Location Ishikawa Archaeological Foundation

Shukumukaiyama Site Artifact: Stone tool

The Paleolithic Period is the period from the emergence of humans until the widespread use of earthenware approximately 16,000 years ago. Beginning with the discovery of a knife-shaped stone tool in Otachi, Hodatsushimizu Town in 1960, there have been approximately 60 sites from the Upper Paleolithic Period found to date in Ishikawa Prefecture. At that time, it is thought that people lived a nomadic life, chasing Naumann's elephants and elk, and foraging for fish and nuts.
Currently, the oldest hunter's stone tool in the prefecture is a partly-ground stone axe from the early Upper Paleolithic Period (approximately 40,000 to 30,000 years ago) found at the Shukumukaiyama Site. This stone axe is 8.5 cm long and made from tremolite rock, which is not found within the prefecture.
In addition, influence from the Tohoku region is observed in the creation method of the knife-shaped stone tools from approximately 30,000 to 20,000 years ago found at the Kanazawa Castle Town Site (Marunouchi Point No. 7), Miyatake Usshoyama A Site in Nomi City and the Yonehama Site in Shika Town. On the other hand, the technique of producing small, compact chips (1 to 2 cm), which is characteristic of both Ishikawa and Toyama Prefectures, has been confirmed at the Shukuhigashiyama Site in Hodatsushimizu Town and the Shoga-yashiki D Site in Nomi City.
These stone tools show that there was extensive movement and interaction between other areas in Japan.

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