Incipient Jomon Research Articles

Late Pleistocene pottery production and exchange: Provenance studies of hunter-gatherer wares from southern Kyushu, Japan by neutron activation analysis.

Late Pleistocene hunter-gatherers in East Asia adopted pottery, yet the ability to reconstruct circulation, mobility, and exchange has been hampered, in part, due to problematic regional geochronology. The driving forces behind pottery adoption is unclear. The purpose of this study is to test our results of the first systematic petrographic pottery sourcing from the pre-Younger Dryas by utilizing neutron activation analysis. We examine samples from the Sankauyama I site on Tanegashima Island, southern Japan, dating to the Incipient Jomon, ca. 14,000/13,500–12,800 cal BP, with a well-defined geochronology. Our NAA results corroborate with the petrographic study suggesting that pottery was mainly produced in-situ, but some vessels were transported long distances from another island. Changing from high mobility, sedentary Incipient Jomon foragers made pottery, occasionally investing in long-distance ceramic vessel transportation and exchange likely involving ocean crossing. This may be associated with a risk-buffering strategy in the context of rising sea levels and isolation of Tanegashima.

Parure, pigment et art mobilier du Paléolithique supérieur au Japon

In the Japanese Archipelago, Upper Palaeolithic Accessories, Pigment and Portable Art are discovered, but very few. We introduce the Palaeolithic Art in Japan including new discoveries. The majority of accessories is discovered in Hokkaido, for example the sites of Yunosato 4, Pirika 1, Kashiwadai1 and Obarubetsu 2, but very few in Honshu, the largest island of Japan: Togeyamabokujo 1 in Iwate and Fujiishi in Shizuoka. A lot of pigments are discovered in Hokkaido like Kawanishi C, Kashiwadai 1, Marukoyama and Kiusu 5, without those of Deguchi-Kanezuka in Chiba in Honshu. Kashiwadai 1 in Hokkaido and Kamihikikiri in Chiba are the sites with portable art. In Ehime in Shikoku, one of four large islands of Japan, engraved pebbles called “Kamikuroiwa Venus”, of the Incipient Jomon followed after the Upper Palaeolithic period, before about 14,500 years, are researched again recently. The Palaeolithic art in Japan has a strong relation with Northeast Asia's art, because the lithic materials of Palaeolithic accessories in Hokkaido came from the Continent, and the engraved pebbles have some characters common with Siberian figurines, but also there are accessories and pigment of which the stones are native of the region from the beginning of the Upper Palaeolithic period.

Мир изначального дзёмона, Японский архипелаг: природа, технологии, общество, континентальные соседи

Incipient Jomon — 14 000—10 000 BP (16 000—11 500 cal. BP) — the first period of the Neolithic on the Japanese Archipelago the content of which includes the significant changes in lithic industry, the origin of pottery-making, the transformation of economic and settlement patterns against the background of climatic and landscape fluctuations in the Final Pleistocene and the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary. The abundance of archaeological materials and an extensive database allow us to evaluate different variants of the internal division of Incipient Jomon, to examine the common and local manifestations of transitional periods for Hokkaido, Honshu, and Kyushu, and to make a correlation of Incipient Jomon lithic industry with the industry of the Initial Neolithic Osipovka culture in the neighboring territory of the Russian Far East.

Migration and adaptation of Jomon people during Pleistocene/Holocene transition period in Hokkaido, Japan

This study examined temporal changes in the archaeological records of the Pleistocene/Holocene transition in Hokkaido, northern Japan, based on assemblage composition, radiocarbon ages, projectile point flaking pattern, and site distribution, with a particular focus on the lithic reduction technique. It explained the formation processes of Jomon society in response to climate change as follows. In Hokkaido, pottery emerged during the Late Glacial (LG) warm period (ca. 15,000–13,000 cal BP) because the Incipient Jomon people migrated from Honshu to the north. The Incipient Jomon communities coexisted with the Terminal Upper Paleolithic (TUP) people that had continued to occupy the region since the stage prior to the LG warm period, but the Incipient Jomon population was relatively small. During the LG cold period (ca. 13,000–11,500 cal BP), the subsistence and settlement strategies adopted by the Incipient Jomon people could not continue in Hokkaido. There is currently no reliable evidence of human activity during the LG cold period.Nevertheless, the analysis of stone tool-making patterns has revealed that stone tool making originating among the TUP people is found in an early Initial Jomon assemblage from the Taisho 6 site. It has an accepted date range of 11,000–10,000 cal BP. This indicates that TUP people's more mobile lifestyle might have enabled them to adapt to the LG cold environment. In the initial Holocene, there was a change in subsistence strategy evidenced in the increase in pottery vessels and the emergence of tools for processing of plant foods. The dramatic warming at the beginning of the Holocene is thought to have significantly changed the TUP people's subsistence strategies and lifestyles.

