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Paper short abstract

This study examines Ainu traditional ecological knowledge through archaeological plant remains that span over 1,000 years. The results presented speak to the ingenuity of the Ainu's subsistence system - a form of cultural heritage whose academic neglect is linked to the politics of colonization.

Paper long abstract

Despite the Ainu's long history of engagement with Hokkaido's rich forests, little is known about their traditional ecological knowledge pre-contact due to a lack of early ethnographic work on the topic. Many early depictions of the Ainu neglected the intricacies of traditional subsistence in favor of simplistic depictions as hunter-gatherers, serving Japan's territorial expansion.

In this setting, the research presented here attempts to shed light on the Ainu's plant TEK through an analysis of archaeological plant remains spanning over 1,000 years of subsistence data. Results indicate a progressive tendency towards woodland resource diversification - a practice that is often associated with risk-management in small-scale economies. This evidence is investigated in the historical context of Hokkaido's changing climate and the concurrent encroachment of the Japanese into the island in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Ainu's forest subsistence system forms a part of a larger body of TEK, a form of cultural heritage whose academic neglect is tied to the local political context, with telling implications for the present day.