Free to follow every thread. No paywall, no dead ends.
Jōmon period: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Jōmon period
The Jōmon period spans approximately 14,000 years of Japanese history. Archaeologists divide this vast era into six distinct phases based on ceramic typology and radiocarbon dating. The Incipient phase began around 13,750 BCE and lasted until 8,500 BCE. This was followed by the Initial phase from 8,500 BCE to 5,000 BCE. The Early phase ran from 5,000 BCE to 3,520 BCE. The Middle phase extended from 3,520 BCE to 2,470 BCE. The Late phase covered the time between 2,470 BCE and 1,250 BCE. Finally, the Final phase concluded around 500 BCE, though recent findings suggest it may have ended as late as 300 BCE.
This entire timeline is given a single name despite containing considerable regional and temporal diversity. The span between the earliest Jōmon pottery and the more well-known Middle Jōmon period is about twice as long as the time separating the building of the Great Pyramid of Giza from the 21st century. Dating these sub-phases relies primarily on ceramic typology with radiocarbon dating playing a lesser role. The Japanese archipelago itself divides into three regions where chronology applies differently: Honshu and Kyushu, Okinawa and the Ryukyu Isles, and Hokkaido and Northern Tohoku.
Migratory Routes And Genetics
The ancestors of the Jōmon people migrated from Northeast Asia, the Korean Peninsula, China, and Southeast Asia. Genetic studies reveal that the Jōmon population was rather diverse and closely related to modern-day East Asians. Some ancestors came directly from Southeast Asia while others arrived via coastal routes. Modern Japanese people carry approximately 30% paternal ancestry from the Jōmon but only around 15% maternal contribution. Autosomal contribution stands at roughly 10%. This imbalanced inheritance has been referred to as the "admixture paradox".
Y-chromosome haplogroups C1a1 and D-M55 are two of the key Jōmon lineages identified by researchers. Maternal haplogroups M7a, N9b, and G1b have also been found in ancient specimens. Full genome analyses from 2020 and 2021 revealed early admixture between different groups during the Paleolithic period. Geneflow from Northeast Asia is associated with C1a1 and C2 lineages. Geneflow from the Tibetan Plateau and Southern China links to D1a2a and D1a1 lineages. Ancestry from ancient Siberia entered northern Hokkaido before spreading into parts of northern Honshu.
The Incipient phase of the Jōmon period began around 13,750 BCE and concluded around 500 BCE. Recent findings suggest the Final phase may have ended as late as 300 BCE.
What are the six phases of the Jōmon period timeline?
Archaeologists divide the Jōmon period into six distinct phases: Incipient, Initial, Early, Middle, Late, and Final. These phases span from approximately 13,750 BCE to 500 BCE or potentially 300 BCE based on recent discoveries.
Where were the earliest Jōmon pottery fragments discovered?
Small fragments dated to approximately 16,000 years ago were found at the Odai Yamamoto I site in 1998. Pottery of roughly the same age was subsequently discovered at other locations including Kamikuroiwa and the Fukui cave.
How much genetic ancestry do modern Japanese people carry from the Jōmon population?
Modern Japanese people carry approximately 30% paternal ancestry from the Jōmon but only around 15% maternal contribution. Autosomal contribution stands at roughly 10% according to genetic studies.
Which regions of Japan did not experience the Jōmon period?
The Jōmon period does not apply to Okinawa and the Ryukyu Isles where common chronology uses the Shellmidden Period or the Sakishima Prehistoric Period specifically for the island. Hokkaido and Northern Tohoku saw the Jōmon people replaced by related groups called Zoku-Jomon who ushered in the unique Zoku-Jōmon Period.
Settlements along both the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean subsisted on immense amounts of shellfish. These communities left distinctive middens that are now prized sources of information for archaeologists. The Oyashio Current carried plentiful marine life southward, especially salmon, which served as another major food source. Many native tree species such as beeches, buckeyes, chestnuts, and oaks produced edible nuts and acorns. These provided substantial sources of food for both humans and animals.
