Concluding Vol. 1 of BSEAA (2007), two reprints of early works of Edward Sylester MORSE take us to the very beginning of western interest in Japanese archaeology. Annotated and introduced by Michael MOOS, MORSE’s “Traces of an Early Race in Japan” (1879) and “Dolmens in Japan” (1880) start a small series on Classical Western Writings on East Asian Archaeology and Anthropology in BSEAA that will be continued in the next volume. ("Two Essays on Japanese Archaeology by Edward S. MORSE")

November 27, 2007:

A major issue in Japanese archaeology, the transition between Yayoi and Kofun cultures raises many questions relating to the emergence of keyhole-shaped mounds, state formation processes, and - needless to say - the whole range of the Yamatai/Yamato problem.

Two new contributions address specific topics in this context:
Joseph A. STYLES ("A Contested Chronology of the Yayoi-Kofun Transition"), reviewing aspects of Gina L. Barnes as well as J. Edward Kidder’s latest publications, revaluates absolute dating connected to the intriguing Hashikaka mound, linking it even closer to the historic account of queen Himiko.
TSUJITA Jun’ichirō calls attention to finds of fragmented bronze mirrors from latest Yayoi and Early Kofun environments, thus assessing "The Change in the Distribution System of Bronze Mirrors at the Beginning of Kofun Period Japan" and its impact on the analysis of the appearance of local elites in the Kinki region.

July 4, 2007:

Again, Jane OKSBJERG contributes a stimulating field report from the Japanese archipelago.

This time she takes us to one of the centres of Kofun period culture in Okayama Prefecture. "The Last Excavation at Shōbuzako Kofun" allows intriguing insight into the development of large scale kofun mounds in ancient Kibi, and what it means for the perception of political power in Late Kofun.

March 3, 2007:

I am glad to announce the launching of the first issue of the Bulletin of the Society for East Asian Archaeology (BSEAA).

For the inaugural fascicle of BSEAA, I am happy to present two contributions – focussing on Yayoi period archaeology from very different angles –, both of which will surely find their audience among SEAA members and the interested public:

• Almost four years have elapsed since the National Museum of Japan announced the re-dating of the beginning of the Yayoi period, based on new data obtained from AMS dating of organic samples attached to pottery sherds. Yayoi, so it was said, began more than 500 years earlier than thought. The announcement triggered a hot debate among archaeologists, mainly in Japan, and the controversy has not since lost its explosiveness. SHŌDA Shinya analyses the different levels of the Yayoi dating controversy in detail, and uncovers the reasons lying behind this unsettled and at the same time absorbing debate.
   
• Last September, Jane OKSBJERG joined the team of the Kyūshū University Dep. of Archaeology for an excavation campaign at the Yayoi period Karakami site on Iki Island (Nagasaki Prefecture), lying off the coast of North Kyūshū. Her vivid and graphic account of the investigation, accompanied by numerous snapshots from the field, allows a genuine look at what digging is like in today's Japan. It's almost as you were there too!

I do hope our first articles trigger a lively discussion among SEAA and the wider public. Please feel free to make use of the FORUM in the Members' Area, or send a small comment for publication in BSEAA.

The articles of BSEAA appear online at varying intervals over the year. We are thus trying to diminish the usual delay between submitting a paper and having it published. Volume 1 (2007), in consequence, will see its final fascicle at the end of this year.

BSEAA provides a means for publishing smaller manuscripts, such as field reports, project outlines, conference reports, book reviews, museum roundups, and descriptions of places of interest etc., or brief essays on various issues in East Asian archaeology. Contributions from SEAA members, affiliated researchers and members of the interested public are highly welcome. Please share your expertise in the field and have your manuscripts published online at SEAA-web!

SEAA members enjoy a pre-reading period of three months for published articles, and will moreover have access to PDFs of the single articles with fully done layout, as well as to the complete BSEAA PDF version being prepared at the end of each year.
For easier online reading BSEAA allows changing the type size of the articles by clicking on one of the 'A' buttons in the upper right hand of the screen. If your browser accepts installing a (one day) cookie, you can keep your favourite type size for the whole session, without having to change the size again after visiting other pages. Naturally, the pages work also without cookies.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Michael MOOS for all the extra work he has done for both SEEA-web and BSEAA; without him this website wouldn't work at all.

Barbara Seyock
March 1, 2007

Recommended citation

Please cite BSEAA online articles as in the following example:
SHŌDA, Shinya 2007, A Comment on the Yayoi Dating Controversy. Bulletin of the Society for East Asian Archaeology (BSEAA) 1, http://www.seaa-web.org.

or
SHŌDA, Shinya: A Comment on the Yayoi Dating Controversy. Bulletin of the Society for East Asian Archaeology (BSEAA), Vol. 1 (2007), pp. 1-7.
 

If you like to have a manuscript published in BSEAA, please look up the Contribution Guidelines (Service), and send an e-mail to the editor.
 

Essays:

SHŌDA Shinya: A Comment on the Yayoi Period Dating Controversy
(subm.: Jan. 15; publ.: March 3, 2007)
Download PDF 0.4 Mb

TSUJITA Jun’ichirō: The Change in the Distribution System of Bronze Mirrors at the Beginning of Kofun Period Japan : as seen from Fragmented Bronze Mirrors
(subm.: Oct; publ.: Nov. 27, 2007)
Download PDF 0.4 Mb (Members only)

Field Reports:

Jane OKSBJERG: Karakami – A Yayoi Site in Iki Island
(subm.: Jan. 31; publ.: March 3; upd.: April 4, 2007)
Download PDF 4,2 Mb (Members only)

Jane OKSBJERG: The Last Excavation at Shōbuzako Kofun
(subm.: June. 5; publ.: July 4, 2007)
Download PDF 1,7 Mb (Members only)

Book Reviews & Review Articles:

Joseph A. STYLES: A Contested Chronology of the Yayoi-Kofun Transition
(subm.: Nov. 18; publ.: Nov. 27, 2007)
Download PDF 0,2 Mb
(Members only)

Reprints:

Michael MOOS (intr. and annot.): Two Essays on Japanese Archaeology by Edward S. MORSE
(subm.: May 1; publ.: May 22, 2008; preview ends: August 22, 2008)
(Members only)

Research Reports
Conference Reports
Places of Interest
Comments