I think the rot would be significantly reduced if there were a fire and humans inside all of the time. The fire would make the inside significantly less humid while also providing a draft, and the humans would keep the mice in check so they couldn't burrow into the structure.
Good points. I agree completely. The site maintenance included making fires two or three times a week, but certainly no one lived there. Interestingly, this raises the question of whether the Jomon people lived in these buildings year-round. Some people think they did, but many ethnographic and historical examples indicate that pit houses are used as seasonal encampments.
The use of oak for these buildings was a compromise. Apparently cedar was around, but I have heard it is difficult (too soft?) to cut with stone axes (I have never tested this hypothesis). Analysis of wood species for Jomon pit houses points to chestnut trees as the main wood source. The Jomon Group volunteers would have used chestnut, but the site managers are trying to regrow chestnut and other period appropriate trees in the nearby forest. Thus, the use of oak was a site management issue.
Very interesting. I applaud the spirit of experimental archaeology. It serves at least two purposes: understanding of our human ancestors and providing a focus and bonding for the local community. I am unclear however, if these sites are merely reproductions or if they include archaeological remnants? Are they reconstructing over archeological sites, or nearby, or simply in a site that was found to be similar to original settlements and convenient to volunteers?
The buildings are located directly atop the remains at Umenoki Site, a Middle Jomon site protected and designated by the national government in Japan. This means that any designs for the buildings must be approved by a committee of experts. The actual remains at the site are protected by a layer of soil at least 50cm deep. For the Jomon period buildings, there are few actual remains that the reconstructions are based upon (pits, postholes, hearthstones), which means something is known about the structure, but little is known about the aboveground structure. There are similarities throughout the Jomon culture throughout Japan, so the bits and pieces of archaeological data that does exist can often be brought together (thus evidence of sod roofs found elsewhere was used at Umenoki).
If anyone watching these videos during the conference (11-13th September 2024) has any questions for the speakers, post them here in the comments and we'll get you your answers!
This type of research can be invaluable for understanding of yesterday and can directly affect how we do things today. With retirement can come the time and opportunities to do beneficial things that making a living can only provide little time for. I can only speculate but as cedar is a natural insect repellant could our ancients have used oils like cedar or some mixtures to help protect the wood. I know it is classic problem, sometimes putting the wood columns on stone plinths above ground or lining the pits where the wood was inserted was used to help drainage and preservation. Thank you for this very interesting presentation and chronicle
I question the use of the tarp. If you wanted to see how such a structure performed over time, then using the tarp would certainly affect the outcome negatively. Interesting video. People talk about sustainability in housing, but I think they actually like the "catchiness" of the term without understanding, and they would be unwilling to live this way. This is true sustainable housing, no synthetic materials except tarp, which would be unavailable. Smooth Gefixt built a decent sized Saxon round house solely from local materials. Low dry stacked stone walls. Conical thatched. Not one nail in the structure. Worth watching
I have questioned it as well. The response I got from the site archaeologist was that, the first experimental pit house at Umenoki did not use the tarp, which worked fine but needed constant maintenance. The tarp simply provides longevity to the house, while also allowing less bark to be used. I think there always has to be a compromise between authenticity and practicality.
@@christianfrommuslim maybe.. The trick is to hold the surface of the Ground dry (what you have in the case of the inner beams) so you put them just on the floor without somthing underneath.
Good points everyone. Japanese homes in later periods (and up to very recently) used stone foundations under the pillars. For some reason, the Jomon period pit houses were post-in-hole. Even the rafters were embedded in the ground. There is no positive evidence that they used extra support posts that were simply placed on top of the ground, but it seems logical that they would have done so when necessary. I have not seen examples of reconstructed buildings do this, but I would certainly try this if need be in the future.
@@johnertl2737 maybe it was more importend to have a steady construction for some reason.. Or the idea of the costruction needs these collums standing by his own in the first step, to build around.
The plastic tart is the reason the dirt washed off. In the real one the dirt would stick to the wood shingles. Sap or animal fat would have been used, along with charring, to treat the below ground wood to keep the bugs and water out. If it was lived in. constant maintenance would occur just like you clean your house., and the mice would go into the stew pot.
Charring the wood did take place, but I wonder if it was enough to make any difference. I didn't know about the use of sap or animal fat, but it makes logical sense. If you have any literature or resources that explain how this was done, please let me know.
@@johnertl2737 No literature just what my great grand father did. He said his dad did it and it seemed to work so he did it too. I had noticed the same coloring pattern when I was visiting an American Indian ruin when I was a kid. Connection seems valid. I have not had call to plant sticks in the ground for a long term shelter so have not tried it.
One of the houses at Umenoki has been made available for camping overnight. They even provide very fancy Italian-made beds to sleep on. Interestingly, they found that sleeping on the ground or high off it is very uncomfortable (too cold and too much smoke). Right around 30-50cm off the ground is the sweet spot.
Interestingly, Japanese people have been making these pit houses since the late 1940s. If you look back at the work of similar "volunteer groups" you will see that they were building them using the same techniques as they used for their own homes. Much of this "indigenous" knowledge about how to use local materials for housing has been lost. Or rather, much of this knowledge has become specialized in Japan (e.g., thatchers still exist and are very talented, but the average person today has never touched thatch).
I think the rot would be significantly reduced if there were a fire and humans inside all of the time. The fire would make the inside significantly less humid while also providing a draft, and the humans would keep the mice in check so they couldn't burrow into the structure.
Good points. I agree completely. The site maintenance included making fires two or three times a week, but certainly no one lived there. Interestingly, this raises the question of whether the Jomon people lived in these buildings year-round. Some people think they did, but many ethnographic and historical examples indicate that pit houses are used as seasonal encampments.
