Jōmon people facts for kids

Diorama of Jomon people at Sannai Maruyama

Jōmon people (縄文人, Jōmon jin) is the generic name of the indigenous hunter-gatherer population that lived in the Japanese archipelago during the Jōmon period (c. 14,000 to 300 BC). They were united through a common Jōmon culture, which reached a considerable degree of sedentism and cultural complexity.

The Jōmon people are characterized by a deeply diverged East Asian ancestry and contributed around 10–20% ancestry to modern Japanese people. Population genomic data from multiple Jōmon period remains suggest that they diverged from "Ancestral East Asians" prior to the divergence of Northern and Southern East Asians, sometime between 38,000 and 25,000 years ago, but after the divergence of "Basal East Asian" Tianyuan and Hoabinhian lineages (c. 39,000 years ago). After their migration into the Japanese archipelago, they became largely isolated from outside geneflow at c. 20,000 to 25,000 BC although there is evidence of influence from northern and southern East Eurasian groups.

Etymology

Jōmon (縄文, Jōmon), sometimes written as Jomon (American English /ˈdʒoʊˌmɑːn/ JOH-mahn, British English /ˈdʒəʊmɒn/ JOH-mon), literally meaning "cord-marked" or "cord pattern," is a Japanese word coined by American zoologist, archaeologist, and orientalist Edward S. Morse in his book Shell Mounds of Omori (1879) which he wrote after he discovered sherds of cord-marked pottery in 1877 at the Ōmori Shell Mound dating to the period now known as the Jōmon period. He subsequently translated "straw-rope pattern" from English to Japanese as Jōmon to refer to the people living during this period of Japanese history. Other names for jomon pottery have been used in the first few decades after the discovery such as “Ainu school pottery” and “Shell mound pottery” before the term jomon was widely accepted by the archeological community. It’s only in 1937 that the historian Yamanouchi Sugao used the pottery term to define the pre-rice agriculture period related to this same pottery.

The word is composed of two kanji: 縄 and 文.

縄 (jō) using its Go-on reading, means "rope" or "cord," specifically "a flexible, heavy cord of tightly intertwined hemp or other fibers." This kanji derives etymologically from Old Japanese, from the Proto-Japonic napa, related to the verb 綯う (nau, "to plait or twist together into twine or line").
文 (mon), also using its Go-on reading, here means "design" or "pattern." Etymologically, this meaning originates from Middle Chinese 文 (mjun, "ornate; a kind of coin; language, literature, letter, character"). In modern Japanese, the kanji 紋 (mon) is more frequently used to explicitly represent "pattern" or "design" which is composed of the radicals 糸 (ito, thread) and 文 (mon).

It can be used as a common noun meaning "cord pattern," or as a proper noun which is the short version referring specifically to the Jōmon period. These kanji appear in various related terms, creating a lexical field centered around Jōmon culture, including:

縄文時代 (Jōmon jidai, "Jōmon period")
縄文式土器 (Jōmon-shiki doki, "Jōmon ware")
縄文人 (Jōmon-jin, "Jōmon people")
縄文土器 (Jōmon doki, "Jōmon pottery")

History of Jōmon Archeology

Early descriptions and depictions

The study of the Jōmon people and their material culture has evolved significantly since the Edo period. One of the earliest recorded depictions of Jōmon artifacts dates back to Edo-period antiquarians, who sketched and documented unusual pottery sherds found in shell middens. The 18th-century traveler Sugae Masumi mentioned Jōmon-era remains in his writings, including his book Sumika no Yama (c. 1800), which referenced shell mounds and prehistoric pottery discovered during his travels. Early antiquarians often misidentified these remains as relics of legendary figures or lost civilizations rather than indigenous Japanese prehistory.

During the early Meiji period (1868-1912), the emergence of modern archaeology in Japan led to a more systematic study of prehistoric remains. The first significant scholarly recognition of Jōmon culture came in 1877, when Edward S. Morse, an American zoologist and orientalist, excavated the Ōmori Shell Mound near Tokyo. Morse coined the term Jōmon (縄文, “cord-marked”) to describe the distinctive pottery he uncovered, characterized by impressions made using twisted cords. His work marked the beginning of formal archaeological study of the Jōmon period, although early interpretations remained influenced by Western models of cultural evolution.

