Paleolithic cultures of MIS 3 to MIS 1 in relation to climate changes in the central Japanese islands

The pattern of latest Pleistocene climate changes reconstructed on the basis of sediment cores from Lake Nojiri is one of the most detailed and reliable reconstructions in Japan. The climate changes over the last 72 ka can be compared directly with those recorded at Upper Paleolithic and Incipient Jomon sites on the basis of a revised age model for the Lake Nojiri sediment cores and the revised C-14 dates, calibrated after IntCal09. Fossil bones of megafauna from the Tategahana site beside the lake have been placed ca. 53-37 ka cal BP, in the relatively warm, temperate climate of the early MIS 3. Part of the Tategahana site was interpreted as a kill and butchery site, although the presence of the big game hunters is still uncertain, as so far there is no reliable archaeological evidence in the Japanese archipelago dating back to the Middle Paleolithic. The number of Paleolithic sites increased suddenly after 38 ka cal BP around Lake Nojiri. This seems to coincide with the timing of the migration of Homo sapiens into the Japanese archipelago. The climate had been gradually cooling toward the last Glacial Maximum (LGM). However, the area around lake Nojiri in the late MIS 3 seems to have been a suitable place for the subsistence of hunter-gatherers. Backed blade industries (ca. 29-20 ka cal BP), point-tool industries (ca. 22-19 ka cal BP), and microblade industries (20-16 ka cal BP) were characteristic of the Late Upper Paleolithic. The number of sites around Lake Nojiri decreased significantly during the LGM. At the end of the LGM, an abrupt change of vegetation, from subarctic conifer forest to deciduous broadleaf forest, had occurred around 14 ka, and human activities became prominent around Lake Nojiri, as shown by the linear-relief pottery group (ca. 15-13 ka cal BP). The number of sites seems to have decreased slightly during the Younger Dyras cooling event. Patterns of human occupation around lake Nojiri show the influence of global and local climate changes. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.