The Junction at Obsidian Road

The Oiwake Site Cluster

30,000-year-old tools made of obsidian were excavated from a geological formation 5 meters underground. The use of obsidian had already begun by that time in history. These tools were found in the heart of the Takayama Obsidian Source Site, a site that is thought to be the intermediary base of the circulation of obsidian. Through the discovery of archaeological relics from different time periods within a thick stratum that has formed over 30,000-years, we were able to deduce that this area was continuously inhabited. This circulation route was named “The Obsidian Road”. The Obsidian Road diverged into 4 paths, stemming from an important forked road within the obsidian circulatory system.