Jōmon people facts for kids

A model showing Jomon people at Sannai Maruyama

The Jōmon people (pronounced JOH-mon) were ancient hunter-gatherers who lived in the Japanese islands a very long time ago. They lived during the Jōmon period, which lasted from about 14,000 BC to 300 BC. These people shared a special culture that allowed them to settle down in one place and develop complex ways of life.

Scientists believe the Jōmon people's ancestors came from East Asia. They were a unique group that separated from other East Asian groups many thousands of years ago, between 38,000 and 25,000 years ago. After they arrived in Japan, they mostly stayed isolated, meaning they didn't mix much with people from other places.

What Does "Jōmon" Mean?

The word Jōmon (縄文) means "cord-marked" or "cord pattern." It's a Japanese word that was first used by an American scientist named Edward S. Morse.

In 1877, Edward S. Morse found pieces of pottery with cord patterns on them at a place called the Ōmori Shell Mound in Japan. He wrote about his discovery in a book in 1879 and used the term "Jōmon" to describe this special pottery and the people who made it.

The word "Jōmon" comes from two Japanese characters:

縄 (jō) means "rope" or "cord."
文 (mon) means "design" or "pattern."

So, together, they describe the unique patterns found on their pottery. This word is used in many terms related to their culture, like:

Jōmon period (Jōmon jidai): The time when they lived.
Jōmon pottery (Jōmon doki): The pottery they made.
Jōmon people (Jōmon-jin): The people themselves.

How We Learned About the Jōmon People

Early Discoveries of Jōmon Culture

People in Japan started noticing Jōmon artifacts a long time ago, even during the Edo period (before 1868). They would draw pictures of strange pottery pieces found in shell mounds. However, they didn't always know what these items were or how old they were.

The real study of Jōmon culture began in 1877. That's when Edward S. Morse, an American zoologist, dug up the Ōmori Shell Mound near Tokyo. He was the one who named the pottery "Jōmon" because of its unique cord-marked designs. His work was the start of modern archaeology in Japan.

New Ideas and Finds in the 20th Century

As time went on, Japanese archaeologists took over the research. They dug up more sites and learned a lot about Jōmon settlements and how they lived. They started to group Jōmon pottery styles by age, which helped them understand the different phases of the Jōmon period.

After World War II, archaeology in Japan grew even more. Scientists used new methods to understand the Jōmon timeline better. They divided the Jōmon period into several stages: Incipient, Initial, Early, Middle, Late, and Final.

Modern Discoveries and Understanding

In the 21st century, new technologies have greatly helped us learn about the Jōmon people.

Better Dating: Advanced radiocarbon dating has shown that Jōmon pottery is incredibly old, going back to 16,500 BC. This means Japan was one of the first places in the world to make pottery!
DNA Clues: Scientists can now study DNA from Jōmon bones. This helps them understand where the Jōmon people came from and how they are related to modern Japanese people.
Living with Nature: Studies show how Jōmon societies adapted to changes in climate, moving between coastal and inland areas as sea levels changed.
Rituals and Art: We've found large stone circles and other ceremonial sites. This shows that Jōmon people built impressive structures for their rituals, proving they were not just simple hunter-gatherers.
World Heritage: In 2021, 17 Jōmon sites in northern Japan became UNESCO World Heritage sites. This recognizes the Jōmon culture as one of the longest-lasting hunter-gatherer traditions in the world.

Jōmon Lifestyle

The Jōmon people mostly got their food by collecting plants and hunting animals. They also fished a lot. Some evidence even suggests they started growing certain plants, like adzuki beans and soybeans. They were skilled at making pottery and usually lived in pit dwellings.

Jōmon Settlements

Jōmon settlements changed over time:

Incipient Jōmon: These were the first places where people stayed in one spot. They had simple homes but no other special buildings.
Initial Jōmon: During this time, they started to have separate areas for homes and for burying their dead.
Early Jōmon: Settlements grew to include storage areas and places for trash.
Middle Jōmon: This period saw the rise of larger "hub" settlements. They had separate areas for trash and for rituals. The Sannai-Maruyama Site is a great example.
Late Jōmon: Hub settlements became smaller, but several small settlements might share one main ritual and burial site.
Final Jōmon: Ritual sites and cemeteries became separate places, still shared by multiple settlements.

