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Radiocarbon dating of textile Components from Historical silk costumes and other cloth products in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 October 2019

Toshio Nakamura ,
Takako Terada ,
Chikako Ueki  and
Masayo Minami
Toshio Nakamura*
Affiliation:
Division of Chronological Research, Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8601, Japan
Takako Terada
Affiliation:
Faculty of Wellness Studies, Kwassui Women’s University, 1-50, Higashiyamate, Nagasaki 850-8515, Japan
Chikako Ueki
Affiliation:
International Association of Costume, 1-9-2, Ozato, Okinawa 904-2163, Japan
Masayo Minami
Affiliation:
Division of Chronological Research, Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8601, Japan
*
*Corresponding author. Email: nakamura@nendai.nagoya-u.ac.jp.
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Abstract

In our research on traditional clothing and accessories in the Ryukyu Islands of Japan, we have collected cloth fragments from traditional Ryukyuan costumes and other fabric products for radiocarbon (14C) dating. In this study, the cloth samples from historical costumes of noro priestesses (two samples), men and women from high-status families (five samples), and non-costume cloth products (seven samples), belonging to the traditional hereditary religious system of the ancient Ryukyu Kingdom, which lasted from approximately the 14th century AD to 1829 were analyzed. One extra sample originated from a silk shawl known as a Manila shawl. The oldest among the 15 samples dates back to the mid-15th century, but some newer ones belong to the unclear calibrated age range of AD 1650–1950. The measured dates are very consistent with the historical record, suggesting that acetone and acid-alkali-acid treatments are an adequate cleaning method for radiocarbon dating of silk and cotton samples produced in the late Middle Age and later.

Keywords

AMS radiocarbon datingembroidered silk productManila shawlnoro priestessRyukyu Kingdomtraditional Ryukyuan costume
Type
Conference Paper
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 61 , Issue 6: Radiocarbon 2018 Conference Proceedings Trondheim, Norway, June 17–22, 2018 Part 2 of 2 , December 2019 , pp. 1663 - 1674
Copyright
© 2019 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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Footnotes

Selected Papers from the 23rd International Radiocarbon Conference, Trondheim, Norway, 17–22 June, 2018

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