Early 20th-century theories and discoveries

By the early 20th century, Japanese archaeologists began conducting their own excavations, shifting from foreign-led expeditions to national research initiatives. Scholars such as Tsuboi Shōgorō and Torii Ryūzō further investigated shell middens, burial sites, and Jōmon settlements. Kokugaku (National Learning) scholars sought to frame Jōmon culture within Japan’s historical narrative, often contrasting it with later Yayoi-period rice agriculture. During the 1920s-30s, Kojima Gizaemon and Hamada Kōsaku led efforts to establish regional typologies of Jōmon pottery, classifying styles into chronological phases based on stratigraphy. Excavations at sites such as Kasori Shell Midden (Chiba) provided crucial evidence of long-term settlement and subsistence patterns. However, pre-war interpretations of Jōmon society were heavily influenced by Western diffusionist theories, with many scholars viewing Jōmon culture as primitive and stagnant compared to “more advanced” agricultural societies.

The post-World War II era saw a major shift in Japanese archaeology, fueled by the rapid expansion of academic institutions and government-funded excavations. Researchers such as Serizawa Chōsuke and Yamanouchi Sugao played key roles in redefining Jōmon chronology, refining pottery typologies, and identifying major Jōmon sub-periods (Incipient, Initial, Early, Middle, Late, Final).

21st-century advances and theoretical shifts

The 21st century has seen major advancements in Jōmon archaeology, driven by scientific dating techniques, DNA analysis, and interdisciplinary studies.

Chronological Refinements: Advances in radiocarbon dating (AMS C-14 dating) have refined the Jōmon timeline, pushing back the origins of pottery to 16,500 BCE at sites like Ōdai Yamamoto I (Aomori). This supports the idea that Japan was one of the earliest centers of pottery production in the world.
Ancient DNA Analysis: Genetic studies of Jōmon skeletal remains (e.g., from Funadomari Shell Midden) have provided insights into their genetic baggage and legacy.
Environmental Adaptation Studies: Climate reconstructions suggest that Jōmon societies adapted to Holocene climate fluctuations, moving between coastal and inland settlements as sea levels changed.
Jōmon Ritual and Symbolism: Research into ceremonial sites, such as Ōyu Stone Circles (Akita) and Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle (Aomori), indicates that Jōmon people constructed monumental ritual landscapes, challenging earlier perceptions that only agricultural societies built large-scale structures.
UNESCO Recognition: In 2021, 17 Jōmon sites across Hokkaidō and northern Honshū were inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage sites, recognizing Jōmon culture as one of the longest-lasting forager traditions in the world.

Lifestyle

The culture of the Jōmon people was largely based on food collection and hunting, but it is also suggested that the Jōmon people practiced early agriculture. They gathered tree nuts and shellfish, were involved in hunting and fishing, and also practiced some degree of agriculture, such as the cultivation of the adzuki bean and soybean. The Jōmon people also used pottery, and generally lived in pit dwellings.

Settlements

Settlements changed throughout the Jōmon period and its different phases.

Incipient Jōmon settlements were the first sedentary settlements in Japan, had no facilities, and only consisted of dwellings. An example of such a settlement is the Odai Yamamoto 1 Site.
Initial Jōmon settlements developed their first facility: the grave site. The residential area and the cemetery were separated. An example of such settlement is the Kakinoshima site.
Early Jōmon settlements gained more facilities: the storage area and the dump area. Sites representative of this period are the Kitakogane site, Tagoyano site, and Futatsumori Site.
Middle Jōmon saw the apparition of hub settlements and the division of dump and ritual spaces. Sites representative of this period are the Sannai-Maruyama Site, Ōfune Site, and Goshono site.
Late Jōmon see the dissolution of hub settlements into smaller ones with a shared ritual center between them into which was incorporated a cemetery. Some of the sites of this period include the Irie site, Komakino Site, Isedōtai Ruins, and Ōyu Stone Circles.
Final Jōmon sees the separation of the ritual site and the cemetery into 2 different but still multi-settlement shared sites. Some of the sites in this category are: Kiusu Earthwork Burial Circles, Ōmori Katsuyama Site, Takasago Burial Site, Kamegaoka Stone Age Site, and Korekawa Site.

