wooden planks damaged.
a very small one, more the size

#RyukyuLT
to have regrets about his survey methods 20 years ago. there might have been stone coffins they did not notice, in sakitari, that they surveyed a few years ago they also had gusuku corpses / bones, several individuals, in stone enclosures.
in nakijin too they found gusuku corpses / bones, several individuals, surrounded by stone enclosures.
all those examples 11-12th c. most of the tombs in caves tend to be group tombs with several individuals in the same location. no real proof

#RyukyuLT
are buried in the ground → the current funerary practices originates in the wooden tombs, not in the gusuku burials dug in the ground.
before they were called 「wooden coffins」「wooden palanquins」… wood do not conserve well ＋ many have been burnt during the war. but it is thought the practice was widely spread.
before, in the gusuku period, so, people are buried in the ground, in open spaces or in caves too.
example : cave of bugeido, dug by the museum abt 20 years ago. shinji seems

#RyukyuLT
Nakijin is pretty famous.
the most famous okinawan tombs are turtle-shell tombs, where bones that have been washed are set in funerary urns (secondary burials)
the wooden tombs are older. 15th century or even before.
tombs are divided in the ones in caves and the ones in flat lands.
in caves, corpses are left to decompose, then, later, the bones are gathered, that's the beginning of wooden tombs. then later stone tombs like the turtle-shell ones.
before ? gusuku period : people

#RyukyuLT
the symposium starts with the usual greetings by the impoptant people of the museum and the announce that the amphi is full.
the symposium is held for the international museum day.
ah, Tasato's first name is Kazuhiro, not Kazutoshi.
the first com. is by Shinji Yamasaki, who says he was not familiar with the old ryukyuan tombs but has been acquainted with them through his work at the museum.
in the south, they found a new wooden tomb while surveying caves, the ones in unten in

i'll be live-tooting the symposium 「searching for the roots of ryukyuan old tombs : the wooden house-shaped tombs」held at #okinawa prefectural museum starting at 14:00. the hashtag will be as always #RyukyuLT for 「#ryukyu live-tooting」mute it if you don't want be flooded with ryukyuan old tombs 😁
#okimu #archaeology #FuneraryAnthropology #anthropology

i'll be live-tooting the symposium 「searching for the roots of ryukyuan old tombs : the wooden house-shaped tombs」held at #okinawa prefectural museum starting at 14:00. the hashtag will be as always #RyukyuLT for 「#ryukyu live-tooting」mute it if you don't want be flooded with ryukyuan old tombs 😁
#okimu #archaeology #FuneraryAnthropology #anthropology

i'll be live-tooting the symposium 「searching for the roots of ryukyuan old tombs : the wooden house-shaped tombs」held at #okinawa prefectural museum starting at 14:00. the hashtag will be as always #RyukyuLT for 「#ryukyu live-tooting」mute it if you don't want be flooded with ryukyuan old tombs 😁
#okimu #archaeology #FuneraryAnthropology #anthropology

i'll be live-tooting the symposium 「searching for the roots of ryukyuan old tombs : the wooden house-shaped tombs」held at #okinawa prefectural museum starting at 14:00. the hashtag will be as always #RyukyuLT for 「#ryukyu live-tooting」mute it if you don't want be flooded with ryukyuan old tombs 😁
#okimu #archaeology #FuneraryAnthropology #anthropology

i'll be live-tooting the symposium 「searching for the roots of ryukyuan old tombs : the wooden house-shaped tombs」held at #okinawa prefectural museum starting at 14:00. the hashtag will be as always #RyukyuLT for 「#ryukyu live-tooting」mute it if you don't want be flooded with ryukyuan old tombs 😁
#okimu #archaeology #FuneraryAnthropology #anthropology

#RyukyuLT are there prehistoric settlement sites in tarama like ireibaru in okinawa ?
the current settlements are probably there since the gusuku period but can't dig inside people houses.
old settlement legends (15th c.), but almost no artefacts at those locations.
no older settlements recorded.
it's early but that's the end of the conf.

#RyukyuLT but very small surveys so there is still hope.
no river ? no river.
tarama is right between ishigaki and miyako, shinji talked a lot about things imported from ishigaki but what about miyako?
there are also sherds of miyako pottery, but far less. also you can see ishigaki from tarama but not miyako.
about the bones, most from young individuals in kote and other caves but in wamatu…tumbaru, older people.

#RyukyuLT conclusion, they found things between 4500 and 1000 years ago, and new sites of the prehistoric and gusuku period, and shnji seems to be pretty satisfied 😁
it's a little bit early but question time.
and nobody has questions ?
ah !
question about if the caves were used as living places. that's exactly what they wanted to find during the survey but they mostly found bones so probably mostly used as tombs. and also some were used as well, but no hint as use as settlements.

