Prehistoric hunting pressure estimated by the age composition of excavated sika deer (Cervus Nippon) using the annual layer of tooth cement

Age of excavated sika deer was determined not only by the cement-annuli method but also by the observation method to avoid unnecessary destruction of archaeological materials. The observation method is based on tooth replacement, wear index and the appearance of cervical lines on the molar teeth. Stepwise discriminant analysis was used to establish a criterion for the age determination of excavated mandibles. Then the annulation method was carried out for well-preserved specimens older than 3–5 years. The age composition of excavated deer mandibles seems to have changed through the Jomon Period. Age composition at the Torihama sites (the Early Jomon Period) was characterized by an abundance of aged individuals, showing a close similarity with that of the recent deer population under protected conditions. Deer from the Kidosaku and Yahagi sites (the Late Jomon Period) and the SambuUbayama site (the Latest Jomon Period) were composed mainly of deer younger than 5 years, which seems to correspond to that of the recent hunted population living under natural conditions in Hokkaido. These data suggest that the hunting pressure increased during the Late and Latest Jomon Periods and compares with the pressures on recent hunted populations of sika deer.