Japan's Ancient Jomon People

We took a trip up North to Iwate and Akita prefectures to investigate some Jomon archeological sites.

The ancient Jomon culture of Japan is truly fascinating. It thrived from about 14,000-1,000 BC and had many unique features.

The Jomon people were perhaps the first in the world to make the transition from pure hunter gathering to a more sedentary lifestyle.

At the sites sites hundreds of earthenware pots have been discovered. It is possible that these are the oldest bits of pottery in the world and apart from stone tools, the oldest things made by human hands. Lacquerware has also been discovered.

People who make pots don't move around much and the Jomon lived in highly organised villages.




There is evidence as well that they were the world's first agriculturalists. It seems that they planted chestnut trees, lacquer trees  and even what appears to be the earliest domesticated peach.

In spring, summer and autumn they would have hunted and gathered in the forests and harvested their chestnuts. The chestnuts could be stored and cooked in the pots to provide food for winter.



They lived in organised villages in  thatched houses sunk into the ground often with earth covering the roof. There was a central fire pit and a hole in the roof to let the smoke out.


The villages had burial grounds and a rubbish dump as well.

Many of the houses seem to have been intentionally burnt down. Perhaps as a funeral rite or similar.

The poles of the houses were chestnut, presemably harvested from the forests they planted.

There were also long houses for ceremonies and storage houses up on stilts.

Thousands of wonderful artifacts have been found at the sites.

There are many, many pots. They decorated them by pressing rope into the clay to make a pattern. Also they made some highly decorated pots with a flame motif  on the top edge.

The word "Jomon"  縄文 in Japanese means "rope culture".







Many figurines have been found at the various sites. Often with fertility designs.

Quite a lot of these masks have been found and curiously the nose is always bent to the left.







There are some really excellent modern museums and facilities at many of the sites with a wealth of information.

You can find information on these sites and some usueful maps here:

https://jomon-japan.jp/en/jomon-sites/