12. The Amateur Who Upended East Asian Archaeology
For most people, archaeology is not exactly the kind of stuff that generates excitement. Not so in Japan, where archaeology is quite a popular subject. The Japanese people revel in their country’s uniqueness, and exhibit greater fascination with their pre history than just about any other people in the world. In that country, new archaeological finds are frequently announced in bold headlines on the front pages of leading newspapers, and bookshops usually have entire sections devoted to Stone Age Japan. Because of that, Japan went into a tizzy in 1981, when self-taught archaeologist Shinichi Fujimura announced his discovery of stone age artifacts dating back 40,000 years. The most important thing about his discovery for the Japanese public was that it established that human beings had been present in Japan for at least that long.
It was a spectacular find that launched Fujimura’s career, gained him national and international fame, and quickly put him at the forefront of Japanese archaeology. The Japanese, whose culture is heavily indebted to that of China, have often sought to differentiate and set themselves apart from the Chinese. Historic discoveries that support the uniqueness of Japanese culture and origins are bound to make their discoverer hugely popular. So it was in that environment and against that backdrop that Fujimura’s archaeological finds made him into a national celebrity. His discoveries were incorporated into school textbooks, and taught to Japanese children for years.