@@johnertl2737 how is the wintertime ? Maybe it was saisonal used.
Thank you all for watching and for the questions and comments!
They used oak not cedar, oak rots, cedar is known to be bug and rot resistant, which would be why the Joemon used it.
The use of oak for these buildings was a compromise. Apparently cedar was around, but I have heard it is difficult (too soft?) to cut with stone axes (I have never tested this hypothesis). Analysis of wood species for Jomon pit houses points to chestnut trees as the main wood source. The Jomon Group volunteers would have used chestnut, but the site managers are trying to regrow chestnut and other period appropriate trees in the nearby forest. Thus, the use of oak was a site management issue.
Very interesting. I applaud the spirit of experimental archaeology. It serves at least two purposes: understanding of our human ancestors and providing a focus and bonding for the local community.
I am unclear however, if these sites are merely reproductions or if they include archaeological remnants?
Are they reconstructing over archeological sites, or nearby, or simply in a site that was found to be similar to original settlements and convenient to volunteers?
The buildings are located directly atop the remains at Umenoki Site, a Middle Jomon site protected and designated by the national government in Japan. This means that any designs for the buildings must be approved by a committee of experts. The actual remains at the site are protected by a layer of soil at least 50cm deep. For the Jomon period buildings, there are few actual remains that the reconstructions are based upon (pits, postholes, hearthstones), which means something is known about the structure, but little is known about the aboveground structure. There are similarities throughout the Jomon culture throughout Japan, so the bits and pieces of archaeological data that does exist can often be brought together (thus evidence of sod roofs found elsewhere was used at Umenoki).
If anyone watching these videos during the conference (11-13th September 2024) has any questions for the speakers, post them here in the comments and we'll get you your answers!
This type of research can be invaluable for understanding of yesterday and can directly affect how we do things today. With retirement can come the time and opportunities to do beneficial things that making a living can only provide little time for. I can only speculate but as cedar is a natural insect repellant could our ancients have used oils like cedar or some mixtures to help protect the wood. I know it is classic problem, sometimes putting the wood columns on stone plinths above ground or lining the pits where the wood was inserted was used to help drainage and preservation. Thank you for this very interesting presentation and chronicle
Well done, thanks
I question the use of the tarp. If you wanted to see how such a structure performed over time, then using the tarp would certainly affect the outcome negatively. Interesting video. People talk about sustainability in housing, but I think they actually like the "catchiness" of the term without understanding, and they would be unwilling to live this way. This is true sustainable housing, no synthetic materials except tarp, which would be unavailable. Smooth Gefixt built a decent sized Saxon round house solely from local materials. Low dry stacked stone walls. Conical thatched. Not one nail in the structure. Worth watching
I have questioned it as well. The response I got from the site archaeologist was that, the first experimental pit house at Umenoki did not use the tarp, which worked fine but needed constant maintenance. The tarp simply provides longevity to the house, while also allowing less bark to be used. I think there always has to be a compromise between authenticity and practicality.
They made the mistake to put the wood in the ground. Make a stone foundation for the beams and even firr will stand more than 20 years when dry.
But wouldn't they have found the stones if the originals used them?
@@christianfrommuslim maybe.. The trick is to hold the surface of the Ground dry (what you have in the case of the inner beams) so you put them just on the floor without somthing underneath.
Good points everyone. Japanese homes in later periods (and up to very recently) used stone foundations under the pillars. For some reason, the Jomon period pit houses were post-in-hole. Even the rafters were embedded in the ground. There is no positive evidence that they used extra support posts that were simply placed on top of the ground, but it seems logical that they would have done so when necessary. I have not seen examples of reconstructed buildings do this, but I would certainly try this if need be in the future.
@@johnertl2737 maybe it was more importend to have a steady construction for some reason..
Or the idea of the costruction needs these collums standing by his own in the first step, to build around.
The plastic tart is the reason the dirt washed off. In the real one the dirt would stick to the wood shingles. Sap or animal fat would have been used, along with charring, to treat the below ground wood to keep the bugs and water out. If it was lived in. constant maintenance would occur just like you clean your house., and the mice would go into the stew pot.
Charring the wood did take place, but I wonder if it was enough to make any difference. I didn't know about the use of sap or animal fat, but it makes logical sense. If you have any literature or resources that explain how this was done, please let me know.
@@johnertl2737 No literature just what my great grand father did. He said his dad did it and it seemed to work so he did it too.
I had noticed the same coloring pattern when I was visiting an American Indian ruin when I was a kid. Connection seems valid. I have not had call to plant sticks in the ground for a long term shelter so have not tried it.
@@lostvisitor Thanks for sharing. I will try this out this next summer.
The building was not inhabited. Fires for cooking and heat would have dried wood and floors
id live in one..
One of the houses at Umenoki has been made available for camping overnight. They even provide very fancy Italian-made beds to sleep on. Interestingly, they found that sleeping on the ground or high off it is very uncomfortable (too cold and too much smoke). Right around 30-50cm off the ground is the sweet spot.
Soaked in mud and mineralized/petrified, they would look like they were made of megalithic “carved”
Stones.
Traditional plastic tarp
Some of Native American Tribes got a all the answers that Japanese people lost the knowledge and wisdom’s and culture and traditions.
Interestingly, Japanese people have been making these pit houses since the late 1940s. If you look back at the work of similar "volunteer groups" you will see that they were building them using the same techniques as they used for their own homes. Much of this "indigenous" knowledge about how to use local materials for housing has been lost. Or rather, much of this knowledge has become specialized in Japan (e.g., thatchers still exist and are very talented, but the average person today has never touched thatch).