The Jomon Period
Who Colonized Japan?
The first people who colonized Japan were the Jomon people, named after the coiling jars and pots they made and probably migrated across an ice bridge from the mainland in search of more food.
Since the only evidence of the Jomon people is their clay jars and the earliest polished stone tools in the world which were dated back to 500,000 B.C.E. and found on the two Japanese islands.
The Jomon people were nomadic, so no permanent settlements of them were found, only shards of flint arrowheads and the like, though evidence does lead us to believe they were fierce tribal groups.
Historians divide the Jomon into six separate eras. These eras are the Incipient, Initial, Early, Middle, Late, and Final Jomon periods.
Incipient- 10,500 B.C. to 8,000 B.C. only pottery fragments were found from this era and these fragments were badly broken and hard to put back together but when they were they seemed to be a small, shallow dish. These pottery fragments were found on the Kanto plain on the eastern side of Honshu, the plain on which Tokyo is located
Initial- 8,000 B.C. to 5,000 B.C. is distinguished by the fact that fairly complete pots were found and it seems they were used to boil food. Like the fragments from the Initial Jomon, these aren't just plain old pots, but are intricately decorated in the "cord-like" structure the Jomon were named after.
Early- 5000 to 2500 B.C., this was when the world started to warm up again and all budding civilizations began to live in good sized villages. By the end of this period the very first human cities began to appear. The Jomon also began to settle into a village like lifestyle. These villages consisted of large pit-houses where the floors of these houses are about a foot below ground level. It seems the Jomon people lived in extended family groups and also developed their pottery work even further, fashioning figurines of either people or animals.
Middle- 2500-1500 B.C was when the Jomon migrated from the Kanto plain into the surrounding mountainside. While the Old Kingdom Egyptians were building pyramids the Jomon people, completely isolated, began to live in very large villages and developed a very simple agriculture.
The Late- 1500-1000 and Final- 1000-300 Jomon periods corresponded to the cooling of their environment; the world cooled noticeably (colder than today), and the Jomon migrated back down to the Kanto plain. At this point, the Jomon developed an particular religion—they produced a remarkable number of figurines that was a heavy female figurine which suggests that the Jomon religion was a goddess religion.
Where did they come from?
Since there is only a few polished tools and jars to even indicate there were people on the islands at this time period it is almost impossible to determine where they come from but scientists say the could come from any of the Asian mainland.
Why did they leave there homeland?
As with the origin of the Jomon people the reason for their migration from the mainland to the two islands is difficult to determine. It could be searching for new territory or, more likely since the Jomon people were hunters-gatherers they were looking for food.
Citations
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ANCJAPAN/YAYOI.HTM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jomon
http://www.nbz.or.jp/eng/incipient.htm
The first people who colonized Japan were the Jomon people, named after the coiling jars and pots they made and probably migrated across an ice bridge from the mainland in search of more food.
Since the only evidence of the Jomon people is their clay jars and the earliest polished stone tools in the world which were dated back to 500,000 B.C.E. and found on the two Japanese islands.
The Jomon people were nomadic, so no permanent settlements of them were found, only shards of flint arrowheads and the like, though evidence does lead us to believe they were fierce tribal groups.
Historians divide the Jomon into six separate eras. These eras are the Incipient, Initial, Early, Middle, Late, and Final Jomon periods.
Incipient- 10,500 B.C. to 8,000 B.C. only pottery fragments were found from this era and these fragments were badly broken and hard to put back together but when they were they seemed to be a small, shallow dish. These pottery fragments were found on the Kanto plain on the eastern side of Honshu, the plain on which Tokyo is located
Initial- 8,000 B.C. to 5,000 B.C. is distinguished by the fact that fairly complete pots were found and it seems they were used to boil food. Like the fragments from the Initial Jomon, these aren't just plain old pots, but are intricately decorated in the "cord-like" structure the Jomon were named after.
Early- 5000 to 2500 B.C., this was when the world started to warm up again and all budding civilizations began to live in good sized villages. By the end of this period the very first human cities began to appear. The Jomon also began to settle into a village like lifestyle. These villages consisted of large pit-houses where the floors of these houses are about a foot below ground level. It seems the Jomon people lived in extended family groups and also developed their pottery work even further, fashioning figurines of either people or animals.
Middle- 2500-1500 B.C was when the Jomon migrated from the Kanto plain into the surrounding mountainside. While the Old Kingdom Egyptians were building pyramids the Jomon people, completely isolated, began to live in very large villages and developed a very simple agriculture.
The Late- 1500-1000 and Final- 1000-300 Jomon periods corresponded to the cooling of their environment; the world cooled noticeably (colder than today), and the Jomon migrated back down to the Kanto plain. At this point, the Jomon developed an particular religion—they produced a remarkable number of figurines that was a heavy female figurine which suggests that the Jomon religion was a goddess religion.
Where did they come from?
Since there is only a few polished tools and jars to even indicate there were people on the islands at this time period it is almost impossible to determine where they come from but scientists say the could come from any of the Asian mainland.
Why did they leave there homeland?
As with the origin of the Jomon people the reason for their migration from the mainland to the two islands is difficult to determine. It could be searching for new territory or, more likely since the Jomon people were hunters-gatherers they were looking for food.
Citations
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ANCJAPAN/YAYOI.HTM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jomon
http://www.nbz.or.jp/eng/incipient.htm
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