[Held through Sunday, March 9] Kurashiki Archaeological Museum Special Exhibition “Cave Sites Seen from the Sky” 〜 Reflecting on the Lives of People in the Distant Paleolithic Era

“Kurashiki Archaeological Museum” stands in front of Nakabashi Bridge, at the heart of the Bikan Historical Area. Its traditional storehouse-style exterior is one of the signature sights of the Bikan Historical Area.

The museum mainly exhibits artifacts excavated from ancient Kibi sites and burial mounds. It is currently holding a special exhibition, “Cave Sites Seen from the Sky.” There are many ancient sites, but what exactly are the “cave sites” featured in this exhibition?

This report explores what the exhibits reveal about life in the Paleolithic period and the connection between the Kurashiki Archaeological Museum and cave sites.

Overview of the special exhibition “Cave Sites Seen from the Sky”

This exhibition introduces what life was like for ancient people, as revealed by aerial photographs of cave sites in northern Kyushu, focusing on the Special Historic Site of the Fukui Cave Site in Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture, alongside precious excavated artifacts.

Since shortly after opening in 1950, the Kurashiki Archaeological Museum has taken part in investigations not only in Okayama but also in other regions, including at cave sites.

This special exhibition is jointly organized with Okayama University of Science and the Sasebo City Board of Education.

For details about the dates and admission fees, please see the flyer image.

About the Fukui Cave Site

The Fukui Cave Site, the focus of this exhibition, is believed to have been used by people toward the end of the Ice Age.

Simply put, a cave site is a home for ancient people. At the time, people gradually began settling in naturally formed caves (semi-sedentary living).

The main exhibits are artifacts such as pottery and stone tools that show evidence of people living at cave sites.

Interview: On the occasion of the special exhibition

Why is this special exhibition being held at the Kurashiki Archaeological Museum, so far from Sasebo City in Nagasaki Prefecture? The answer lies in an episode from the museum’s early days.

We spoke with curator Ban Yuko about how the exhibition came about, the museum’s perspective, and the aspects visitors should pay particular attention to.

A pioneer among private archaeological research institutions

Could you briefly explain why you decided to hold the special exhibition “Cave Sites Seen from the Sky”?

Ban (surname only)

The Kurashiki Archaeological Museum opened in 1950. At the time, universities were about the only institutions conducting excavations of archaeological sites and burial mounds. In other words, local governments such as prefectures and cities had not yet established cultural property administration.

So when something was discovered, universities and research institutions would go and help.
As part of this effort, researchers from the Kurashiki Archaeological Museum traveled to Sasebo City in Nagasaki Prefecture, where the Fukui Cave Site is located, to conduct research and investigations.

So the Kurashiki Archaeological Museum was also a pioneer among private archaeological research institutions.

Ban

Before the war, it was thought that Japan had no Paleolithic period (that no people lived here yet).
After the war, Paleolithic tools were discovered at the Iwajuku Site in Gunma Prefecture, eastern Japan, confirming that a Paleolithic period existed in eastern Japan.

After that, the first Paleolithic tools in western Japan were discovered in Kurashiki.
The Kurashiki Archaeological Museum led the investigation of stone tools discovered around Washuzan Hill in Kojima, Kurashiki City, and they were confirmed to date from the Paleolithic period.

In other words, we learned that Paleolithic culture had already flourished in western Japan around 20,000 years ago.

What about Kyushu?
Based on information from local researchers, staff from the Kurashiki Archaeological Museum traveled to Sasebo to investigate whether Paleolithic tools existed in Kyushu, and Paleolithic tools were excavated.

What is more, pottery said to be among the oldest in the world was discovered in a layer thought to date from the Paleolithic period. That place was the Fukui Cave Site.

Collaboration between universities and museums

I understand that this special exhibition is jointly organized by Okayama University of Science, the Sasebo City Board of Education, and the Kurashiki Archaeological Museum.

Ban

The late Yoshimasa Kamaki, then a staff member of our museum, was involved in excavations at the Fukui Cave Site. He later became a professor at Okayama University of Science, while the late Tadahiko Makabe, who had accompanied the excavations, became director of the Kurashiki Archaeological Museum. Thanks to these longstanding ties, the three organizations, including the Sasebo City Board of Education, are holding the exhibition together.