Of the sea and volcano: A petrographic provenance investigation of locally produced and imported ware of Pre-Younger Dryas Tanegashima Island, Japan

In the southern part of Kyushu Island in southern Japan and the small islands further south the earliest pottery is found beneath the Satsuma tephra, which has been well dated to ca. 12,800 cal BP. Here we focus on Incipient Jomon pottery, 14,000/13,500–12,800 cal BP, from the Sankakuyama I site on Tanegashima Island. Previous visual analysis of the fabrics suggested that about half of the vessels were not locally made. In this study, we conducted both ceramic and raw material petrography and an electron microprobe study on samples of pottery. Our results indicate that pottery was mainly produced in situ, away from the coast, but that there is some clear non-local material which came from either Yakushima Island or Kyushu Island proper. Yakushima has no reported Incipient Jomon sites. There should be undiscovered sites on Yakushima if pottery circulated from there rather than Sankakuyama I residents embedding production in their logistical moves on Yakushima. Minor signatures of non-local geology in locally produced pottery are probably the result of volcanic eruptions and sea currents. Pottery production began when Tanegashima was disconnected from Kyushu and probably about to be separated from Yakushima. During the Incipient Jomon period, Tanegashima had become isolated. We conclude that pottery producers were hunter-gatherers who were mainly sedentary, living in a mild environmental with ecotone properties. They occasionally engaged in costly communication and exchange, which may have involved transporting pottery by watercraft and on foot, to buffer risks. Our study is among the first to investigate the pottery economy of the late Pleistocene and the decisions made by its producers and users in response to environmental variability and change. The research contributes to the debate on the origins of pottery and the Upper Paleolithic to Neolithic transition.

Изначальный дзёмон, японский архипелаг: хронология и некоторые особенности каменного инвентаря

Jomon is the Neolithic epoch on the Japanese Islands. It is dated between 13800–2400 BP and is divided into six periods. During the first period – Incipient Jomon (13800–10000 BP) – along with the appearance of the most ancient pottery the significant changes in the stone tool-kit took place; the Paleolithic blade and microblade techniques disappeared; hunting weapon modified with the wide utilization of bows and arrows; bifacial points evolved; a number of wood-working tools, including the instruments with ground edge appeared. At the same time there appeared local peculiarities of stone assemblages which are visible between northern and southern, inland and coastal parts of the archipelago. Lithic experimental researches help to figure out the specific of the various techniques and labor expenditures during the wood-working tools making and the efficiency of their use. By the end of this period (about 10000 BP) the stone tool-kit acquired features that are characteristic of the entire subsequent Jomon epoch.

The earliest pottery of the eastern part of Asia: Similarities and differences

There are many reasons why the earliest pottery of East Asia is so interesting for researchers. One of them is that it is a unique source for reconstruction of cultural diversity within Late Pleistocene. According to Russian archaeologists, for such reconstruction it is necessary to find out how pots were made (clay paste composition, way of shaping, surface treatment, firing and decorating) and how pots looked. Based on this perspective it is possible to divide the earliest ceramic assemblages of East Asia into three groups. First of them include the Incipient Jomon ones, their differentia is plain (without rough surface treatment) pottery ornamented by hands (pinch, nail impression, clay application) and a comparatively high level of unification. Second group comprises Osipovka assemblages compactly located within the Low Amur river basin. They are quite polymorphous but have common distinctive traits such as grog temper, comb design of different pattern and combing surface treatment. The third group is the most extended and diverse. Its key feature is only cord surface treatment in a very special manner of rolling of a cord wrapped stick. Astoundingly, the assemblages with this trait occupy the territory from southernmost China to Transbaikalia (Studenoe-1, Ust-Karenga), and Middle Amur river basin (Gromatukha). So, it is possible to say they have Inner-Asia spatial distribution. Thus, we can see three different areas of spatial distribution of earliest ceramic assemblages within the eastern part of Asia. Tracking their Holocene fate, we can find confirmation of such conclusion and suppose that Sakhalin, North Hokkaido and Russia Maritime form the forth – non-ceramic – area in Late Pleistocene.

Dating and Stable Isotope Analysis of Charred Residues on the Incipient Jomon Pottery (Japan)

This study reports radiocarbon dates of more than 30 samples of charred residues on pottery sherds of the Incipient Jomon period. The ages of Linear-relief (Ryukisenmon) pottery were 15,300–13,700 cal BP, with great differences among the samples. The pitted decoration (Enkomon), Nail-impressed (Tsumegatamon), and pressing and dragging (Oshibikimon) types date to 13,800–12,400 cal BP. For pottery of the same type, differences among sites were large. At the Unokiminami site, the impressed cord mark (Oatsu Jomon) is the main pottery type, including Nail-impressed. The latter shows a slightly older age. Stable isotope and elemental analyses were used to ascertain the origin of charred residues on the pottery. In the data set of Jomon pottery of the oldest type, residues consisting only of cooked nuts were found. However, Jomon people, even from early times, are thought to have cooked mixed plant and animal ingredients, including marine products.

