Kamegaoka Burial Site
Excavations of the Kamegaoka Burial Site (c. 1000 BCE) have uncovered some of the most famous pottery of the Jomon period (13,000–400 BCE). These artifacts demonstrate mastery of advanced pottery-making techniques and a highly developed sense of design. The term “Kamegaoka style,” from the pottery discovered at this site, is used to refer to a type of late-Jomon pottery made in northern Japan. Many of the world’s leading museums have “Kamegaoka style” pieces in their collections, including the Tokyo National Museum, the British Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Art and spirituality
Excavations have revealed large concentrations of burial pits and ritual deposits of pottery. A wide variety of artifacts have been found in the burial pits and throughout the site including burnished earthenware vessels, polished jade beads, lacquered objects, items woven from plant fiber, and hollow clay figurines with large goggle-like eyes and elaborate headdresses. The offering and interment of such decorative items suggest that late Jomon society was an evolved society with complex rituals and a developed sense of the spiritual world.
Burial sites shared by multiple settlements
Between 1500 and 400 BCE, burial sites developed outside of individual settlements and were shared by communities. They also became separated from ritual areas. These developments occurred as settlements became dispersed and diminished in scale compared to earlier hub settlements (3000–2000 BCE). The Kamegaoka Burial Site would have served multiple settlements and is an example of a stand-alone burial site from the final stage of the Jomon period.
Adjacent archaeological sites
The Kamegaoka Burial Site has some information boards and a large-scale statue of a goggle-eyed figurine. The Tagoyano Site [link] is nearby and can be reached on foot in five minutes. The Tsugaru City Jomon Dwelling Museum [link] and the Tsugaru City Kizukuri Kamegaoka Archaeological Museum [link] display artifacts from the Kamegaoka Burial Site and other Jomon sites in the area. Farther afield, in Hachinohe, the Korekawa Archaeological Institution [link] displays “Kamegaoka style” artifacts discovered at the Korekawa Site [link].
