Archaeological studies are the main approach we take when delving into the roots of whaling in Japan. There is no question that the physical evidence taken up in archaeology is the most direct and dependable source of information concerning whaling in prehistoric times and societies without letters. However, clues to the lives of prehistoric people, which have not been recorded in words, are not restricted to physical matter that have not been decomposed or destroyed and been underground for ages. In fact, although pieces of whale bones, stone implements, and artifacts made from bones are evidence of whale utilization, they do not often tell us what sort of social life the people led or what systematic means they employed to obtain whales. Actually, it is extremely difficult to find answers to such sociocultural questions on the basis of physical evidence alone.
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