Paleolithic cultures of MIS 3 to MIS 1 in relation to climate changes in the central Japanese islands

The pattern of latest Pleistocene climate changes reconstructed on the basis of sediment cores from Lake Nojiri is one of the most detailed and reliable reconstructions in Japan. The climate changes over the last 72 ka can be compared directly with those recorded at Upper Paleolithic and Incipient Jomon sites on the basis of a revised age model for the Lake Nojiri sediment cores and the revised 14C dates, calibrated after IntCal09. Fossil bones of megafauna from the Tategahana site beside the lake have been placed ca. 53–37 ka cal BP, in the relatively warm, temperate climate of the early MIS 3. Part of the Tategahana site was interpreted as a kill and butchery site, although the presence of the “big game hunters” is still uncertain, as so far there is no reliable archaeological evidence in the Japanese archipelago dating back to the Middle Paleolithic. The number of Paleolithic sites increased suddenly after 38 ka cal BP around Lake Nojiri. This seems to coincide with the timing of the migration of Homo sapiens into the Japanese archipelago. The climate had been gradually cooling toward the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). However, the area around Lake Nojiri in the late MIS 3 seems to have been a suitable place for the subsistence of hunter-gatherers. Backed blade industries (ca. 29–20 ka cal BP), point-tool industries (ca. 22–19 ka cal BP), and microblade industries (20–16 ka cal BP) were characteristic of the Late Upper Paleolithic. The number of sites around Lake Nojiri decreased significantly during the LGM. At the end of the LGM, an abrupt change of vegetation, from subarctic conifer forest to deciduous broadleaf forest, had occurred around 14 ka, and human activities became prominent around Lake Nojiri, as shown by the linear-relief pottery group (ca. 15–13 ka cal BP). The number of sites seems to have decreased slightly during the Younger Dyras cooling event. Patterns of human occupation around Lake Nojiri show the influence of global and local climate changes.

Flake scar patterns of Japanese tanged points: toward an understanding of technological variability during the Incipient Jomon

Tanged points have long been considered an important proxy for cultural variability during the Incipient Jomon period of Japan. Historically, interpretations of cultural variability based on tanged points have relied entirely on studies of tang morphology. However, little attention has been paid to technological variation, which is a stronger indicator of culturally learned behavior than are morphological typologies. This paper describes ongoing research of flake scar orientation on tanged points produced by the oblique parallel pressure flaking (OPPF) technique from the Incipient Jomon. The results indicate that there is a highly significant, geographically patterned technological variation of such points. OPPF points from the south of Japan are exclusively flaked from the upper right to the lower left (URLL), while points from the north are almost always flaked from the upper left to the lower right (ULLR). Experimental research by the author and others suggests that this variation may indicate the adoption of different pressure flaking techniques in these two regions. If one considers the diversity of the flake scar patterns as an indicator of isochrestic variation in the Incipient Jomon period, the people of both regions appear to have had different culturally conditioned techniques of pressure flaking. This suggests that they did not adopt the same traditional rules concerning pressure flaking, nor did they have identical cultural behavior.

Jomon hot spot: increasing sedentism in south-western Japan in the Incipient Jomon (14,000–9250 cal. bc) and Earliest Jomon (9250–5300 cal. bc) periods

The earliest postulated sedentary villages in Japan have been found in southern Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu Island. The Incipient Jomon period site of Sojiyama, dated to around 13,500 bp is thought to be a wintering site, while Kakoinohara, of similar date, is thought to have been occupied throughout the summer. The Earliest Jomon period site of Kakuriyama, Kaseda City dated to around 9800 cal. bp, is thought to have been occupied throughout the year. The village sites of Uenohara Section 4 (c. 12,800 bp) and Uenohara Section 3 (9500 to 8250–7400 bp) show further steps toward sedentism with more numerous house pits, greater quantities of highly decorated pottery and more substantial and durable site features. The early development of sedentism in south-western Japan is associated with a warming trend in which deciduous nut-bearing trees replaced a coniferous forest. This warming trend began first in south-western Japan and progressed to the north east. A second vegetational change (from 12,000 to 9000 cal. bp) brought a gradual increase in broadleaf evergreen forest with even more productive species of nut-bearing trees. Local archaeologists have postulated that there was some stress associated with the shift from the hunting of large Pleistocene mammals to small mammals and plant foods. The availability of nuts is thought to have enabled the growth of a storage economy which supported substantial villages and led to the production of decorated pottery, personal ornaments and ritual objects. In this paper I discuss the major sites and archaeological markers of sedentism, the chronological framework and main factors in the adoption of a sedentary way of life in southern Kyushu. I question whether the interpretation of increasing sedentism is as straightforward as it is presented. Actual 14C dates are recalibrated using the INTCAL curve. Estimated dates are based on recalibrated dates.

