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Definition
Jomon Pottery
The Jomon Period (c. 14,500 - c. 300 BCE) of ancient Japan produced a distinctive pottery which distinguishes it from the earlier Paleolithic Age. Jomon pottery vessels are the oldest in the world and their impressed decoration, which resembles...
Definition
Jomon Period
The Jomon Period is the earliest historical era of Japanese history which began around 14500 BCE, coinciding with the Neolithic Period in Europe and Asia, and ended around 300 BCE when the Yayoi Period began. The name Jomon, meaning 'cord...
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Jomon pottery
Deep pot (32 cm high) with impressed decoration from the Middle Jomon Period.
Definition
Yayoi Period
The Yayoi Period is one of the oldest historical periods of Japan spanning from c. 300 BCE to c. 250 CE, preceded by the Jomon Period and followed by the Kofun Period. The name Yayoi comes from the district in Tokyo where the first artifacts...
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Jomon Flame Pot from Dodaira
"Flame" pots, such as this, are just one type of a long ceramic tradition that continued for some 13,000 years during the Jomon period in Japan. They were made in the Middle Jomon period (3500-2500 BCE) in the area that is now modern Niigata...
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Jomon Ritual Pottery Vessel
These ancient ceramics are decorated with cord markings. They gave the Jomon period, (13,00-500 BCE) its name; Jomon means "cord-marked". A stick was wrapped with braided cord and then rolled over the surface of the vessels to decorate them...
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Jomon Bowl (Detail)
A detail of the lip of a deep Jomon bowl. Ubayama Shell Mound, Kashiwai-machi, Ichikawa-shi, Chiba, Japan. Jomon Period, 3000-2000 BCE. (Tokyo National Museum)
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Jomon cup
Earthenware cup decorated with cord-markings from the Late Jomon Period.
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Jomon Period Dogu
This is a headless dogu. Earthenware figures (dogu) were important in the Jomon period and as many as 1000 have been found at some sites. Some seem to represent imaginary animals but most are human in shape. Are they females, or without a...
Article
Food & Agriculture in Ancient Japan
The diet of ancient Japan was heavily influenced by its geography as an archipelago, foodstuffs and eating habits imported from mainland Asia, religious beliefs, and an appreciation for the aesthetic appearance of dishes, not just the taste...