Ancient Japan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ancient Japan is a term used for the early periods of Japanese history. Depending on the historian, it includes or excludes the Japanese Paleolithic (Stone Age, 100,000 BC – 10,000 BC), as well as the Jomon (10,000 BC – 300 BC) and Yayoi (900 BC – AD 300) periods, which are named after the place near Tokyo where the first sherds of pottery from this time period were found, and the Kofun (c AD 250–538) period, named after the giant tumulus royal tombs of the period.

Around 10,000 B.C., the inhabitants of Japan developed the Jomon culture. Jomon means "cord marked" in the Japanese language, named after their pottery pattern. Jomon pottery may be the first of its kind in the world. The Jomon were engaged in hunting, gathering, and fishing and they lived in small groups of tribes. Their culture spread slowly throughout the Japanese islands and later in this period, crop cultivation was practiced. The Jomon era lasted until roughly 250 BC, when it was displaced by the Yayoi culture that originated in Kyūshū.

These periods are followed by what is also called Classical Japan, the Asuka, Nara, and Heian periods, when Buddhism and Chinese culture were introduced.

[edit] Reference

• Habu, Junko (2004). Ancient Jomon of Japan. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Imamura, Keiji (1996). Prehistoric Japan. Honolulu: U of Hawaii Press.