ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT: Regarding the archaeological prospection, some different environmental factors, involved for Japan and Southeast Asia than for America and Europe, namely, the soils as represented by rice paddies, must be considered. Because of the need to be fl ooded in the early stages of rice agriculture, paddy soil has a hard, even-grained bed underlying the cultivated soil. The combined bed and cultivated layers have a thickness of more than 30 cm, and generally contain large deposits of iron and manganese. The presence of paddy soil exerts great infl uence on, and serves as a hindrance to, archaeological prospection.