Archaeology is always connected to the land.
As ties with the land where excavations took place continue, further research leads to new discoveries.

Along the way, we also adopt new methods. For example, as in this exhibition, taking aerial photographs of archaeological sites.

Highlights of the special exhibition

Is there anything in particular you focused on when putting together this special exhibition?

Ban

Special exhibitions usually explore the featured archaeological site in depth.
But this time, we are focusing on the connections among researchers dating back to the early excavations, and on how their work has been carried on through ongoing research.

For example, during the investigation of the Fukui Cave Site, a Kurashiki Archaeological Museum staff member surveying the surrounding area discovered another cave site nearby. It is called the Naoya Rock Shelter Site, and stone tools like these have been excavated there.

Since then, various investigations have continued, including dating the artifacts. As part of the research, aerial photographs have been taken by drone since 2017 to document the surrounding area and the site’s location.

That is the origin of the special exhibition’s title, “Cave Sites Seen from the Sky.”

Cave Sites Seen from the Sky

The exhibition is titled “Cave Sites Seen from the Sky.” What can aerial photographs reveal about cave sites?

Ban

When modern people decide where to live, they choose a place based on convenience and their own lifestyle, don’t they?

When you look at cave sites (ancient people’s homes) in aerial photographs, you can see things like whether a river is nearby or whether the area seems less prone to natural disasters. I think this can reveal the lifestyles of ancient people.

Since cave sites remain in places where people have lived since ancient times, were they also places that were safe from natural disasters?

Ban

You can’t say that was true of all of them. In fact, many archaeological sites bear traces of disasters. At the Fukui Cave Site, too, there was a period when people did not live there for some time because of a landslide.

So when people first settled there, they didn’t know whether the cave site was safe.

Ban

That’s right.
So it’s not that they lived in safe places from the outset. Rather, as landslides and floods occurred, they may have learned to avoid such places and live in safer locations.

Features of the exhibits at the Kurashiki Archaeological Museum

Could you tell us about the features of the exhibits?

Ban

I’d say it’s that although we say the exhibition centers on photo panels, it actually displays excavated artifacts.
I hope visitors will take a close look at pottery and Paleolithic tools spanning the transition between the Paleolithic and Jomon periods, which are rarely seen in person.

There shouldn’t really be any pottery in the Paleolithic period, but the people at the Kurashiki Archaeological Museum found some.

Pottery from this period does not have rope patterns. It may be plain, or decorated with raised lines made by attaching clay cords. For example, this is called tsume-gata-mon (nail-impressed pattern); patterns were made on the surface of the pottery with fingernails.

Later, in the Jomon period, people began decorating pottery with rope patterns. This is the Jomon pottery familiar from textbooks and elsewhere.

Finally, do you have a message for readers who are planning to visit?

Ban

Along with precious materials excavated from archaeological sites, use the aerial photographs to imagine where people lived in the past and what their lifestyles were like.

We look forward to welcoming you.

From the Writer

I had thought that excavating archaeological sites was mainly about digging up artifacts, but my impression changed a little before and after the interview.

What particularly stayed with me was the phrase, “It doesn’t end when the digging is done.”

We don’t often get to learn the stories behind artifacts displayed in museums and other places.
However, I was reminded that behind them are researchers who continue painstaking excavations and investigations.

Perhaps this exhibition grew out of such painstaking research, from studies of “cave sites seen from the sky” to the exhibition itself.

This special exhibition, held through the combined efforts of a university conducting research at the excavation site and a museum exhibiting the research findings, is held through Sunday, March 9, 2025.

Why not take your time at the Kurashiki Archaeological Museum and reflect on the lives of people in ancient times?

Articles about the Kurashiki Archaeological Museum

Kurashiki Archaeological Museum Special Exhibition: “Cave Sites Seen from the Sky” Information

Name	Kurashiki Archaeological Museum Special Exhibition: “Cave Sites Seen from the Sky”
Dates	Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays 10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
Location	1-3-13 Chuo, Kurashiki City
Admission (tax included)	Adults 500 yen University and high school students 400 yen Junior high and elementary school students 300 yen
Website	Kurashiki Archaeological Museum

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