二○○○年是日本考古學的不祥年。日本前期及中期舊石器遺跡被揭發是由業餘考古學者藤村新一所捏造，整個日本前期及中期舊石器的考古成果被澈底推翻。藤村成眾矢之的，個人承擔所有責任。文化廳官僚、地方政府、傳媒及學界紛紛以受害人身分批判藤村。究竟前期舊石器捏造事件是否單純是藤村新一為了一己私利而做出的欺詐行為？本文探討前期舊石器捏造事件的來龍去脈及背後的意識型態，從而顯示這是二十多年間多方面與藤村共謀下的產品，在背後推動及利用其考古發現的學者、傳媒、文化廳官僚及地方政府難以逃避責任。事件的出現與日本成為經濟大國後興起的新民族主義息息相關，考古學成為推動民族主義的棋子。官方利用教科書、博物館、指定文化古跡等手段宣傳偽考古發現，去提倡「日本古代文明大國論」及「日本人論」。地方政府亦希望藉此加強地區凝聚力及旅遊資源。傳媒及學界不但把關乏力，甚至煽風點火，與官方一起大合唱。

The year 2000 was a bad year in Japanese archaeology. The stone artifacts in early and middle Paleolithic sites in Japan were found to be forgeries planted by the amateur archaeologist Fujimura Shinichi. This scandal destroyed the credibility of the existence of the early and middle
Paleolithic in Japan. The disgraced Fujimura took all the blame and
responsibilities. Playing the victim role, government agencies, regional
governments, the media and academia joined the chorus of Fujimura
bashing.This paper examines the ideologies behind the early and middle
Paleolithic frauds in Japan, showing that it was indeed a conspiracy
involving government agencies, regional governments, the media,and academia. Fujimura’s problematic archeological discoveries were used by the officials, scholars and journalists to pursue their political
and intellectual agenda. Through textbooks, museums and designated
cultural assets, the officials of the central government used Fujimura’s
findings to enhance national pride and cultural nationalism. Regional
governments strove to promote local identity and tourism. The academia
and media added fuel to the fire by supporting and promoting Fujimura’s
findings.