_UDK 903'I(520)''634''_
Documenta Praehistorica XXXIV (2007)
Reassessing the concept of the 'Neolithic'
in the Jomon of Western Japan
Simon Kaner and Takeshi Ishikawa
Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, UK
s.kaner@sainsbury-institute.org
t.ishikawa@sainsbury-institute.org
ABSTRACT - The concept of the Mesolithic/Neolithic transition is difficult to apply in the Japanese ar-
chipelago. The earliest pottery usage occurs in late Palaeolithic contexts. Holocene foragers lived in
stable, permanent village settlements and constructed large scale monuments, and the first real 'agri-
culture' arrived as part of a cultural package which also included metallurgy. This paper will exa-
mine the use of the term 'Neolithic' in the history of Japanese archaeology, with particular emphasis
on what happened in the western part of the archipelago in the latter part of the Jomon period (c.
5000 BC - c. 500 BC). Recent investigations in Kyushu and Western Honshu are leading to a reasses-
sment of the nature of Jomon culture and society in this region, traditionally considered to have 'lagged
behind' the more developed societies of the eastern part of the archipelago, expressed in part
through much lower population densities.
IZVLEČEK - Koncept mezolitsko-neolitske tranzicije je težko aplicirati na Japonski arhipelag. Prva
uporaba keramike se tu pojavlja že v mlajše paleolitskih kontekstih. Holocenski nabiralci hrane so
živeli v trdnih, stalno poseljenih vaseh, kjer so gradili velike spomenike. Prvo pravo »poljedelstvo« je
prispelo kot del kulturnega paketa, ki je vseboval tudi metalurgijo. V članku bomo analizirali upora-
bo termina»neolitik«v zgodovini japonske arheologije. Poseben poudarek namenjamo dogajanju
na zahodnem delu arhipelaga v mlajšem obdobju Jomon (okoli 5000 BC - okoli 500 BC). Nedavne
raziskave na otokih Kiušu in zahodni Honšu vodijo k ponovni oceni narave Jomon kulture in druž-
be v tej pokrajini. Zanjo velja, da je zaostajala za bolj razvitimi skupnostmi na vzhodnem delu arhi-
pelaga. Posledica je mnogo manjša gostoti poseljenosti.
KEY WORDS - Jomon; Western Japan; Jomon-Yayoi transition; AMS dating; Amida; Kaminabe;
Shorakuji
Introduction
The concept of the Mesolithic/Neolithic transition is
difficult to apply in the Japanese archipelago. The
earliest pottery usage occurs in late Paleolithic con-
texts. Holocene foragers lived in stable, permanent
village settlements and constructed large scale mo-
numents, and the first real 'agriculture' arrived as
part of a cultural package which also included metal-
lurgy. This paper will examine the use of the term
'Neolithic' in the history of Japanese archaeology,
with particular emphasis on what happened in the
western part of the archipelago in the later part of
the Jomon period (c. 5000 BC - c. 500 BC). Recent
investigations in Kyushu and Western Honshu are
leading to a re-assessment of the nature of Jomon
culture and society in this region, traditionally consi-
dered to have 'lagged behind' the more developed
societies of the eastern part of the archipelago, ex-
pressed in part through much lower population den-
sities.
The Neolithic in prehistoric Japan
In 1908, when the Scottish doctor, archaeologist and
anthropologist, Neil Gordon Munro published 'Prehi-
Copyright by Department of Archaeology, Faculty of arts, University of Ljubljana.
1
storic Japan', the first English-language synthesis of
Japanese archaeology, he dedicated a whole chapter
to the Neolithic. He noted that "traces of neolithic
culture abound in many parts of these islands",
that "these remains have been disinterred by agri-
cultural operations, and bear witness that a wide-
spread primitive population had been settled dur-
ing a considerable period" (Munro 1908.44). What
Munro termed Neolithic, another early foreign ar-
chaeologist in Japan, the American zoologist and ex-
cavator of the Omori shell middens, Edward Sylve-
ster Morse, termed Jomon, on the basis of the cord-
marked pottery sherds he recovered from Omori
(Morse 1879). Munro was correct in thinking that
the Jomon was a long period: it is now considered
to begin with the appearance of pottery in the Japa-
nese archipelago, the earliest dates being some
16 000 years ago at Odai Yamamoto in Aomori Pre-
fecture at the northern tip of the main island, Hon-
shu (Odai Yamamoto 1999). The Jomon is usually
thought to have ended towards the end of the first
millennium BC, but as we will see shortly, there is
now some debate as to when exactly the transition
to the succeeding Yayoi period occurred (Shoda
2007).
