The approximately 14,000-year Jōmon period is conventionally divided into several phases, progressively … See more

The earliest pottery in Japan was made at or before the start of the Incipient Jōmon period. Small fragments, dated to 14,500 BC, were found at the Odai Yamamoto I site in 1998. Pottery of roughly the same age was subse… See more

Traces of Paleolithic culture, mainly stone tools, occur in Japan from around 30,000 BC onwards. The earliest "Incipient Jōmon" phase began while Japan was still linked to continental Asia as a narrow peninsula. As the glacier… See more

The Early Jōmon period saw an explosion in population, as indicated by the number of larger aggregated villages from this period. This period occurred during the Holocene climatic optimum, when the local climate became wa… See more

Highly ornate pottery dogū figurines and vessels, such as the so-called "flame style" vessels, and lacquered wood objects remain from that time. Although the ornamentation of pottery increased over time, the ce… See more

After 1500 BC, the climate cooled entering a stage of neoglaciation, and populations seem to have contracted dramatically. Comparatively few archaeological sites can be found after 1500 BC.
The Japan… See more

The origin myths of Japanese civilization extend back to periods now regarded as part of the Jōmon period, but they show little or no relation to the current archaeological understanding of Jōmon culture. Th… See more