Radiocaron Dates and Archaeology of the Late Pleistocene in the Japanese Islands

We discuss the radiocarbon chronology of Late Pleistocene archaeology in the Japanese islands. In sum, 429 samples from more than 100 archaeological sites were compiled and then divided into three periods and four stages. The Early Upper Paleolithic, characterized by Trapezoid industries, lasted during approximately 34-26 ka. The Late Upper Paleolithic period includes both the backed-blade stage and point-tool stage, the latter appearing chronologically later than the former. This stage covers ~25–15 ka. The Final Upper Paleolithic and Incipient Jomon are distinguished by the appearance of microblade industries and the emergence of pottery at the end of this period. This period covers approximately 14-12 ka. The microblade tradition, in the broadest sense, is strongly connected to the background of peopling of the New World. New data on the transitional stage from the Middle to the Upper Paleolithic are also discussed in regards to three archaeological sites. Issues on the application of the 14C calibration to the whole Japanese Upper Paleolithic are critically evaluated.

Freshwater fishing in the early jomon period (Japan): An analysis of fish remains from the torihama shell-mound

The Torihama shell-mound in Fukui, Japan, is a waterlogged midden site that was occupied mainly from the Incipient Jomon period to the Early Jomon period. Samples were taken from Early Jomon layers during the excavation in 1980 and water sieved to separate the fish remains. Eighteen fish species in 13 families were identified, of which the majority were freshwater species. Cyprinidae, especially Crucian carp ( Carassius auratus), were the most important fish. Body length of Crucian carp was estimated from the width of the pharyngeal teeth, and it seems that fish between 20 and 28 cm were the ones mainly exploited. Fishing appears to have been more actively practiced in the early stages of the Early Jomon period than in later stages.

Changes in Palaeolithic Culture of Central Japan, with particuler reference to the Nojiri-ko Site Group

In Central Japan, many archaeological excavation sites are located around the plains of Toyama, along the middle courses of the Shinano River, at the foot of Mt. Yatsugatake and around Lake Suwa, at the foot of Mt. Ontake, along the Tenryu basin, at the foot of Mt. Atago, and on the Iwatahara tableland.At the Tategahana site and the Nakamachi site by Lake Nojiri, many cultural layers are found, from the Lower Nojiri-ko Member III (about 40, 000y.B.P.) to the Kashiwabara black ash (Holocene, about 2, 000y.B.P.). Therefore these are the most important sites for the Palaeolithic chronology in the middle courses of the Shinano River.The Sugikubo A site is a type site for the Sugikubo Culture that occupied North East Japan. The culture layer of the Sugikubo A site corresponds to the Upper Nojiri-ko Member III (about 15, 000y.B.P.).The Black Band of Upper Nojiri Loam Member I is the oldest culture layer except for the Tategahana site; its Carbon-14 age is about 20, 000 years.Palaeolithic chronology in the Nojiri-ko site group and the middle reaches of the Shinano River is divided as follows.Phase I: “Najiri-ko Culture”. Nojiri-ko Tategahana site. From Lower Nojiri-ko Member III to Upper Nojiri-ko Member I, about 40, 000-24, 000y.B.P.Phase II: “Backed-blade Culture”.(Phase IIa) Seimeidai site and Shogetsudai site. Black Band of Upper Nojiri Loam Member and lower part of Yellowish Brown Loam.(Phase IIb) Nakamachi site and others. Upper part of Yellowish Brown Loam.Phase III: “Micro-blade Culture”. Nakamachi site and Mukoushinden site. “Kimoya”, uppermost part of Upper Nojiri Loam Member IIPhase IV: “Incipient Jomon Culture”. Nakamachi site and Kitsunekuho site. Upper part of “Kimoya” and “Kuromoya”, uppermost part of Upper Nojiri Loam Member IIAccording to this chronology, palaeolithic cultures of Toyama Prefecture and the southern part of Nagano Prefecture correspond to Phase IIa and later, and that of Niigata Prefecture corresponds to Phase IIb and later. The stratigraphy of Tategahana and Nakamachi sites is very important for the palaeolithic chronology of Central Japan.Considering the correspondence of culture layers, “Nuka-I” tuff near Lake Nojiri corresponds to “AT” tuff of Toyama Prefecture, and not to “AT” tuff of the South Kanto district.In Central Japan, there is clear evidence that man has been dwelling by Lake Nojiri since about 40, 000 years ago and in Toyama Prefecture and the southern part of Nagano Prefecture since about 20, 000 years ago.