Approaches to Experimental Pit House Reconstructions in the Japanese Central Highlands: Architectural History, Community Archaeology and Ethnology
Introduction
In Japan, experimental archaeology has thrived on many efforts to reconstruct prehistoric buildings. Since 1949, approximately one thousand buildings have been built at 360 sites (Ertl, 2021), making archaeological reconstruction something of a national pastime. In this article we compare approaches to making ancient pit houses at three sites located in the Central Highlands region of Japan: Togariishi-Yosukeone site (Chino City, Nagano Prefecture), Idojiri site (Fujimi Town, Nagano) and Umenoki site (Hokuto City, Yamanashi Prefecture) (See Figures 1–3).