Munro also noted that "the sites are very much
more numerous in the northern than in the south-
ern half of Japan" and that there were fewer sites
in Hokkaido (the large northern island) than in Hon-
shu, subsequently home to the aboriginal Ainu po-
pulations which Munro was to study later in his ca-
reer. Munro was concerned to understand why there
should be such a difference between Eastern and
Western Japan, and suggested it had something to
do with topography, an idea which has often been
repeated in later literature on the topic. Western Ja-
pan is characterized by steep mountain slopes with
little of the extensive terrace development which
was traditionally thought to provide favoured habi-
tation locations for Jomon fisher-hunter-gatherers in
Eastern Japan.
One of the most influential studies of Jomon settle-
ment densities and their relationship to subsistence
practices is that published by Koyama Shuzo.1 Koya-
ma estimated population densities for a series of dif-
ferent regions within the Jomon on the basis of site
numbers from different phases, which he backed up
with the available radiocarbon dates (Koyama 1979).
Koyama argued that the differences between Eastern
Fig. 1. Western Japan and the locations of sites
mentioned in the paper.
and Western Japan were caused by different food
stuffs being available, based on the ecological divide
between Eastern and Western Japan that has long
been recognized, with the forests of Eastern Japan
being dominated by temperate deciduous forests
and the western part of the archipelago characteri-
zed by warm temperate evergreen oak forests. This
research was complemented by studies undertaken
by Nishida Masaki and others which reconstructed
the biomass available to prehistoric foragers in the
archipelago (Nishida 1983).
In Central and Eastern Japan, in particular during
the Middle Jomon period (around 3500 BC) popula-
tion densities among Jomon fisher-gatherer-hunters
reached some of the highest levels recorded for tem-
perate foragers anywhere in the world. These for-
agers lived in relatively stable village communities
containing pit dwellings, extensive storage and bu-
rial facilities and fixed dump areas, many examples
of which have been excavated. These settlements
tend to be located on well-drained river terraces
which abound in Eastern Japan. Despite influential
theories such as the Middle Jomon Farming Hypo-
thesis proposed by Fujimori Eichi in the 1960s and
1970s, however, there is still no firm evidence for
any form of established agriculture during the Jo-
mon period, although there may have been some li-
mited cultivation of nuts and plants used as condi-
ments, such as perilla (Rowley-Conwy 1984). These
foragers did make extensive use of pottery and poli-
shed stone tools. Large pit dwelling villages became
1 Japanese personal names in this paper have been given in Japanese order, i.e. family name before given name. Macrons have been
omitted.
less common in the later part of the Jomon, how-
ever, and it seems that there was more extensive ex-
ploitation of low-lying, wetter areas. Literature on
the Jomon published prior to 1990 is listed and dis-
cussed in Kaner (1990) and recent developments
are covered in Kobayashi (2004).
AMS dating and the beginning of the Yayoi pe-
riod
In 2003, a research team from the National Museum
of Japanese History made an announcement that,
based on their results of AMS dating, the beginning
of the Yayoi period should be dated to the 10th cen-
tury BC, although previously the Yayoi period had
been thought to begin from around the 4th century
BC (Harunari et al. 2003; 2004). Many scholars
have been highly critical of this research because it
contradicts what were previously accepted as well-
established facts about the chronological relation-
ships between the Japanese archipelago and main-
land China and the Korean peninsula at this time
(Takakura 2003). In this controversial situation,
Kyushu University developed a new research pro-
ject and sent samples of skeletal remains and deer
bone for AMS dating to the Oxford University radio-
carbon dating laboratory. In the presentation of their
results, the Kyushu University researchers claimed
that their evidence was consistent with the traditio-
nal dating based on the archaeological method, i.e.
arguing for the later start of the Yayoi period (Tana-
ka et al. 2004; 2005). In what follows, we will brie-
fly summarise the current situation in regard to the
debate about the dating of the Yayoi period.
Firstly, we will briefly introduce the methods and re-
sults of the traditional chronology for the Yayoi pe-
riod. In the northern Kyushu area, which is adjacent
to the Korean peninsula and was the first region in
the Japanese archipelago to accept agriculture and
the other components of the cultural package from
the Peninsula at the beginning of Yayoi period
(which included iron metallurgy and weaving along
with paddy-field agriculture), there were many
bronze mirrors imported from Han dynasty China.
These are mainly excavated from jar burials from af-
ter the late Middle Yayoi period. Based on the dating
of these bronze materials, it was considered that the
late Middle Yayoi period dates to around the 1st cen-
tury BC. Subsequent archaeological phases were also
dated based on the same method. In addition, archa-
eologists have attempted to estimate the duration of
each archaeological phase with reference to these
well-dated foreign materials, and it is estimated that
each phase lasted approximately 70 years (Takaku-
ra 2003). Earlier phases such as the Initial and Early
Yayoi periods, for which we do not have materials
with what were considered reliable relative dates,
were also dated in accordance with these estimates.