Dug out roads have been excavated in Sannai Maruyama, which linked the multiple facilities of the settlement and served for the transport of goods and people through the settlement and to other smaller settlements. On both sides of the roads were aligned graves. Other facilities excavated include pit dwellings, large pit dwellings, dumping grounds, mounds, pit graves, children graves, graves with stone circles, storage pits, regular and large pillar-supported structures, and watering place for soaking Japanese horse chestnuts.

Pit dwellings are buildings built by digging a shallow hole in the ground and installing a roof over it, with a hearth in its center. As they are relatively small on average, it is thought that families of 4 to 6 people spanning 2 to 3 generations lived in each dwelling. The roofs were made of bark or thatch and may have been covered with soil. Altars may have been installed in some of them.

Pit dwellings longer than 10m are considered large pit dwellings and were most likely community spaces such as a meeting venue, a community workshop or a winter residence.

Tools

The Jōmon people used obsidian, jade and different kinds of wood for their crafting.

Stone tools were used, mainly chipped stone tools, made of siliceous shale, but also obsidian, and other stones. Those types of tools included but were not limited to: spearheads, arrowheads, scrapers (tanged, stemmed, or not), semi-circular flat chipped stone tools (which are believed to have been used to prepare plant foods), knives, and stone drills.

Other stone implements made without the chipping process included ground stone axes (made from granodiorite, greenstone, or blueschist), abrasion cutting stone tools, whetstones, grinding stones (with or without pit), hammer stones, saddle querns, and stone weights.

Antlers and bones were also used for toolmaking such as for spatulas, fish hooks, harpoon heads, drills, and needles. Exclusive to antlers were hammers, using the base of the antler as the impact surface.

Wood was used for shafts of spears, arrows, and harpoons, and for bows and digging sticks while strips of bark were used to weave baskets.

Tools with shafts such as spears and arrows had their heads secured using bitumen.

Hunting

The Jōmon people were skilled hunter capable of targeting a variety of preys. Among them were:

The percentages of prey of each species vary from site to site but generally, wild boars and deer were at the center of the meat diet of the Jōmon. However, in the Sannai Maruyama site, flying squirrels and hares are the dominant sources of meat most likely due to environmental factors.

Hunting techniques included bows, arrows, spears, pitfall traps, and hunting dogs.

Fishing

There is evidence that the Jōmon people built ships out of large trees and used them for fishing and traveling; however, there is no agreement as to whether they used sails or paddles.

Many species of fishes and seafood were excavated in dumping grounds. These species lived in a variety of different habitats leading to the conclusion that the Jōmon had a vast knowledge of the sea.

Some of the fish species found are:

Yellowtail amberjack
Right-eyed Flounder
Shark
Mackerel
Herring
Flounder
Scorpion fish
Globefish
Fat Greenling
Pacific Sea bream
Pacific cod

Fishing techniques used were harpoons, fishing spears, line fishing, and nets. Harpoon heads were detachable and had a hole at their base to tie a rope through it and reel the prey. Harpoons and spears were used to fish larger preys. Line fishing was done with antler or bone fish hooks. Two types of fish hooks existed: single-ended and coupled (or combined). Coupled fish hooks had barbs while single-ended did not but both had notches to tie the line. Stone weights were attached to nets to act as sinkers.

Shellfishes were also gathered including Japanese oysters, Ezo abalones, clams, crabs, octopuses, squids, mantis shrimps, and other crustaceans.

Plant gathering

The Jōmon grew trees in areas near their settlements and gathered edible plants. The most commonly consumed plant was the chestnut. The tree was also used as fuel and building materials.

Other plants that were part of the diet include walnut, Japanese horse chestnuts, adzuki bean, Udo, silver vine, elderberry, wild grape, mulberry, raspberry, and yam. Digging sticks were used to dig up yam.

