The Japanese archipelago, surrounded by the sea and rich in marine resources, has a long fishing history, dating back to the Jomon period (c. 14,000-900 BCE). Evidence of this includes discovering fish bones and fishing gear from around 2700 shell mounds. While research on the Jomon fishing nets has focused on various aspects, such as net mesh size and marine life caught, there has been limited attention to the actual structure of the nets. Previous studies have primarily examined net imprints preserved on pottery surfaces known as ‘textile-impressed pottery’, discovered from the end of Jomon to the beginning of Yayoi at sites in the Kyushu region. These nets had been identified as fishing nets without any qualify. In this study, X-ray computed tomography (CT) was used to investigate and digitally reconstruct net impressions found in pottery from the Hidaka region of Hokkaido, Japan, dating to the Early Jomon period (referred to as ‘Shizunai-Nakano style pottery’). Subsequently, these impressions were compared to net imprints preserved on textile-impressed pottery found in the Kyushu region. The results revealed that fishing nets were (re)used in various ways in pottery production in both traditions. However, differences in thread twist direction and knotting methods likely stem from cultural variations, in contrast to differences in mesh size which resulted from the specific nets chosen for pottery making. Among them, the nets with a small mesh size of less than 6.5 mm on textile-impressed pottery were not for fishing but possibly containers or other uses. This study is the first to reconstruct Jomon period nets based on impressions in/on pottery, shedding light on not only the importance of net production in Prehistoric Japan but also biases in the sources of the pottery-making process that should be considered when archaeologists are analysing archaeological materials.

中文翻译：

---

藏在陶器中的网：绳文时代复活的渔网，日本


日本列岛四面环海，海洋资源丰富，渔业历史悠久，可追溯到绳文时代（约公元前 14,000-900 年）。这方面的证据包括从大约 2700 个贝墩中发现鱼骨和渔具。虽然对绳文渔网的研究集中在网孔大小和捕获的海洋生物等各个方面，但对渔网的实际结构的关注有限。以前的研究主要检查了保存在陶器表面的网状印记，这些印记被称为 “纺织压印陶器”，从绳文末期到弥生初期在九州地区的遗址中发现。这些渔网被认定为渔网，没有任何资格。在这项研究中，X 射线计算机断层扫描 （CT） 用于调查和数字重建在日本北海道日高地区陶器中发现的网状印记，这些陶器可追溯到绳文时代早期（称为“Shizunai-Nakano 风格陶器”）。随后，将这些印记与九州地区发现的织物压印陶器上保存的网状印记进行了比较。结果表明，在这两种传统中，渔网在陶器生产中都以各种方式（重新）使用。然而，线捻方向和打结方法的差异可能源于文化差异，这与选择用于陶器制作的特定网造成的网眼尺寸差异形成鲜明对比。其中，织物压印陶器上小于 6.5 毫米的小网目尺寸不是用于捕鱼，而是可能用于容器或其他用途。 这项研究首次根据陶器内部/陶器上的印记重建绳文时代的网，不仅揭示了史前日本网生产的重要性，还揭示了考古学家在分析考古材料时应考虑的陶器制作过程来源的偏差。