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Pottery made by coiling clay into desired shapes, and then applying various patterns by impressing cords or other things over the surface
A early discovery has provided the mainstay in defining the characteristics of Jōmon culture.(1) And, it provides a valuable insight to the lives and artistic expressions of these special people.

Jōmon culture and there pottery is roughly contemporary with civilizations in Mesopotamia, the Nile, and the Indus Valley
The Jōmon period is the earliest known period of Japanese history and is characterized by not just pottery. But other things. Jōmon period was rich in tools and jewelry made from bone, stone, shell and antler; pottery
figurines and vessels; and lacquerware.(2)(3)(4)(5)

Japans Jōmon era coincides with climate change. Beginning around 10,000 BC. Sea levels rose. During this time. The Japanese archipelago begin to separate from the Asian continent.

The Jōmon period ( 縄 文 時 代 ,Jōmon jidai) is the time between c. 14,000 and 300 BC (6)(7)(8)

The Jōmon people relied on hunting, fishing, and food gathering for survival
They had wild animals, gathered wild plants and fished/hunted for sustenance. They resided in pit dwellings arranged around a central open space, which were increasingly arranged in settled communities. They mostly hunted and gathered, and lived in small, semi-sedentary communities. They used stone tools, bone implements, and antler tools for various tasks.

The Jōmon people also engaged in some rudimentary forms of agriculture, cultivating plants such as millet and beans.

In addition to pottery; hunting, gathering; pit houses; and rudimentary agriculture. The Jōmon culture left behind other archaeological evidence. Including shell mounds, stone circles, and clay figurines known as dogu
These figurines depict human-like and animal-like forms and are considered some of the oldest known examples of clay sculpture in the world.

Some of the oldest pottery in the world was founded before start of the Jōmon period
It has been dated to 14500BC at Odai Yamomoto I site in 1998; and, Kamikuroiwa and Fukui cave. (9)(10)(11)

Pottery has been classified by archaeologist into some 70 styles, with local varieties too (1)

Earliest had smallish round bottom bowls, 10-50cm or 3.9-20 inches high. They were assumed to be for boiling food, perhaps storing it before had, and being somewhat portable
It was as time progressed, bowls increased in size, with increased signs of settled pattern living. They also developed elaborate patterns of decorations, undulating rims, and flat bottoms. So they could stand on any surface.

Heavy, bulky and fragile pottery was generally unstable for hunter-gatherers

20,000 people may have resided in the early Jōmon landscape (9)
Unstable hunter gatherers with pottery appears to not be the case. The food supply and natural environment were so abundant, they could supply and support fairly large, and semi sedentary populations. Its believed they were skillful coast and deep water fishers too. Using chipped stone tools, ground stone tools; and, traps and bows.

Chronology is broken into several phases, progressively getting shorter: Incipient (13,750–8,500 BC), Initial (8,500–5,000); Early (5,000–3,520),
Middle (3,520–2,470); Late (2,470–1,250), and Final (1,250–500) (12)

For reference: Paleolithic culture including stone tools did occur in Japan from 30000BC on-wards (7)

Timelines
Incipient & initial Jōmon 13750 to 5000 BC
Earliest incipient Jōmon phase began while Japan still linked to continental Asia (9)

By later in this period, the gradual climatic warming sufficiently raised sea levels
Southern islands of Shikoku and Shikoku; and, Kyūshū were separated from the main island of Honshū.

Its believed, that the temperature rises increased the food supply. There was more sea, as well as hunted animals and plants, and, it brought more seed and fruit gathering
Evidence of this diet is found in ancient refuse heaps, near mines or where there were shell mounds. Other necessities of life were acquired and processed during this time too. Using stone tools: grinding rocks, knives, axes and more.

During this time, there was sika deer, wild boar and possible wild pig management (13)

Wild plants such as yam-like tubers, and freshwater fish were gathered too
In the NE, the Oyashio current, especially carried salmon, and, it became a major food source.

Population was concentrated in Honshu and Kyushu, but sites range from Hokkaido to the Ryuku islands

Did you know? Tigers once existed, but went extinct in prehistoric times (14)

Early Jōmon 5000 to 3250 BC
During this time, there was an explosion in population, including a larger number of villages (12)

It occurred during the holocene climatic optimum when local climate became warmer and more humid (15)

Findings of more large shell mounds around Jōmon communities vindicate these people ate a high percentage of ocean fauna. And, similarities between pottery being produced in Kyūshū and contemporary Korea begin to suggest that regular commerce existed between the Japanese islands and the Korean peninsula.