Food processing

It is possible that the Jōmon might have been able to process elderberries into alcohol. Nuts, walnuts, and chestnuts were collected during autumn and were kept in storage pits or indoor inside large earthenware pots. Before use, they were crushed with hammer stones or grinding stone on top of saddle querns. Japanese horse chestnut and other chestnuts with strong scents were soaked in water to mellow the taste.

At the Sannai Maruyama site, a watering place was discovered that may have been used to process nuts through soaking. The remains were a reservoir of water that was filled and emptied by the stream's spring.

Cooking

Cooking was done on the fireplace of the dwelling using smaller earthenware pots than the ones used for storage.

During the Middle Jōmon period, earthenware was made in various shapes including pedestal shallow shapes, dishes, and bowls; all thought to have been used to serve food.

Round bottom wooden containers are thought to have been held in one hand while pouring liquids.

Trade networks

Jōmon people had extensive trade networks spanning hundreds of kilometers. Primary traded materials included obsidian, gemstone (such as jade), amber, asphalt, stone used for ground stone axes (granodiorite, greenstone, blueschist), and red pigments.

Some materials were sent raw to other sites while others were processed into finished products first before being traded. Some sites also specialized in the trade of certain raw materials or processed goods. For example, the Sannai Maruyama site, a trading hub, specialized in the refining of jade into goods but had to trade pre-made obsidian tools from Hokkaido and Nagano, with this latest being around 700 km from Sannai Maruyama.

The trade of goods between Hokkaido and Honshu indicates that the Jōmon were good navigators and some experts theorize that trade was mostly conducted in dugout canoes on the coastlines.

According to a 2006 study, it is likely that the Jōmon traded with southern Chinese and Southeast Asians via Fujian.

Culture

Some elements of modern Japanese culture may have come from the Jōmon culture. Among these elements are the precursory beliefs to modern Shinto, some marriage customs, some architectural styles, and possibly some technological developments such as lacquerware.

Pottery

The style of pottery created by the Jōmon people is identifiable for its "cord-marked" patterns. The pottery styles characteristic of the first phases of Jōmon culture used decoration created by impressing cords into the surface of wet clay, and are generally accepted to be among the oldest forms of pottery in East Asia and the world. Next to clay pots and vessels, the Jōmon also made many highly stylized statues (dogū) and clay masks.

Lacquerware

Lacquerware included wooden bowls, dishes, and combs. It was mixed with red pigments to give it a red color. Lacquer tree sap was collected from cultivated and managed areas. The steps to make lacquerware were:

Collect the sap
Remove the excess moisture
Purify the sap
Mix it with red pigments
Apply the lacquer by hand to the ware

Red pigments were made from ferrous quartz, then ground into powder before mixing it with lacquer. Some pottery was directly painted with red pigments instead of lacquering it.

Clothings

Fabric made with twisted warp called angin were found at Sannai Maruyama. It is believed that cloth and clothings were made of weaved twisted plant fiber such as hemp in this way.

The Jōmon people also practiced sewing using bone and antlers needles.

Jewelry and accessories

Magatama – kidney-shaped beads – are commonly found in Jōmon period Japanese finds, as well as in parts of Northeast Asia and Siberia.

A wide variety of materials were used for accessories such as clay, stone, bone, shells, and lacquered wood. Ornaments may have been used both for special occasions and for everyday life.

Hair ornaments including hairpins made of bones, and combs made of lacquered wood were excavated. They are thought to have been used to decorate hairs after they were tied up.

Cylindrical or drum-shaped clay earspools were put into a pierced earlobe, while slit-stone earings were put through it.

Pendants made of stone, including precious stones such as jade, and clay have been found with perced holes in them, a thread was passed through them to attach them to one's neck or to the waist. Some pendants were made of clay. Magatama were likely invented by one of the Jōmon tribes, and are commonly found throughout Japan and less in Northeast Asia.

Some ornaments were made from animal parts such as bear canine tooth or wild boar tusk. Jade is thought to have been worn for special occasions such as festivals and rituals.

