494 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM 



The southern housepit (No. 1) was excavated first. This pit was 

 found to be nearly square, 25 by 25% feet. The floor was 36 

 inches below the present ground level. Profiles of the north-south 

 and east-west centerlines are shown in Figure 5. The partial filling 

 of the pit with humus and the obliteration of the sides reveal that the 

 housepit had been abandoned long before the ashfall now forming the 

 surface of the ground. The ashfall was apparently wind driven, 

 since the housepit received a thicker deposit than fell on the sur- 

 rounding level surface. Cultivation of the surface of the ash has re- 

 sulted in some intermixture of modern humus with the upper 1 foot 

 of the ash. The cultivation of the field had also tended to level the 

 housepit by dragging in ash and humus from surrounding elevations. 

 A perfect, charred walnut found in the undisturbed ash layer indicates 

 that the area was wooded when the ash fell, and the season of the 

 year was probably fall or winter. 



A 3-foot wide trench was dug completely around house 1, thereby 

 outlining the walls formed by the undisturbed subsoil. No artifacts 

 were found in the recent humus or in the volcanic ash. However, in 

 the black humus layer were found hundreds of sherds of both Jomon 

 and Haji provenience. Among these sherds were one complete cup, 

 one restorable vase, and three nonrestorable vases, numbered 1 to 5 

 inclusive. Stone implements (411642) were few, but include 2 frag- 



PROFILE ALOFvlQ E-W CENTER LIME 

 MOUSE* I, TANA.KA SITE, OSATSU 



SI SLACK HUMUS S >j 



HORIZONTAL 6CALE 



Figure 5. — Soil profile along N.-S. center line of house 1 in the Tanaka Site, Osatsu. 



