Toro (archaeological site)

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Toro (登呂遺跡, Toro iseki^?) is the name of a Late Yayoi archaeological site in the city of Shizuoka, some 130 kilometers south of Tokyo, Japan.

Toro is notable as the first archaeological site excavated in Japan in which a Yayoi-era wet-rice paddy feature was found^[1]^[2]. The site was discovered in 1943 and was excavated in 1947 and 1948. As well as the agricultural feature, archaeological features such as pit-houses, refuse pits, raised-floor buildings, and many artifacts were unearthed. The preservation at the Toro site was so excellent that a large number of 2000 year-old wooden farming tools were excavated^[3].

The archaeological remains from Toro illicited such an intense interest from Japanese archaeologists that part of the reason that the Japanese Archaeology Association formed was to study it^[4]^[5]. Toro has been used as a type site for Yayoi culture despite the fact that the location of the settlement in the Tōkai region was peripheral to the Yayoi formation area in northern Kyūshū^[6].

The total area of the site was 330,000 m². Twelve pit-houses were excavated, but it should be noted that archaeologists were not able to establish the edges of the original Yayoi settlement and so the true size of the village may have been larger. In addition, 2 raised-floor building were found. Archaeologists interpret them as storehouses. Approximately 30 rice paddies were uncovered along with 370 m of associated narrow canals and waterways.

[edit] References

^ Aikens, C. Melvin and Takayasu Higuchi. 1982. Prehistory of Japan. Academic Press, New York, pp. 226.
^ Bahn, Paul (editor) 2001. Toro. In The Penguin Archaeology Guide. Penguin, London, pg. 451.
^ Aikens and Higuchi. 1982, pp. 235-237.
^ Aikens and Higuchi. 1982, pp. 226.
^ Bahn, Paul (editor) 2001:451.
^ Bahn, Paul (editor) 2001:451.