Esan Jomon Site
Middle Jomon (3500–2500 BCE)·Middle Jomon·🇯🇵 Hokkaido, Hakodate City, Esan Peninsula volcanic foothills, Japan
About
About Esan Jomon Site
Middle Jomon piedmont village on Esan Peninsula volcanic foothills (Hakodate), 100 m elevation, near Esan obsidian source. Pit-house cluster with central plaza and obsidian biface workshop shows Esan obsidian circulation to Honshu–Hokkaido, part of Jomon exchange network linking Washinoki–Ofune–Kakinoshima with volcanic procurement.
Why it mattersMiddle Jomon volcanic piedmont village with Esan obsidian source workshop
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Esan obsidian trade vs Shirataki source dominance?
- 02Pit village vs stone circle contemporaneous economy
Theories
- 01Esan obsidian volcanic procurement model linking Hakodate to Tohoku Jomon
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.3500 BCE
- Period
- Middle Jomon (3500–2500 BCE)
- Culture
- Middle Jomon
- Builders
- Jomon pit dwellers on Esan volcano flank
- Purpose
- Volcanic-piedmont village with obsidian from Esan source
- Abandoned
- c.2500 BCE
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.3500 BCE
Initial construction
c. 1284 CE
Abandonment
On the ground
Structures & features
41.7500° N · 140.9200° E · 100 m · 2 mapped features
Pit house plaza cluster
settlementCentral plaza surrounded by pit depressions with postholes
41.7503° N · 140.9203° EObsidian workshop
workshopEsan obsidian biface debitage and cores near pit houses
41.7497° N · 140.9197° E