Minatogawa Man
Restored bust of Minatogawa Man No.1
Are Okinawan people related to mainland Japanese? This question has deeply concerned Okinawan people anxious for a long time to confirm their identity.
The research of professor Emeritus Naoshi Suzuki of Tokyo university concluded that the Minatogawa Primitive Man was discovered by Mr. Seiho Oyama, amateur archaeologist, at the coral clefts of Minatogawa, Gushikami Village in 1970.
The Minatogawa Man lived 18,000 years ago during the Stone Age. The bones of Minatogawa Man formed an almost complete figure when they were discovered, resembling those of skeletons found in the Kwangsi Chuang region of China dating back 40,000 years. They are also similar to human bones found in many areas of the Japan of the Jomon Period around 10,000 years ago.
The Minatogawa Man is commonly believed to be the direct ancestor of the modern day Japanese as his descendants spread throughout the Japanese Islands, particularly those of southern Japan.
Minatogawa Man No.1, male skelton estimated 153 centimeters tall