Toward an Understanding of Technological Variability in Microblade Assemblages in Hokkaido, Japan

Five decades of research history on the late Upper Paleolithic in Hokkaido (northern Japan) shows that microblade assemblages appeared by approximately 20,000 B.P. and that various microbiade technologies were developed during late Pleistocene. The empirically observed good association between the morphological features of lithic raw materials and the reduction sequences of microblade cores demonstrates that morphological features of procured lithic raw materials (i.e., size and surface condition), which were constrained by unique geological and geoarchaeological characteristics in Hokkaido, created remarkable variability in reduction methods of microblade technology. This implies that geoarchaeological perspective can contribute to understanding technological variability in microblade assemblages in northeastern Asia. KEYWORDS: Hokkaido, microblade, technological variability, geoarchaeology, oxygen isotope stage 2