The Jomon period, which is said to have used Jomon pottery, has continued for about 10,000 years. [Early] [Early] [Early] [Middle] [Late] [Late] And are classified into 6 periods.
Prior to this, the Paleolithic period overlapped with the Last Glacial Period.
Early-early-early period
About 15,000 to 13,000 years ago, a village appeared in Southern Kyushu.
12,000 years ago, the unique culture of the Jomon period began to bloom, and 9500 years ago, settlements appeared. After that, these phenomena gradually spread throughout Japan.
The size of the village and the size of the population vary from region to region, and the Jomon culture, which at first glance seems to have started from the south, has tended to grow in scale in eastern Japan and shrink in western Japan.
Mid-late-late-late
4000 years ago [ mid-term ] By that time, global cooling will occur, and the population that has been increasing will decrease.
The size of the settlement will shrink, especially in the northeastern part where the impact was great. After that, when the warm climate returns again and around [late], signs of revival will begin to appear again from western Japan.
From around this time, migrants from the continent [ Yayoi ] Will be introduced and will gradually go to the Yayoi period.
Recent studies have shown that [ early ], It seems that rice cultivation may have already started in Japan.
As if to support this, obsidian and red jade Minerals that can be identified as the production area have been found in Hokkaido, Okinawa, the Korean Peninsula, etc.
In addition, bronze swords and stone axes excavated in China have been found in the northeastern part of the Sea of Japan, and discoveries have been made that support the creation of a wider trading route than imagined.
It was said that the rice culture in Japan began when the Yayoi people brought it in, but the existence of such wide-area exchanges from a very early stage was progressing in parallel earlier than expected in the Jomon and Yayoi cultures. There is also a theory that it may be.
At that time, rice culture was directly sown on the ground . [ Upland rice cultivation ] Is the mainstream, and paddy rice cultivation in paddy fields with irrigation facilities that we are familiar with is still [ late to late . ] It will be seen when many Yayoi people flow into western Japan.
On the other hand, in eastern Japan, tochi and walnuts Crop cultivation such as Also, it is found from the archaeological survey that a lot of labor was devoted to the coastal area and the fishing industry. It seems that the life of the Jomon people, who were mainly hunting, actually overlaps with the lifestyle of the Yayoi people. From an anthropological point of view, there is a clear difference between the Jomon people and the Yayoi people.
However, the Yayoi people who brought continental culture did not become the basis of all later Japanese culture. Many of them have taken root before the arrival of the Yayoi people, and there are also areas such as Hokkaido and Okinawa that have developed independently while inheriting the Jomon culture.
This was found mainly because many archaeological sites such as urban development during the period of high economic miracle were discovered, and it became possible to investigate and compare them, and the improvement of analysis technology can also be mentioned.
The current perception is that the Yayoi people came from the continent and introduced rice cultivation, and the Yayoi period began, but the perception of history may change a little depending on future research.