Article Abstract:
Public interest in archaeology in postwar Japan has helped to overcome belief in the national origin myths, but archaeological excavation of the imperial tombs is still prohibited. The tombs remain under the authority of the Imperial Household Agency, although the Japanese Archaeological Assn has requested access and the issue has been a subject of public debate. Enough other tombs have been excavated that the imperial tombs would probably contain no great surprises, and the occupants are probably not identifiable by name. Before World War II archaeological research was hampered by the belief that the Japanese emperors were directly descended from the gods.
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Article Abstract:
Archaeological excavations in the Five Points neighborhood of lower Manhattan, New York City, give quite a different picture than the infamous slum described by authors such as Charles Dickens, George Foster and Herbert Asbury. The written descriptions reflect middle-class attitudes toward working-class districts, often equating poverty with low morals. The archaeological work gives a picture of immigrants who struggled to keep their respectability and maintain their ethnic heritage despite difficult living conditions and social stereotyping. The lives of Irish immigrants on Pearl Street contrast with those of German and Polish Jews on Baxter Street.
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Article Abstract:
The discovery of bronze mirrors in Japan's Yamato region has initiated a controversy among Chinese and Japanese archaeologists. While some maintain the mirrors were a gift to Japan's legendary queen Himiko from the Chinese Wei Dynasty, others believe that they were made by Chinese artisans who fled to Japan for asylum. No similar mirrors have been discovered in China.
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