Pre-agricultural management of plant resources during the Jomon period in Japan—a sophisticated subsistence system on plant resources

Abstract

In Japan plant remains excavated from lowland sites have been studied extensively in the past thirty years. These studies revealed that, during the Jomon period dating from 15,000–2500 cal BP that had polished stone tools and pottery but not agriculture, people managed plant resources around settlements intensively since the early Jomon period starting at ca. 7000 cal BP. This management of plant resources was first recognized as intensive use of Castanea crenata timbers around settlements and later confirmed with sustained occurrence of Castanea pollen around settlements only while settlements were maintained. Later studies revealed that, besides C. crenata resources, Jomon people managed forests of Toxicodendron vernicifluum introduced from China to make lacquer ware and cultivated other introduced plants such as Cannabis sativa, Lagenaria siceraria var. siceraria, and Perilla frutescens var. frutescens. Jomon people also seemed to have produced cultivated forms of C. crenata and legumes from native plants that bore fruits or seeds as large as modern cultigens. Thus, Jomon people had sophisticated management of plant resources centering on woody plants and tended and used them intensively.