At sites like Sannai Maruyama, archaeologists found ancient roads that connected different parts of the settlement. These roads were used to move goods and people. Graves were often found along the sides of these roads.

Pit dwellings were common homes. They were built by digging a shallow hole and putting a roof over it. A fireplace was usually in the middle. These homes were typically small, likely for families of 4 to 6 people. The roofs were made of bark or thatch, sometimes covered with soil.

Larger pit dwellings, over 10 meters long, were probably used as community centers for meetings or workshops.

Jōmon Tools

The Jōmon people were very clever at making tools from different materials like obsidian, jade, and various kinds of wood.

Stone tools were common. They chipped stones like siliceous shale and obsidian to make:

spearheads and arrowheads
scrapers for preparing food
Knives and stone drills

They also made other stone tools by grinding and shaping them:

axes
whetstones for sharpening
Grinding stones and hammer stones for crushing food
Saddle querns (flat stones for grinding)

Antlers and bones were used for:

Spatulas
Fish hooks and harpoon heads
Needles for sewing

Wood was used for:

Spear and arrow shafts
Bows and digging sticks
Woven baskets from bark strips

They used a sticky substance called bitumen to attach tool heads to shafts.

Hunting for Food

The Jōmon people were skilled hunters. They hunted many different animals, including:

Wild Boars and Deer (their main meat sources)
Flying Squirrels and Hares
Bears and Foxes
Sea Lions
Various birds like Pheasants and Ducks

They used different hunting methods:

Bows and arrows
Spears
Pitfall traps (holes dug in the ground to catch animals)
Hunting dogs

Fishing and Seafood

The Jōmon people built boats from large trees, likely for fishing and travel. It's not clear if they used sails or just paddles.

They caught many types of fish and seafood, showing they knew a lot about the ocean. Some fish found at their sites include:

Their fishing techniques included:

Harpoons and fishing spears for larger fish.
Line fishing with hooks made from antler or bone.
Nets with stone weights to help them sink.

They also gathered shellfish like oysters, abalones, clams, crabs, and octopuses.

Gathering Plants

The Jōmon people grew trees near their homes and collected many edible plants. The chestnut was a very important food source, and the trees also provided fuel and building materials.

Other plants they ate included:

Walnuts
Japanese horse chestnuts
Adzuki beans
Wild grapes
Yams (dug up with digging sticks)

How They Prepared Food

The Jōmon people knew how to process their food. They might have even made alcohol from elderberries! Nuts, walnuts, and chestnuts were gathered in the fall and stored in pits or large pottery jars. Before eating, they would crush them with hammer stones on grinding stones. Some bitter nuts, like Japanese horse chestnuts, were soaked in water to improve their taste.

At the Sannai Maruyama site, a special watering place was found. It was a reservoir that filled and emptied with stream water, likely used for soaking nuts.

Cooking Meals

Cooking was done over a fireplace inside their homes, using smaller pottery pots than the ones used for storage.

During the Middle Jōmon period, they made pottery in many shapes, including shallow dishes and bowls, which were probably used for serving food. They also had round-bottom wooden containers, possibly for pouring liquids.

Trading Goods

The Jōmon people had large trade networks, exchanging goods over hundreds of kilometers. They traded important materials like:

Obsidian (a volcanic glass used for sharp tools)
Jade (a precious stone)
Amber
Asphalt
Special stones for axes
Red pigments

Some materials were traded raw, while others were made into finished products first. Certain sites specialized in trading specific items. For example, the Sannai Maruyama site was a trading hub that specialized in making jade items. They traded for obsidian tools from places as far as Hokkaido and Nagano, which is about 700 km away!

The trade between Hokkaido and Honshu shows that the Jōmon were good sailors. Experts believe they mostly traveled along the coast in dugout canoes.

Jōmon Culture

Some parts of modern Japanese culture might have come from the Jōmon people. This includes early beliefs similar to Shinto (Japan's traditional religion), some marriage customs, certain building styles, and even technologies like lacquerware.

Jōmon Pottery

Jōmon pottery often had unique flame-like patterns.

