The Japanese Archaeological Association on Sunday concluded that none of the alleged stone tools that disgraced archaeologist Shinichi Fujimura said date back to the Paleolithic period have any academic value.

The decision by the association's special investigative committee, announced at the group's general assembly held in Tokyo, comes 19 months after the shocking revelation that Fujimura, once a star amateur archaeologist, fabricated his finds at what were claimed to be ancient ruins in northern Japan.

The association has since re-examined ruins that Fujimura, 52, a former deputy director of the Tohoku Paleolithic Institute, was involved in excavating.