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Pots not People

Ethnicity, Culture and Identity in Postwar Japanese Archaeology

University of Tsukuba, Japan

This article considers the relationship between identity politics and archaeological interpretations of ethnicity in postwar Japan. Although race and ethnicity were important concepts in early Japanese archaeology, from the 1930s a new interpretive paradigm based on archaeological cultures began to dominate the discipline. After the end of the Second World War, Japanese archaeologists became increasingly concerned with sociopolitical issues relating to democracy and peace, but the continued absence of explicit discussion of prehistoric ethnicity has tended to reinforce the primordialist view of ethnic identity that became common in postwar Japanese society. This article discusses the use of ethnicity in Japanese archaeology, citing examples from Hokkaido, Okinawa, and the Jômon-Yayoi transition. It is argued that the lack of emphasis afforded to ethnicity in postwar archaeology in Japan reflects interest in other sociopolitical issues rather than theoretical naivety with respect to identity politics.

Key Words: Ainu • archaeology • ethnicity • imperialism • Japan • Okinawa

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