Jōmon period

The Jōmon period (Japanese: 縄文 時代, Hepburn: Jōmon jidai) was a time in Japanese history between about 14,000 and 300 BCE. During this long time, the islands of Japan were home to the Jōmon people, a group of hunter-gatherers who also began to grow some of their own food. These people came from many places, including Northeast Asia, the Korean Peninsula, China, and Southeast Asia.

The Jōmon people made beautiful and useful things from materials like bone, stone, shell, and antler. They made pottery, often decorating it by pressing cords into the soft clay before it was fired. This style of pottery gives the Jōmon period its name. They also made jewelry and small statues called figurines. Their culture was complex for people who mostly hunted and gathered food, rather than depending heavily on farming.

Eventually, the Jōmon people met and mixed with another group called the Yayoi people, who spoke a different language and had different ways of living. This meeting helped shape the culture of Japan in later times. The Jōmon period is important for understanding how early societies developed and created rich cultures even without large farms or cities.

Chronology

The Jōmon period lasted about 14,000 years, from around 14,000 BCE to 300 BCE. It is split into six parts: Incipient, Initial, Early, Middle, Late, and Final. These parts help us learn about the Jōmon people by looking at their pottery.

The Jōmon period ended and the Yayoi period began around 300 BCE. In some areas of Japan, such as Hokkaido and Northern Tohōku, the Jōmon people were followed by the Zoku-Jōmon culture. In Okinawa and the Ryukyu Isles, people talk about the Shellmidden Period or the Sakishima Prehistoric Period instead.

Main article: Jōmon pottery

Main articles: Great Pyramid of Giza, typology, radiocarbon dating, Yayoi period, Kyushu, Shellmidden Period, Zoku-Jōmon Period

Origin and ethnogenesis

Main article: Jōmon people

The Jōmon people lived in Japan from about 14,000 to 300 BCE. They were hunter-gatherers and had a rich culture. Studies of their DNA show they were related to modern East Asians, with some of their ancestors coming from Southeast Asia.

Today, the people of Japan come from a mix of these Jōmon people and later groups who brought farming. Genetic research shows the Jōmon were made up of many different groups who moved into Japan over time. They lived in villages. The Jōmon period was a time of great cultural development before new groups arrived and changed Japanese society.

Incipient and Initial Jōmon (13,750–5,000 BCE)

The Jōmon period began when Japan was connected to Asia by land. When glaciers melted, the sea rose and Japan separated. This allowed people to create their own special way of living.

The land had many forests with trees that gave nuts and acorns. People saved these for winter. The sea provided food too, like salmon and shellfish. These foods were found in big piles called middens. People lived mostly in Honshu and Kyushu, but Jōmon communities were also in Hokkaido and the Ryukyu Islands.

Early Jōmon (5000–3520 BCE)

The Early Jōmon period saw a big increase in population. We can see this from the number of larger villages from this time. This happened during the Holocene climatic optimum, when the weather became warmer and more humid.

People during this time may have started growing some plants, although it is not clear how much. They cared for trees that produced useful things, like lacquer and chestnuts. They also grew foods such as soybeans, bottle gourds, hemp, and adzuki beans. This shows that their way of living was somewhere between hunting and gathering and farming. Evidence suggests that a type of peach was already being grown in Japan, brought from China.

Middle Jōmon (3520–2470 BCE)

During the Middle Jōmon period, people made pretty pottery with designs. They created special figurines called dogū and vessels with flame-like patterns. They also made curved stone beads known as magatama, which they placed in graves.

People built large burial mounds and monuments during this time. Homes became more complex, with some pit-houses having stone floors. This style of housing continued into a later culture called the Satsumon culture. The Middle Jōmon was a warm time, but the climate began to cool down toward the end.

Late and Final Jōmon (2470–500 BCE)

After 1500 BCE, the climate cooled, and fewer archaeological sites have been found from this time. The Japanese chestnut tree became very important, giving people food and strong wood for building houses.

During the Final Jōmon period, people from the Korean Peninsula began to settle in western Japan. They brought new ways of farming and making tools from bronze and iron. These new settlers lived together with the Jōmon people for many years. Later, the Jōmon culture was replaced by the Yayoi culture in most areas. In Hokkaido, it was followed by the Okhotsk culture and Zoku-Jōmon.

Pottery

Main article: Jōmon pottery

The earliest pottery in Japan was made around 14,500 BCE by the Jōmon people. They were hunter-gatherers. Small pieces of this old pottery were found at places like the Odai Yamamoto I site and the Fukui cave. The pottery is called "cord-marked" because it has patterns made by pressing cords into the wet clay. These early pots were small bowls, usually between 10 and 50 centimeters high. People likely used them for cooking and storing food.

Over time, the Jōmon people made many different kinds of pottery. Scientists have found more than 70 types. The pottery got bigger and more detailed, which shows that people were living in one place more often. Making pottery usually means people are staying in one area, because pottery is heavy and can break easily if you move around a lot. The Jōmon people were good at fishing and also used tools made from stone, bone, and shell.

Transoceanic similarities

The Jōmon society is often compared to the pre-Columbian cultures of the North American Pacific Northwest and the Valdivia culture in Ecuador. These cultures share similarities in their pottery and development. They mainly relied on hunting and gathering, with only small-scale farming, known as horticulture. It is still debated whether these similarities happened by chance or if Jōmon sailors traveled far.

Foundation myths

The origin stories of Japanese civilization go back to the Jōmon period, although these stories do not match what archaeologists have found. The traditional story says that the Japanese nation began when Emperor Jimmu started ruling on February 11, 660 BCE. But this version of history comes from Japan’s first written records, the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki, which were written much later, between the 6th and 8th centuries, after Japan had started using Chinese characters (Go-on/Kan-on).

Some parts of modern Japanese culture might have roots in the Jōmon period, showing influences from people who came from northern Asia and the southern Pacific, together with the local Jōmon peoples. These influences can be seen in early forms of Shinto, certain building styles, and inventions like lacquerware and special bows called yumi, as well as early work with metals.

Cultural revival

People today are very interested in the Jōmon culture. In the early 2000s, the special patterns from that time began to appear on modern clothes, accessories, and tattoos. Some think the designs on ancient clay figures called Dogū might have been tattoos too.

People have also tried to copy old Jōmon ways, especially making pottery using bonfires like the ancient people did. Now, Jōmon designs can be seen on many things like origami, cookies, and notebooks. In 2018, an exhibition about the Jōmon period at the Tokyo National Museum had many visitors—over three times more than expected! Some places have even made Jōmon-style houses for people to visit.