In this manner, the beginning of the Yayoi period
was dated to the 5th century BC (Takakura 2003).
The AMS dating by National Museum of Japanese Hi-
story research team dated carbonized remains and
soot attached to the surface of pottery sherds from
the end of Jomon period to the Kofun period, and
included a number of samples from Korea. The re-
sults suggested that the beginning of the Yayoi
should be revised to the 10th century BC, some 500
years earlier than the above mentioned previously
accepted dates. But this dating was inconsistent with
the established chronological relationship with neigh-
bouring areas of mainland China and the Korean
Peninsula (Takakura 2003). Inconsistencies include
the following: Chinese bronze mirrors imported into
the Japanese archipelago now become earlier than
the Chinese originals; and the earliest iron artefacts
excavated in Japan become earlier than the originals
in China from where those iron objects were impor-
ted into the archipelago (cf. Takakura 2003). Al-
though many scholars have criticized the new chro-
nology, mainly based on these inconsistencies with
the established chronological relationship with the
neighbouring East Asian continent, studies based on
the new chronology have started to appear.
In addition to the critique based on inconsistencies
with the existing relative chronology, the research
team from Kyushu University presented other results
of their AMS dating programme using human bone
and deer bone, the latter being used for analysis to
try to exclude the marine reservoir effect. Their re-
sults indicated that the beginning of the Yayoi should
indeed be dated later than that suggested by the Na-
tional Museum of Japanese History, but still earlier
than the previously accepted dating. The Kyushu re-
searchers still think that some influence of the ma-
rine reservoir effect needs to be taken into conside-
ration, although they selected samples from inland
sites in order to reduce the effect. They accordingly
suggested that, based on their results and taking into
consideration the marine reservoir effect, the abso-
lute dates for the each Yayoi phase must be later
than the dates obtained from the skeletal remains
(Tanaka et al. 2004; 2005).
At present, then, there are two different positions in
regard to the dating of the beginning of the Yayoi pe-
riod and subsequent phases of the Yayoi, and also
about the later part of the preceding Jomon period.
These different positions are both based on the re-
sults of the same dating method, AMS dating, but are
based on the analysis of dates from different mate-
rials. So the differences of the results between the
two indicate the possibility that there is some kind of
systemic 'noise' caused by the nature of materials
being analysed.
Some recent Late and Final Jomon period sites
from Western Japan
We would now like to introduce three sites from
Western Japan, one from the Kansai area to the east,
and the other two from Kyushu (Fig. 1), which are
indicative of our changing understanding of the na-
ture of the later part of the Jomon period in Western
Japan in the lead up to the start of the Yayoi period.
All three date to the Late and Final parts of the Jo-
mon period.
From the Kansai area, a little further to the east, the
Shorakuji site is a particularly interesting example,
as it reveals the spatial structure of a Late Jomon set-
tlement. The site is located near the southern shore
of Lake Biwa and was occupied during the early part
of the Late Jomon period (Notokawa Town Board
of Education 1996). During this period, the Western
Japanese Jomon is considered to have experienced
intensive cultural influence from Eastern Japan. The
excavations at Shorakuji produced a lot of pottery
from different regions, including different parts of
Eastern Japan. Elements of settlement structure in-
cluded a feature resembling a wooden circle in the
south-western area, associated with a relict river bed
(Fig. 2), and a series of storage pits dug alongside
the water's edge. Further to the south-west, many
post-holes which would have supported wooden pil-
lars were excavated. Although not many pit dwel-
lings were excavated because of the limits of the ex-
cavated area, we can discern what appears to be the
structure of a planned sedentary settlement, with a
distinct area for storage pits and storehouses in ano-
ther part of the site (cf. Hayashi 1997). The wooden
circle may reflect the effects from nearby regions of
Eastern Japan. The function of this kind of feature
remains unclear, but researchers at this site and
other scholars have speculated that it might relate
to certain kinds of ritual (Notokawa Town Board of
Education 1996; cf. Kaner 2007).
From the Kyushu area, we will introduce two sites,
which provide important information for understan-
ding settlement structure. The first is the Amida site
from the northern part of Kyushu (Fig. 3). Unfortu-
nately, since it was this area where the Yayoi cultu-
ral package is first thought to have arrived from the
Korean Peninsula, there are still currently no parti-
cularly good examples of Late Jomon settlements in
the Fukuoka Plain from which we can derive a clear
picture of settlement structure. Therefore, we have
selected a site from the area adjacent to the Fuku-
oka Plain. This site was occupied during the middle
part of the Late Jomon to the initial part of the Final
Jomon period. The site comprised many pit dwel-
lings as seen in Figure 3, and the spatial distribution
of these pit dwellings seems to be divided into two
parts. Some scholars have suggested that the western
group of pit dwellings formed a circular structure
around a central public space, reminiscent of the set-
tlement structure familiar from Jomon settlements
in Eastern Japan (Matsumoto 2000).
