The invention of pottery was a fundamental technological advancement with far-reaching economic and cultural consequences. Pottery containers first emerged in East Asia during the Late Pleistocene in ...a wide range of environmental settings, but became particularly prominent and much more widely dispersed after climatic warming at the start of the Holocene. Some archaeologists argue that this increasing usage was driven by environmental factors, as warmer climates would have generated a wider range of terrestrial plant and animal resources that required processing in pottery. However, this hypothesis has never been directly tested. Here, in one of the largest studies of its kind, we conducted organic residue analysis of >800 pottery vessels selected from 46 Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene sites located across the Japanese archipelago to identify their contents. Our results demonstrate that pottery had a strong association with the processing of aquatic resources, irrespective of the ecological setting. Contrary to expectations, this association remained stable even after the onset of Holocene warming, including in more southerly areas, where expanding forests provided new opportunities for hunting and gathering. Nevertheless, the results indicate that a broader array of aquatic resources was processed in pottery after the start of the Holocene. We suggest this marks a significant change in the role of pottery of hunter-gatherers, corresponding to an increased volume of production, greater variation in forms and sizes, the rise of intensified fishing, the onset of shellfish exploitation, and reduced residential mobility.
Archaeological study of the social structure of the Jomon period has advanced through discoveries about the relative positions of graves, the presence or absence therein of accessories and grave ...goods, head orientations of corpses, types of tooth extraction, and so on. In recent years, research using anthropological information—both physical and biological—obtained from excavated human bones has begun to elucidate the social structures of that time. This approach is called bioarchaeology. In the analysis of the social structure of the Jomon period, bioarchaeology has three principal uses: to reconstruct burial subgroups by 14C dating of human bones; to estimate genetic relationships between adjacent human bones; and to estimate the proportion of migrants in the overall population. Here, I review the analysis of the cemetery of the Odake shell-mound as an example of bioarchaeological research while touching on the history of archaeological research of Jomon social structure.
Abstract Archaeological study of the social structure of the Jomon period has advanced through discoveries about the relative positions of graves, the presence or absence therein of accessories and ...grave goods, head orientations of corpses, types of tooth extraction, and so on. In recent years, research using anthropological information - both physical and biological - obtained from excavated human bones has begun to elucidate the social structures of that time. This approach is called bioarchaeology. In the analysis of the social structure of the Jomon period, bioarchaeology has three principal uses : to reconstruct burial subgroups by 14C dating of human bones ; to estimate genetic relationships between adjacent human bones ; and to estimate the proportion of migrants in the overall population. Here, I review the analysis of the cemetery of the Odake shell-mound as an example of bioarchaeological research while touching on the history of archaeological research of Jomon social structure.
This is the first volume to introduce the data, theory and methodology of contemporary archaeological work in Japan and other parts of East Asia archaeology in English to western audiences. It also ...introduces a new theoretical concept to archaeologists interested in the relationship between ancient cultures—coexistence. Archaeologists traditionally examine the boundaries between different cultural groups in terms conflict and dominance rather than long-term, harmonious adaptive responses. Chapters in this book cover evidence from burials, faunal and botanical analysis, as well as traditional trade goods. It is of interest to archaeologists conducting research in East Asia or studying intercultural interaction anywhere around the globe.
Based on examinations of archaeofaunal remains from 153 components from 122 sites in Hokkaido, Northern Japan, this study highlights that northern fur seals were the most important game for sea ...mammal hunting from the early Early Jomon (7000 calBP) and proposes a hypothesis that offshore hunting technology for hunting adult fur seals was established prior to the late Early Jomon (5800 calBP). This study also reveals that the importance of fishing for subsistence rapidly increased during the very end of the Final Jomon (2600 calBP) and the Early Epi-Jomon (2400 calBP-1800 calBP). Fishing focusing on bastard halibut and swordfish was actively conducted for status-building by Early Epi-Jomon fishers in some areas. Mortuary analyses indicate that ritual leaders were not necessarily capable fishers and/or hunters in the Jomon communities. However, during the Early Epi-Jomon, only successful fishers and/or hunters had the power to control rituals and the long-distance trade.
