TOKAI UNIVERSITY Researchers Guide 2020

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My field is prehistory and cultural anthropology in the Americas. I am particularly interested in Mesoamerican and Central Andean civilizations, and in the interaction between civilizations on both continents. It has been seen that many cultural elements are related to both civilizations and I conduct a study of the cultural phenomenon concerning the shaft tomb in western Mexico. In recent years, I have been focused on the Los Altos region of Jalisco and engaged in archaeological excavations. The archaeological site was occupied from the early Classic Period to the Epiclassic Period, and its rayout pattern was inuenced by the Teuchitlan tradition in western Mexico and the Bajio tradition in Michoacan and Guanajuato. As many petroglyphs have been discovered around the site co-investigators and I are researching the relation between petroglyphs and the sites. I’m also interested in the indigenous worldview (cosmology) and symbolic systems.ResearchAreasHumanities/Social sciencesKeywords■Mesoamerica■Cultural anthropology■Archaeology■Western Mexico■Classic PeriodRelatedresearchSDGThe transformation of the world view through cultural interactions in western Mexican from the Pre-Classic Period to the Late Classic PeriodAssociate ProfessorTeruaki YoshidaUndergraduate School of LettersDepartment of CivilizationI continue doing research on migrant communities in modern Japanese urban areas. In particular, my main research interests are the community of the domestic migrants from the Ryukyu Islands and the community of White Russians in Japan. My work examines the kind of practices which have been followed collectively by their groups in the majority society in mainland Japan, as well as their settlement process. I put particular focus on their self-identication through the practices of their organizations. Additionally, I also analyze the diversity of Japanese society and the dynamics of migrant groups.ResearchAreasHumanitiesKeywords■Social geographies ■Cultural geographies■Migration studies■Urban studiesRelatedresearchSDGGeographical study of migrant communities in modern Japanese urban areasAssociate ProfessorYuji NakanishiUndergraduate School of LettersDepartment of CivilizationAgriculture and herding are not only essential to our daily lives, but also cultural elements deeply rooted in our society. The oldest agriculture and herding started in the ancient Near East. How did the people of the ancient Near East move to a society based on farming and herding? We would like to reveal the process through the excavation of early agricultural sites in the Near East.ResearchAreasHumanitiesKeywords■Prehistory■Near Eastern Archaeology■Caucasian Archaeology■Lithic TechnologyRelatedresearchSDGResearch on the early farmers in the ancient Near EastProfessorMakoto ArimuraUndergraduate School of LettersDepartment of History - Archaeology34