Pit Houses of Asia – A Japanese Phase

Extract

The discussion of pit houses in the Old World and in North America by Hiroshi Daifuku (American Antiquity, Vol. 18, pp. 1-7) prompts me to add a note concerning certain pit house sites which I explored in northern Japan during the spring and summer of 1951.

While searching the Yamagawa River Valley near Furumaki-machi in Aomori Prefecture for early Jomon sites, I encountered several pit house village sites. I had previously been advised of the general location of these by Major Howard McCord, formerly of Misawa Air Force Base, who had done considerable archaeological work in that region.