Archaeological evidence indicates that dogs appeared in Japan at least 9300 years ago, during the Jomon period. The Jomon period dogs (Jomon dogs) retained the morphological characteristics of ...ancient domestic dogs throughout the Jomon period, possibly due to their geographical isolation from continental dogs. Therefore, we expect them to retain the genetic characteristics of ancient domestic dogs. To explore this possibility, we determined the mitochondrial genomes of five Jomon dogs, including one of the oldest dogs in Japan (7400–7200 cal BP), and seven late-8th-century Japanese dogs (Suwada dogs). We analyzed these sequences with 719 mitochondrial genomes of ancient and modern canids. The dog mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences have been grouped into six clades (haplogroups A–F), and clade A comprises six sub-clades (sub-haplogroups A1–A6). Classification of the Jomon dogs’ mtDNA haplotypes revealed that these dogs belong to a nested A2/A3 sub-haplogroup not shared by other modern or ancient samples. The mtDNA sequences of Jomon dogs form a monophyletic clade which is sister to the A3 sub-clade in the phylogenetic trees. Network analysis showed that the Jomon dogs’ mtDNA sub-clade diverged close to the base of the A2 and A3 haplotype network, which was centered by an ancient dog from South China. The Jomon dog mtDNAs diverged from A3 (~11500 years ago) soon after the A2 and A3 divergence (~12800 years ago), indicating early divergence of the Jomon dogs’ sub-clade. These results suggest that the Jomon dogs were possibly introduced into the Japanese archipelago 11500–9300 years ago. The mtDNAs of late-8th-century dogs were more diverse and were different haplogroups than that of Jomon dogs, suggesting that other haplogroups likely replaced the haplogroup of Jomon dogs through the introduction of dogs that accompanied the migration of people into Japan in later periods.
The Funadomari Jomon people were hunter-gatherers living on Rebun Island, Hokkaido, Japan c. 3500–3800 years ago. In this study, we determined the high-depth and low-depth nuclear genome sequences ...from a Funadomari Jomon female (F23) and male (F5), respectively. We genotyped the nuclear DNA of F23 and determined the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class-I genotypes and the phenotypic traits. Moreover, a pathogenic mutation in the CPT1A gene was identified in both F23 and F5. The mutation provides metabolic advantages for consumption of a high-fat diet, and its allele frequency is more than 70% in Arctic populations, but is absent elsewhere. This variant may be related to the lifestyle of the Funadomari Jomon people, who fished and hunted land and marine animals. We observed high homozygosity by descent (HBD) in F23, but HBD tracts longer than 10 cM were very limited, suggesting that the population size of Northern Jomon populations were small. Our analysis suggested that population size of the Jomon people started to decrease c. 50000 years ago. The phylogenetic relationship among F23, modern/ancient Eurasians, and Native Americans showed a deep divergence of F23 in East Eurasia, probably before the split of the ancestor of Native Americans from East Eurasians, but after the split of 40000-year-old Tianyuan, indicating that the Northern Jomon people were genetically isolated from continental East Eurasians for a long period. Intriguingly, we found that modern Japanese as well as Ulchi, Korean, aboriginal Taiwanese, and Philippine populations were genetically closer to F23 than to Han Chinese. Moreover, the Y chromosome of F5 belonged to haplogroup D1b2b, which is rare in modern Japanese populations. These findings provided insights into the history and reconstructions of the ancient human population structures in East Eurasia, and the F23 genome data can be considered as the Jomon Reference Genome for future studies.
Hokkaido obsidian sources have been widely exploited by hunter-gatherer groups in Northeast Asia since the Upper Paleolithic (~30,000cal. BP). Rebun Island is located 50km from the northwest tip of ...Hokkaido in the Sea of Japan. Given that obsidian does not occur naturally on Rebun Island, all obsidian materials found there are the result prehistoric transportation of these resources. Examination of 133 obsidian artifacts collected from excavations on Rebun Island employing portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) provides data for assessment of obsidian resource use during the Middle Jomon, Epi-Jomon, and Okhotsk periods on Rebun Island. Previously published data are also consulted for the Late and Final Jomon, and Epi-Jomon period on Rebun Island. The findings of this study suggest that the most prevalent changes in obsidian resource use on Rebun Island occur between the Middle and Late Jomon periods, and the Late Jomon and Okhotsk periods. These results demonstrate that variation in obsidian resource use during these periods is closely associated with patterns of culture change, in Hokkaido, and on Rebun Island.
•Hokkaido obsidian deposits accurately characterized by pXRF.•Geochemical results are in agreement with previously published data.•Obsidian resource use varies from Jomon to Okhotsk period.•Findings support previously published research from Rebun Island.•Potential for future obsidian studies on Rebun Island
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.
The origins of people in the Japanese archipelago are of long-standing interest among anthropologists, archeologists, linguists, and historians studying the history of Japan. While the ...‘dual-structure’ model proposed by Hanihara in 1991 has been considered the primary working hypothesis for three decades, recent advances in DNA typing and sequencing technologies provide an unprecedented amount of present-day and ancient human nuclear genome data, which enable us to refine or extend the dual-structure model. In this review, we summarize recent genome sequencing efforts of present-day and ancient people in Asia, mostly focusing on East Asia, and we discuss the possible migration routes and admixture patterns of Japanese ancestors. We also report on a meta-analysis we performed by compiling publicly available datasets to clarify the genetic relationships of present-day and ancient Japanese populations with surrounding populations. Because the ancient genetic data from the Japanese archipelago have not yet been fully analyzed, we have to corroborate models of prehistoric human movement using not only new genetic data but also linguistic and archeological data to reconstruct a more comprehensive history of the Japanese people.
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