Ancient Jomon of Japan

by Junko Habu

• ISBN13: 9780521776707
• ISBN10: 0521776708
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-08-16
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Junko Habu illustrates recent developments in the archaeology of the Jomon period (circa 14,500300 BC) of Japan and presents new analyses. Unlike most prehistoric pottery using peoples, the Jomon people are thought to have been hunter-gatherers. Evidence of plant cultivation does exist, but none of the cultigens recovered from Jomon sites seems to have been used as a staple food resource. High site density, food storage, and long distance trade also characterize this Jomon period. Using ecological models of hunter-gatherer culture and behavior, Habu examines various aspects of Jamon culture including subsistence, settlement, rituals, crafts and trade, and presents a model of long-term change in hunter-gatherer cultural complexity. In this comprehensive analysis, Junko Habu helps to bridge the gap between largely Japanese discourse on this 10,000 year period of Japanese prehistory and the modern scientific debate on later hunter-gatherer societies. It will prove invaluable to students and researchers alike.

Table of Contents

List of figures	ix
List of tables	xiv
Acknowledgments	xv
Part I: Overview
Introduction	3	(23)
Goals and scope of this book	3	(4)
Theoretical approaches	7	(18)
Summary	25	(1)
Background to the study: overview of the Jomon period	26	(31)
Origins of the Jomon culture	26	(11)
Chronological framework	37	(5)
Environment and climate	42	(4)
Population estimates	46	(4)
Physical anthropological studies	50	(7)
Part II: Subsistence and settlement
Subsistence strategies	57	(22)
History of the analysis of Jomon faunal and floral remains	57	(3)
``Salmon hypothesis'' and ``plant cultivation hypothesis''	60	(1)
The ``Jomon calendar''	61	(1)
Jomon collectors	62	(2)
Food storage and nut collecting	64	(6)
Other plant foods as possible staples	70	(2)
Maritime adaptation and development of shell-middens	72	(5)
Regional variability and changes through time	77	(2)
Settlement archaeology	79	(58)
History of Jomon settlement studies	79	(6)
Questions about Jomon settlement size and the degree of sedentism	85	(2)
Case Study 1: Analysis of Early Jomon settlement data from central Japan	87	(21)
Case Study 2: The Sannai Maruyama site and its place in regional settlement systems	108	(24)
Discussion	132	(5)
Part III: Rituals, crafts, and trade
Mortuary and ceremonial practices	137	(63)
History of the study of Jomon mortuary and ceremonial practices	138	(4)
Types of ritual artifacts	142	(17)
Types of burial	159	(17)
Burials and social inequality	176	(3)
Mortuary practices and cultural landscapes	179	(3)
Construction of ceremonial and monumental features	182	(13)
Discussion	195	(5)
Crafts and exchange networks	200	(43)
Studies of Jomon pottery	201	(13)
Technological achievements reflected in perishables: wood-working, lacquerware, basketry, and textiles	214	(7)
Exchange networks of exotic and nonexotic goods	221	(15)
Transportation	236	(1)
Discussion	237	(6)
Part IV: Discussion and conclusion
Discussion and conclusion	243	(20)
Development of Jomon cultural complexity	245	(16)
Concluding remarks	261	(2)
References	263	(55)
Index	318