Religion

It is suggested that the religion of the Jōmon people was similar to early Shinto (specifically Ko-Shintō). It was largely based on animism, and possibly shamanism. Other similar religions are the Ryukyuan and Ainu religions. Certain strange stone implements in various shapes are thought to have been used as talisman.

Rituals and festivals

Accessories and jewelry are thought to have been worn more during special occasions such as festivals, burials, and rituals than in everyday life.

Central ritual sites outside settlements and belonging to multiple villages have started to appear during the Late Jōmon period but hub settlements also acting as central ritual hubs appeared during the Middle Jōmon period.

Mounds were built using refuse from soil excavation and daily life activities but were not merely dumping grounds, instead they had special significance as places of rituals.

Stone and clay figurines are believed to have been used for festivals. Many represented women. They are thought to have been a way of praying for fertility in festivals. Asphalt has been used on some of them to attempt to repair them.

Miniature pottery are earthenware in extremely small sized modeled after utilitarian-sized vessels such as deep bowls for cooking and storing and shallow bowls for serving food. They are thought to have been used in ceremonies rather than as toys due to their excavations in ceremonial mounds.

Other objects found in ceremonial mounds include triangular pottery (theorized to be simplified versions of clay figurines), stick-shaped clay objects (thought to be a miniature pottery version of stone rods), stamp-shaped stones, walnut clay objects (created by pressing clay against inner shell of walnuts), and pottery with human figure (theorized to be shamans with head ornaments and tools).

Sword-shaped artifacts made of whale bone have been excavated and are though to have been used in fire related rituals as most have burned marks. The Jōmon also crafted stone batons or rods and swords which are thought to have been used for rituals and festivals as many have been exposed to fire. Other artifacts such as large jade beads have also been exposed to fire.

In Sannai Maruyama, a large structure made of 6 great pillars of chestnuts between 1 and 2 meters in diameter has been repeatedly built through the ages. It is thought to have played multiple roles such as a ritual venue, totem pole, observatory, lighthouse, and watchtower.

Burials

Graves were different for different people with adult graves being different from children's and from a few important people.

Adults were buried in pit graves, some with pebbles acting as grave markers or soil mounds on top of them.
Important people were buried in pit graves surrounded by stone circles.
Children were buried in reused everyday pottery and placed together away from the other graves: some had modifications done to the pottery such as breaking the rim or piercing holes at the bottom or side of it. It is possible that only infant were buried in this fashion. Some of them had fist-sized circular pebbles or flaking tools in them.

Most graves did not contain grave goods. For those that had them, it is believed that men and women were buried with different objects: hunting tools and stone arrowheads, and cooking utensils such as saddle quern respectively.

In Sannai Maruyama, pit graves have been excavated on both sides of roads, feet towards the road at slight angles. At this same site, pillar-supported structures may have been used for temporary resting place for the deceased.

Languages

It is not known what language or languages were spoken in Japan during the Jōmon period. Suggested languages are: the Ainu language, Japonic languages, Austronesian languages, or unknown and today extinct languages. While the most supported view is to equate the Ainu language with the Jōmon language, this view is not uncontroversial or easily acceptable as there were probably multiple distinct language families spoken by the Jōmon period population of the Japanese archipelago.

Alexander Vovin (1993) argues that the Ainu languages originated in Central Honshu, and were later pushed northwards into Hokkaido, where the early Ainu-speakers merged with local groups, forming the historical Ainu ethnicity. Bilingualism between Ainu and Japanese was common in Tohoku until the 10th century. According to Vovin (2021) there is also some evidence for the presence of Austronesian languages close to the Japanese archipelago, which may have contributed some loanwords to early Japanese.

Some linguists suggest that the Japonic languages may have been already present within the Japanese archipelago and coastal Korea, before the Yayoi period, and can be linked to one of the Jōmon populations of southwestern Japan, rather than the later Yayoi or Kofun period rice-agriculturalists. Japonic-speakers then expanded during the Yayoi period, by assimilating the newcomers, adopting rice growing, and fusing mainland Asian technologies with local traditions.