Gaiso-Bo and Fuso Mortuary Practices and Human Migration in the Late Pleistocene in the Ryukyu Islands

Abstract

This chapter introduces and discusses the Pleistocene human migration from the view of mortuary practices in the Ryukyu Islands, such as gaiso-bo and fuso traditions, based on the late Pleistocene tomb site newly found in Ishigaki Island on the southern Ryukyu. Gaiso-bo is a traditional mortuary practice where rock shelters and caves are used as tombs, and remains of the deceased are exposed to the elements to undergo natural decomposition. Fuso mortuary practice where the body of the deceased, with soft tissues still remaining after death, is placed in an exposed environment on the surface over time to allow it to naturally decompose into bones. With the detailed introduction of these mortuary practices, I also discuss the Pleistocene mortuary practices in the Ryukyu Islands with comparative view from the cases of Pleistocene mortuary practices in other island environments like Wallacea and Near Oceania.