Acorns of Quercus crispula contain astringent tannins and must be processed to become edible. In the eastern part of Japan, these nuts were preserved in winter and stored in underground pits. Sika deer, wild boar, and freshwater fish also contributed to the diet. Wild plants like yam-like tubers supplemented their nutrition. Supported by highly productive deciduous forests and abundant seafood, the population concentrated heavily in Honshu and Kyushu. Jōmon sites range all the way from Hokkaido to the Ryukyu Islands despite this concentration.
Cord-Marked Ceramics
The world's oldest known ceramics were crafted around 14,500 BCE by Jōmon period hunter-gatherers. Small fragments dated to approximately 16,000 years ago were found at the Odai Yamamoto I site in 1998. Pottery of roughly the same age was subsequently discovered at other locations including Kamikuroiwa and the Fukui cave. The name "cord-marked" was first applied by American zoologist Edward S. Morse who discovered sherds of pottery in 1877. He translated "straw-rope pattern" into Japanese as Jōmon.
The earliest vessels were mostly smallish round-bottomed bowls about 20 centimeters high used for boiling food or storing it beforehand. These belonged to hunter-gatherers and vessel size may have been limited by a need for portability. As later bowls increased in size, this indicated an increasingly settled pattern of living. The pottery style characteristic of the first phases was decorated by impressing cords into the surface of wet clay. It has now been found in a large number of sites across Japan.
Regional Settlement Patterns
In southwestern Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, broadleaf evergreen trees dominated the forests while deciduous trees and conifers were common in northeastern Honshu and southern Hokkaido. In Okinawa and the Ryukyu Isles, the Jōmon period does not apply as the Jōmon people were mostly absent from these places. Instead, common chronology for that area uses the Shellmidden Period or the Sakishima Prehistoric Period specifically for the island. For Hokkaido and Northern Tohoku, the Jōmon people were replaced not by Yayoi people but by related groups called Zoku-Jomon who ushered in the unique Zoku-Jōmon Period.
The main connection between the Japanese archipelago and Mainland Asia ran through the Korean Peninsula to Kyushu and Honshu. Luzon, Taiwan, Ryukyu, and Kyushu constituted a continuous chain of islands connecting the Jōmon with Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, Honshu, Hokkaido, and Sakhalin connected them with Siberia. The closest point in Kyushu to the Korean Peninsula is about 180 kilometers away yet remains near enough to be intermittently influenced by continental developments.
Climate Cooling And Decline
After 1500 BCE, the climate cooled entering a stage of neoglaciation and populations seem to have contracted dramatically. Comparatively few archaeological sites can be found after 1500 BCE. Scientists suggest this sharp decline was possibly caused by food shortages and other environmental problems. Examining the remains of people throughout the period shows evidence that these deaths were not inflicted by warfare or violence on a large enough scale to cause such losses. Not all Jōmon groups suffered under these circumstances but the overall population declined significantly.
During the Final Jōmon period, a slow shift took place in western Japan where steadily increasing contact with the Korean Peninsula eventually led to establishment of Korean-type settlements in western Kyushu beginning around 900 BCE. These settlers brought new technologies including wet rice farming and bronze and iron metallurgy along with pottery styles similar to those of the Mumun pottery period. Settlements of these new arrivals coexisted with Jōmon and Yayoi groups for around a thousand years before the Final phase concluded.
Modern Revival And Art
In the early 21st century, Jōmon cord marking style was revived and used on clothing, accessories, and tattoos. Archaeologist Jun Takayama has theorized that patterns on Dogū depicted actual tattoos worn by ancient people. In the 1970s, a movement started to reproduce the ancient techniques of Jōmon-style ceramics using methods like bonfire firing. Contemporary Jōmon pottery is based on earthenware replicated with these ancient techniques.
Motifs from Jōmon artifacts now inspire vessels, origami, cookies, candies, notebooks, and neckties. A 2018 exhibition at the Tokyo National Museum saw 350,000 visitors, which was 3.5 times more than expected. Jōmon-style pit houses have been recreated in places such as the Jōmon Village Historic Garden. Magazines like Jōmonzine cover the prehistoric period regularly. Modern public perception has gradually shifted from viewing the era as primitive and obsolete to finding it captivating and culturally significant.