By this time. Most were living in square-shaped pithouses that were clustered in the small villages
A variety of handicrafts, including cord-marked earthenware cooking and storage vessels, woven baskets, bone needles, and stone tools, were produced for daily use.

During this period, early agriculture or the degree to which horticulture or small scale agriculture was practised is debated
Arboriculture was practised though. In form of tending groves of lacquer (toxicodendron verniciflue); and, nut (castanea crenata and aesculus turbinata) producing trees. (16)(17) Characteristics place them between hunting gathering and agriculture. (14)

Did you know? domesticated variety of peach appear early at Jōmon sites 47-4400 BC (18)

Middle Jōmon 3520 to 2470 BC
Middle Jōmon may have been population and a neolithic craftsmans high point.
There was a rise in complexity in the design of pit houses. At this point, it was still the most common method. (19) Some even had paved floors. (20)

Pollen and archaeological studies show, warmer climates may have peaked as well. (21) And, by the end, a cooling trend (12)

Pottery during the Middle Jōmon included dogu figurines and vessels. Incorporating flame style, and lacquered wood. The ornamentation of pottery also increased. There was also increased production of female figurines and phallic images of stone.

Refuse heaps during this period indicate people were sedimentary for longer periods. They still gathered nuts, berries, mushrooms, and parsley. And fished, and hunting animals such as deer, bear, rabbit, and duck.

Magatama 勾⽟/曲⽟ stone beads were found in grave goods (22)
Suggesting a rise in ritual practices.

Late & Final Jōmon 2470 to 500 BC
As the climate began to cool, the population migrated out of the mountains and settled closer to the coast, especially along Honshus eastern shores
After 1500BC, the climate cooled entering a stage of neoglaciation, and populations seemed to have contracted dramatically. (12)

Greater reliance on seafood inspired innovations like fishing technology
They developed toggled harpoons, and continued to innovate deep-sea fishing techniques.

Vindicated by similarities among artifacts. These processes brought communities into closer contact. Circular ceremonial sites comprised of assembled stones, in some cases numbering in the thousands were found. Though its believed there was no warfare or violence. (23)

Again, a larger numbers of figurines. Show a continued increase in the importance and enactment of rituals.

For use in wet conditions, and due to there durability, during this stage, chestnut trees (castanea crenata) were used for building (24)

At this point the climate continued to cool. Food became less abundant and the population declined dramatically. Because of this. People were assembled in smaller groups, and regional differentiations became more pronounced. Comparatively few archaeological sites can be found after 1500BC. There may have also been environmental problems. (25)

As part of the transition to Yayoi culture, the archaeological site near Tokyo, (3) it’s believed rice domestication, grown in dry beds or swamps, were introduced

Though thousands of years, the Jōmon culture went through several phases and variations. Towards the end. Influences from Asia began to reach them. It started the transition to the Yayoi period. Characterized by the introduction of rice cultivation, metalworking, and new cultural elements.

The Jōmon culture holds significant historical and cultural importance in Japan. It represents ancient roots of Japanese civilization, and, it contributes to the understanding of the country’s earliest developments. Lets hear it for Jōmon. You might say neolithic Japan. There contributions to culture. Including pottery and artifacts. Continue to be studied to this day. And, they provide valuable insights to lifestyles and artistic achievements inevitable. By and thru in and thru out, these early inhabitants of the place we now call and love Japan.

Cite: 1) Mason, Penelope E., with Donald Dinwiddie, History of Japanese art, 2nd edn 2005, Pearson Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-117602-1, 9780131176027 14

2) Birmingham Museum of Art (2010). Birmingham Museum of Art : Guide to the Collection (http://artsbma.org). Birmingham, AL: Birmingham Museum of Art. p. 40. ISBN 978-1-904832-77-5.

3) Imamura, K. (1996) Prehistoric Japan: New Perspectives on Insular East Asia. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press

4) Mizoguchi, Koji (2002). An Archaeological History of Japan, 30,000 B.C. to A.D. 700 (https://books.google.com/books?id=rXa_ngEACAAJ). University of Pennsylvania Press, Incorporated. ISBN 978-0-8122-3651-4.

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