일본의 발굴조사와 보고서 작성, 배포, 활용

Abstract

In Japan, although archaeological excavations took place as early as in the 17thcentury, it is as late as the 1960's that the governmental organization published guidelines for archaeological excavations, due to the drastic increase of developer-funded excavation caused by rapid economic growth. 44 years after the first publication, new guidelines have only now been published because of the enlarged scale of excavations and development of methodology in this field. Being guided by this publication, this article aims to introduce modern Japanese excavations, including administrative procedures, the methodology of excavation and process of report publication, as well as the distribution and disclosure processes. One of the most difficult problems is how to deal with the vast amount of excavation reports assumed to number around 200,000. An online resource project of Japanese excavation reports called 'Comprehensive Database of Archaeological Site Reports in Japan' has been promoted by Nara National Research Institute of Cultural Properties in order to enhance the efficiency of archaeological research through the inclusion of English and full-text search functions. Yet, digitization of archaeological reports has been criticized with regard to concerns over reliability, permanency, and authenticity. Now, academic exchanges about topics like digitization with developed countries like Korea are required to overcome these problems.