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AMS Dating of Potentially the Oldest Wooden Sculptures in Japan from a Shinto Shrine in Akita

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 May 2019

Naoto Fukuyo Open the ORCID record for Naoto Fukuyo [Opens in a new window] ,
Yusuke Yokoyama Open the ORCID record for Yusuke Yokoyama [Opens in a new window] ,
Yosuke Miyairi  and
Yusuke Igarashi
Naoto Fukuyo*
Affiliation:
Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5, Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba 277-8564, Japan Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
Yusuke Yokoyama*
Affiliation:
Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5, Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba 277-8564, Japan Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
Yosuke Miyairi
Affiliation:
Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5, Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba 277-8564, Japan
Yusuke Igarashi
Affiliation:
Oga City Hall, 66-1, Aza Izumidai, Funagawa, Funagawaminato, Oga, Akita, 010-0511, Japan
*
*Corresponding author. Emails: [email protected]; [email protected].
*Corresponding author. Emails: [email protected]; [email protected].
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Abstract

We analyzed rare wooden Komainu found at Akagami Shrine in Akita prefecture, Japan. The formation of historical objects is often thoroughly recorded in documents, although the formation age of this particular Komainu sculpture is still unknown due to its antiquity. Thus, age determination exercises have been conducted using radiocarbon (14C)-wiggle-matching techniques. Although only a limited quantity was available for sampling, we have successfully measured 14C samples in the sculptures along with several sets of tree rings. We interpret the Komainu sculptures age considering the age of the trees and the result obtained from the wooden construction materials used for the Akagami shrine. The results obtained from Komainu show a range from 550 CE to 1020 CE, which is consistent with the dates of the shrine’s formation. Thus, the multiple 14C-wiggle-matching method can determine precise calendar ages of wood, as well as provide some supportive information for the periods when there are no reliable historical documents.

Keywords

AMSartifactshrinewiggle-matching
Type
Conference Paper
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 61 , Issue 5: Radiocarbon 2018 Conference Proceedings Trondheim, Norway, June 17–22, 2018 Part 1 of 2 , October 2019 , pp. 1221 - 1228
Copyright
© 2019 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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Footnotes

Selected Papers from the 23rd International Radiocarbon Conference, Trondheim, Norway, 17–22 June, 2018

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