BOAT SHAPED HANIWA IN THE HISTORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF WATER TRANSPORT ON THE JAPANESE ARCHIPELAGO OF THE KOFUN PERIOD

  • I.S. Gnezdilova Institute of Archeology and Ethnography SB RAS Email: gnezdilova06@mail.ru
DOI_disc_logo https://doi.org/10.14258/tpai(2023)35(3).-11
Keywords: Japanese archipelago, Kofun period, haniwa boats, water transport, burials

Abstract

This study considers a special type of archaeological artefacts — boat shaped haniwa, found at the burial complexes of the Kofun period (3rd –7th centuries A.D.) on Japanese archipelago. The settlement of the ancient population in the island territories with mountainous terrain contributed to the use of water transport. At the stage of formation of the political center, water transport became important for operational control and management of remote regions. This aspect of the history of the development of the Japanese archipelago needs a separate consideration, and today it is beginning to be included in the circle of scientific interests of Russian specialists. The development of water transport in the history of Japanese archipelago can be reconstructed of various artefacts, including boat shaped haniwa. In the development of water transport on the territory of the archipelago, on the basis of the methods of construction used, three types of ships are distinguished — dugout boats, semi-structured (block) ships and structure ships. Among semi-structured ships, two subtypes are defined — onesection and two-section. Currently 48 boat shaped haniwa have been found, all of which are of the semistructured (block) type. The sub-types of boat models are distributed roughly evenly. The boat shaped haniwa are models semi-structured (block) vessels and make it possible to reconstruct the construction of small vessels and determine the shipbuilding technology that was widespread during the Kofun period. The boat shaped haniwa are items of funerary equipment and were placed on large chiefdom mounds. They also carried a sacred function, symbolizing the transport for moving the soul of the deceased to the afterlife.

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Author Biography

I.S. Gnezdilova, Institute of Archeology and Ethnography SB RAS

Candidate of Historical Sciences, Junior Research Scientist of Department of Metal Ages Archaeology of Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences

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Published
2023-10-24
How to Cite
Gnezdilova I. BOAT SHAPED HANIWA IN THE HISTORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF WATER TRANSPORT ON THE JAPANESE ARCHIPELAGO OF THE KOFUN PERIOD // THEORY AND PRACTICE OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 2023. Vol. 35, № 3. P. 162-176 DOI: 10.14258/tpai(2023)35(3).-11. URL: http://journal.asu.ru/tpai/article/view/13834.
Issue
Vol 35 No 3 (2023)
Section
FOREIGN ARCHAEOLOGY

Copyright (c) 2023 И.С. Гнездилова

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