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Exploring Japan

Early settlers T he Japanese islands have been inhabited for at least 30,000 years. Fossil remains of plants and animals show that Japan was once joined to the mainland of Asia. The earliest inhabitants probably migrated along land bridges which once joined southern Honshu to Korea and Hokkaido to Siberia. What is now the Sea of Japan would have been a huge lake. About 20,000 years ago great glaciers melted, raising the level of the sea and creating the straits which separate Japan’s main islands from each other and the mainland. From Hunters to Potters The earliest inhabitants of Japan lived by hunting game and gathering wild plants. They used stone tools and weapons, but did not make pottery until around 10,000 bce . The invention of pottery made it possible to improve ways of cooking and storing food. The pattern used to decorate pots at this time is known as Jomon, which means “cord-marked.” The centuries up to 300 bce are known as the Jomon period. Jomon people

T he dotted outline on this map shows what Japan might have looked like before the

also made earthenware figures ( dogu ), which represented people or animals. Great piles of shells have been found at the sites of Jomon villages, showing that shellfish were an important part of their diet. Animal bones were used to make such things as needles and hairpins.

sea level rose and created a series of islands.

T his clay figure, called a dogu , dates from the fourth century BCE, at the end of the Jomon period.

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