Yamashita-cho 1 Cave Remains is a Paleolithic cave ruin located on a hill in the residential area of 1-chome, Yamashita-cho, to the southwest side of Onoyama Park. About 32,000 years ago, bones of girls, etc. named “Yamashita Doujin (Yamashita Cave Man) were unearthed.

Basic information

Address

900-0027 167 Yamashita-cho Naha Okinawa

TEL

098-917-3501　(English is not supported） Municipal cultural property division of Naha city

Business hours

Nothing in particular

Close day

Nothing in particular

Charge

Free

Parking

None

Access information

About a 9-minute walk from Yui Rail Onoyama station.

Additional Information

Academic information

Cultural property(National designated historical site)
Designated date: August 26, 1969
“Remains proving the existence of the Paleolithic Period”
Yamashita-cho 1 Cave Remains is a Paleolithic cave ruin located on a hill in the residential area of 1-chome, Yamashita-cho, to the southwest side of Onoyama Park.
The cave is small, about 1.2m wide, about 3m high, and about 5m deep. It was discovered in 1962 and an excavation was conducted twice. Bone devices such as tools made of deer horns and bones were discovered from the deepest layer of the cave. Along with deer bones, bones of about 7 year-old girl were unearthed. Anthropologists named the human bones “Yamashita Cave Man." Based on the measurement of age of the charcoal, it was discovered that the bones were about 32,000 years old. This cave's remains are an important site to prove that people already started living in Okinawa in the Paleolithic Period, several tens of thousands of years ago.

Quote

Naha Board of Education Cultural Heritage Division (2007) "Naha Cultural Property" Naha Board of Education