#RyukyuLT archaeological layer with plenty of ceram, stoneware, celadon. like, really a lot. and only old.
they dug a bit, found pottery, plenty of sand. probably re-dug after the tsunami to access the well so the chronological sequence is a mess 😁
seems quite interesting site as well, not related to the tsunami.
they also did a laser 3d survey of a mya-ka tomb. laser 3d surveys are really popular lately, i'm a big fan myself.

#RyukyuLT other cave, in place where there used to be a village according to legend.
lot of coral probably brought by tsunami, and sand sand sand. and one chinese coin 1038-1040 year. woohoo. not first time found in tarama, but nice nevertheless. dark occupational layer too, ceram, incl katsuyu (15th c.), seems quite interesting site not related to tsunami 😁
then shinji shows us gorgeous pics of beaches 😁
other cave. used as well. legend about a blacksmith. quite big, partially under water

#RyukyuLT found many stones and shells, and human bones in sand deposits. date 170 years ago from deposits (not directly bones), so about period of the tsunami.
go on digging and more human bones in sand. not at all in connection.
other cave, shells, animal bones, celadon. celadon so they registered it as a new archaeological site.
other cave behind an utaki that used to be a well. they found human bones as well, shells, also in deposited sand. ceram include katsuyu that is before the tsunami

#RyukyuLT in February, survey of the tsunami deposits in caves. there is a legend called bunaze legend. a tsunami comes and kills everyone except two who get married and give birth to snakes, lizzards, shells, and human beings are born from the shells. such legend in many islands around and taiwan. big tsunami in 1771, lot of surveys about it. about 10000 death in yaeyama, 1/3 of population.
they surveyed a number of caves in tarama in search for deposits from the tsunami.

#RyukyuLT there are human bones in the cavity, probably dug out when cave was used as air raid shelter during the war.
plenty of bones, not in anatomic connection, 3 left humerus so at least 3 persons. also, burnt human bones, coral, shells…
also the tomb is supposed to be of japanese but the ceram found is 14-17th century local ceram so probably local people. no japanese artefact at all.
date 350 years ago, so early modern period, before the mya-ka tombs.

#RyukyuLT they plan to go on with the surveys.
the remains are 2700-2400 years old (aceramic period) and 850 years old (gusuku period)
second site nakasuji yamatu pistu tunbara which literally means 「the tomb of the japanese people」, dug 2024-2026. quite famous site since the 1960's but no survey until now. not even sure it was a tomb. some of the kingdom period tombs are still in use.
the tumbara is a very big rock in the middle of a flat field with a very small cavity below.

#RyukyuLT in 2024 they dug those two places down to 2 m deep and found a little bit of shells at the bottom but no dark occupational layer as on the sand dune edge. probably need to go deeper.
on the edge they found few human bones too, 875 years BP. this year they went back to find the rest of the body, found stone tools, teeth, shells… artefacts all on the top level but nothing below.

#RyukyuLT kote
they didn't have much money so just cut a stratigraphic profile on the edge of the sand dune. found shell tools (knives, net sinkers), quartz, sandstone that are not native. fragments of plenty of shells (reef shells). little bit of reef fishes, turtles…
in 2023 they tried and determined the extension of the site with an electromagnetic survey with the university of the ryukyus that was not terribly conclusive, but they found 2 places where there might be something.

#RyukyuLT also there are chert and other stones inside the ceram earth, that does not exist in tarama. other site nishitakamine 2500 years ago. they found wild boars, that are extinct in tarama nowadays, also vegetal remains that are not native in tarama too.
mangrove shells too.
so well, plenty of imported things between 4000-2500 years ago.

#RyukyuLT kote is on the north by the coast, where there are two other sites nearby on flatish sand dune. one is tarama soido, dug about 30 years ago, stone tools, shimotabaru ceram, v. 4000 years ago. stone tools made of stone that do not exist in tarama, taken from ishigaki. also tools in coral.
ceram, on shimotabaru ceram, decorative patterns are rare, but in tarama they are decorated.

#RyukyuLT in the small islands there are some periods when the islands are deserted. even in miyako there is a gap between the palaeolithic and shimotabaru period. in the shimotabaru period we suddenly have sites all over the place in each island.
2024-2026 survey of the kote archaeological site that they found by chance on a walk in 2019.
they also found another site with bones in a cave.

#RyukyuLT a 19th c. japanese ship shipwreck too. and a nice small museum talking about all those sites.
the sakishima are inhabited since the palaeolithic but they don't have the kaizuka culture as here, they have a particular culture called shimotabaru with ceramic and then pouf, a culture without ceramic that makes great use of shells. then as in okinawa they have the gusuku period and then are (reluctantly ?) part of the ryukyu kingdom.