Officials examine a stratum dating back about 120,000 years at a Naumann’s elephant fossil excavation site in Makubetsu, Hokkaido, on Oct. 26, 2026. (Hitoshi Suzuki)
MAKUBETSU, Hokkaido — Researchers are conducting an excavation for fiscal 2026 at a fossil site in the Churui district of this northern Japan town where nearly a full Naumann’s elephant skeleton has been found.
Curators and others will carefully examine the site through Oct. 30, focusing on areas around the stratum where part of a skull was found during a 2024 excavation.
The Naumann’s elephant, a species of elephant characterized by long tusks, inhabited Japan during the Ice Age. In the Churui district, a tooth fossil was found in 1969 at the site of farm road construction, and a full-scale survey the following year uncovered skeletal fossils.
Although fossils amounting to nearly one complete animal have been excavated, many fossils, including those of the skull and backbone, are believed to remain buried. The Makubetsu Municipal Board of Education has conducted surveys every autumn since 2019. In October 2024, one Naumann’s elephant skull fossil was found in a stratum dating back about 120,000 years, the first such discovery in 54 years.
This fiscal year, researchers are intensively working on the 2024 skull discovery site and adjacent areas. Led mainly by curator Yuji Soeda, director of the Churui Museum of Naumann’s Elephant, and curator Hiroshi Sawamura, former director of the Ashoro Museum of Paleontology in the Hokkaido town of Ashoro, municipal education board staff members and others are examining the 120,000-year-old stratum exposed by heavy machinery.
The survey is open to public viewing. On Oct. 24 and 25, about 35 people took part in hands-on events to excavate fossil footprints. A lodging plan offered by a hotel in the Churui district that included an excavation experience, from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1, was quickly booked up. Roadside Station Churui is also selling “Naumann manju” sweet buns at a special price.
Soeda said he hopes new fossils will be found and also referred to the local campaigns in response to the excavation. “We hope this fossil excavation will be regarded as a valuable cultural activity for the district and be utilized to help revitalize the region,” he said.
Inquiries about public viewing and other excavation-related matters should be directed to the Churui Museum of Naumann’s Elephant at 01558-8-2826 (in Japanese).
(Japanese original by Hitoshi Suzuki)
AloJapan.com