Fig. 2. Site plan of Shora-
kuji Site (Notokawa Town
Board of Education 1996
with modifications).
Source of figure: NOTO-
KAWA TOWN BOARD OF
EDUCATION. 1996. Sho-
rakuji iseki: Notokawa-
cho maizo bunkazai cho-
sa hokokusyo (Shoraku-
ji Site: A report on the ex-
cavations of Notokawa
Town), Vol. 40. Notoka-
wa-cho Kyoiku Iinkai.
Shiga.
Fig. 3. Site plan of Amida Site (Kaho Town Board
of Education 1989). Source of figure: KAHO TOWN
BOARD OF EDUCATION. 1989. Amida iseki: Fuku-
oka-ken Kaho-gun Kaho-machi syozai iseki no hak-
kutsu chosa (Amida Site: A Report on Excavations
at Kaho Town, Fukuoka Prefecture - in Japanese),
Vol. 10. Kaho-machi Kyoiku Iinkai. Fukuoka.
The second site from Kyushu is Kaminabe, in the
central part of Kyushu (Fig. 4). This site is located at
the western foot of the large volcanic massif of
Mount Aso. The occupation of this site lasted from
the later part of the Late Jomon to the early part of
the Final Jomon. The Kaminabe site is one of the
most famous Jomon sites in this region and may also
have functioned as a central settlement for this re-
gion as many of clay figurines and pit dwellings and
other special materials were excavated (cf. Miyauchi
1981; Tomita 1982). Like Amida, Kaminabe also
comprised a circular structure, within which pit dwel-
lings, pottery, and other material culture were distri-
buted (Tomita 1982).
Conclusions: reassessing the concept of the
Neolithic in Western Japan
In this short paper, we have considered the implica-
tions of the dating controversy currently being dis-
cussed within Japanese archaeology, and we have
also introduced a series of later Jomon sites from
Western Japan which are helping us to better under-
stand the nature of the occupation of the western
part of the archipelago prior to the adoption of
paddy-rice farming. We began with Neil Gordon
Munro's account of the Japanese 'Neolithic', formula-
ted 100 years ago, and suggested that the term, im-
plying a period of agriculture prior to the appear-
ance of metallurgy, was not appropriate for the Ja-
panese archipelago. Interestingly, one of the possi-
ble outcomes of the current debate about the chro-
nology of Japanese prehistory may be an acceptance
that there was a period in Northern Kyushu during
the Jomon-Yayoi transition, when rice agriculture
had been adopted, but when no metallurgy was be-
ing practiced, which might represent an Incipient
Yayoi period. If this is the case, then we might have
a brief period in Japanese prehistory which can be
recognized as truly Neolithic in the European and
Chinese sense, i.e. the presence of agriculture prior
to metallurgy. Only further investigation and clari-
fication of the chronological detail and the nature of
the occupation of Western Japan at this critical stage
will elucidate this transition further. What is clear,
however, is that the Western Japanese Jomon should
no longer necessarily be regarded as the 'poor rela-
tion' of the culture of the complex fisher-gatherer-
Fig. 4. Site plan of Ka-
minabe Site (Kumamo-
to City Board of Educa-
tion 1981, with modifi-
cations). Source of fig-
ure: KUMAMOTO CITY
BOARD OF EDUCATION.
1981. Kaminabe iseki
hakkutsu chosa hoko-
kusyo (A report on ex-
cavations at Kaminabe
Site) (in Japanese). Ku-
mamoto-shi Kyoiku Iin-
kai. Kumamoto.
hunters who are known from further east in the ar-
chipelago. This means that we need to rethink the
role the Western Jomon in this crucial phase of the
prehistory of the Japanese archipelago. Until now,
models for this transition from the Jomon to Yayoi
have emphasized either the adoption of agriculture
by indigenous foragers, all heavily influenced by
Eastern Japan, or the arrival of a Yayoi economic
and cultural 'package' brought to the archipelago by
immigrants from the continent (cf. Hudson 1999;
Mizoguchi 2003). If the 'Neolithic' does exist in West-
ern Japan, then it was a centre of creativity and in-
novation, drawing together new adoptions from the
continent and a rich indigenous tradition.
-ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS-
This paper was presented at the 13th Neolithic Semi-
nar organized by Professor Mihael Budja of the De-
partment of Archaeology, University of Ljubljana. We
are grateful to him for this opportunity to present
our ideas to an international audience. The paper
was prepared while Ishikawa Takeshi was Handa Ja-
panese Archaeology Fellow at the Sainsbury Insti-
tute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures. We
are very grateful to the International Jomon Culture
Conference and Mr Handa Haruhisa for their gene-
rous support of the Fellowship programme.
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