Jōmon pottery is famous for its "cord-marked" patterns. These patterns were made by pressing twisted cords into wet clay. This pottery is considered some of the oldest in East Asia and even the world. Besides pots, the Jōmon people also made many artistic statues called dogū (clay figurines) and clay masks.

Lacquerware Art

The Jōmon people were skilled at making lacquerware, which included wooden bowls, dishes, and combs. They often mixed red pigments with the lacquer to give it a beautiful red color. They collected sap from lacquer trees, purified it, mixed it with red powder, and then applied it by hand to their wooden items. Some pottery was also painted directly with red pigments.

Jōmon Clothing

Archaeologists have found evidence of fabric at Sannai Maruyama. It's believed that Jōmon people made clothes by weaving twisted plant fibers, like hemp. They also used needles made from bone and antlers for sewing.

Jewelry and Accessories

Magatama – kidney-shaped beads – are often found at Jōmon sites.

The Jōmon people wore a variety of accessories made from clay, stone, bone, shells, and lacquered wood. These ornaments were likely worn for special events and possibly every day.

They had hair ornaments like bone hairpins and lacquered wooden combs. They also wore earspools (cylindrical or drum-shaped clay pieces) in pierced earlobes.

Pendants made of stone (including precious jade) and clay have been found with holes, suggesting they were worn around the neck or waist. The kidney-shaped beads called Magatama were probably invented by one of the Jōmon tribes and are found throughout Japan.

Some ornaments were made from animal parts, like bear teeth or wild boar tusks. Jade jewelry was likely worn for special occasions, like festivals.

Jōmon Religion

It's thought that the Jōmon people's religion was similar to early Shinto, Japan's traditional spiritual practice. It was largely based on animism, which means believing that spirits live in everything (animals, plants, rocks, etc.). They might have also practiced shamanism, where certain people could communicate with the spirit world.

Rituals and Festivals

Accessories and jewelry were probably worn more during special events like festivals, burials, and rituals.

During the Middle Jōmon period, large settlements became centers for rituals. Later, in the Late Jōmon period, smaller villages started sharing central ritual sites outside their homes.

The Jōmon people built mounds using soil and daily waste. These mounds were not just trash heaps; they were important places for rituals.

Stone and clay figurines, many representing women, are believed to have been used in festivals. They might have been used to pray for good harvests or fertility.

Miniature pottery, tiny versions of regular pots and bowls, have been found in ceremonial mounds. They were likely used in ceremonies rather than as toys. Other items found in these mounds include triangular pottery, stick-shaped clay objects, and pottery with human figures, possibly representing shamans.

Sword-shaped artifacts made of whale bone, and stone batons or swords, have been found with burn marks. This suggests they were used in fire-related rituals. Large jade beads have also been found exposed to fire.

At Sannai Maruyama, a huge structure made of six large chestnut pillars (1 to 2 meters wide) was built many times over the ages. It's thought to have been a place for rituals, a totem pole, an observatory, or even a lighthouse.

Jōmon Burials

The Jōmon people had different ways of burying people:

Adults were buried in pit graves, sometimes with pebbles or soil mounds on top.
Important people were buried in pit graves surrounded by stone circles.
Children (especially infants) were often buried in reused everyday pottery. These pots sometimes had broken rims or holes. They were placed together, away from adult graves.

Most graves didn't have many items buried with the person. However, in some cases, men were buried with hunting tools like stone arrowheads, and women with cooking tools like saddle querns.

At Sannai Maruyama, pit graves were found along the sides of roads, with the feet of the deceased pointing towards the road. Some pillar-supported structures at this site might have been used as temporary resting places for the dead.

What Languages Did They Speak?

We don't know for sure what languages the Jōmon people spoke. It's possible they spoke several different languages across the Japanese islands.

Some scientists think the Ainu language, spoken by the Ainu people of northern Japan, might have come from the Jōmon language. Others suggest that Japonic languages (the family that Japanese belongs to) might have already been present in Japan during the Jōmon period, especially in the southwest. There's also a theory that Austronesian languages (spoken in Southeast Asia) might have influenced early Japanese.

It's a mystery that archaeologists and linguists are still trying to solve!