Prehistoric Japan : new perspectives on insular East Asia

Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Preface 10 CHAPTER ONE An introduction to Japan's natural environment 12 Japan's geographical setting 12 Climate 14 A country of forest 14 Agriculture 16 Fish resources 19 CHAPTER TWO The periodization of Japanese archaeology 20 The Pre-ceramic or Palaeolithic period 20 The Jomon period 21 The Yayoi period 24 The Kofun period 25 Principles of period divisions 26 Pottery in the periodization of Japanese prehistory 26 CHAPTER THREE Palaeolithic research on the volcanic islands 30 The discovery of the Iwajuku site 30 The extensive volcanic ash 34 Edge-ground stone axes of the Palaeolithic 34 The pursuit of "the Early Palaeolithic" 37 The palaeoenvironment 39 Contact With the mainland 45 CHAPTER FOUR Earliest pottery and the dates controversy 50 Relative chronological study of Jomon pottery 50 Controversy over the dating of Japanese prehistory 57 Japanese pottery goes back further 62 CHAPTER FIVE Establishment of the Jomon economic system, and stable settlements 64 Origins of agriculture in China 64 From the Incipient (I) to the Initial (II) phase 67 Yoriitomon series of pottery types 68 Establishment of the Jomon economic system 74 CHAPTER SIX Marine transgression and fishing 78 The rising sea level 78 Distribution of shell middens in the Kanto plain 79 The Mazukari shell midden 80 Various fishing activities of the Jomon period 84 CHAPTER SEVEN Pit-traps and Jomon hunting 90 The Kirigaoka excavation 90 Pit-traps are found throughout Japan 95 Significance of pit-traps in Jomon hunting 95 Relative importance of hunting, fishing, and plant food gathering 99 CHAPTER EIGHT Plant foods and the Middle Jomon culture 104 An outline of the Middle Jomon culture 104 Economic foundations 112 Early to Middle Jomon 115 Storage pits 115 The mass use of storage pits or chipped stone axes, and plant cultivation 117 CHAPTER NINE Questions in the Late—Final Jomon period 122 Regional differences in Jomon culture 122 The spread of pottery with zoned cord-marking 123 Two central areas in northeastern and southwestern Japan 124 Northeastern Japan 124 Development in crafts and ritual objects 127 Southwestern Japan 131 CHAPTER TEN The arrival of agriculture 138 The original area of rice cultivation 139 Diffusion to Japan 142 The Initial Yayoi period 144 Character of the earliest rice fields 148 Dispersal to the east and north 148 Yayoi agriculture and Japanese cultural tradition 153 CHAPTER ELEVEN Racial questions of Jomon and Yayoi peoples 158 Anthropological research 158 Archaeological evidence 160 Pottery tradition 162 The large-scale migration theory 166 Increasing rate of population 167 Estimation of population change 168 Repeated increases and decreases 169 Expansion of continental gene? 169 Revival of the Ainu theory? 171 CHAPTER TWELVE Immigrant settlements and overseas trade 172 Settlements of immigrants 172 Yayoi pottery discovered in Korea 175 Roles of the immigrants 176 CHAPTER THIRTEEN Iron and bronze 178 Differences between iron and bronze 178 Iron tools 179 Bronze tools 181 CHAPTER FOURTEEN Political unification 190 Wars 190 Social stratification 193 Role of trade 196 Entry into international relations 196 The Yamatai controversy 199 From funkyubo to kofun 202 CHAPTER FIFTEEN Two late prehistories in the north and south 208 Three cultural areas 208 The historical territory of Japan 209 Late prehistory in Hokkaido 210 Late prehistory in Okinawa 216 Political unification in Okinawa and Hokkaido 217 Morphological and genetic differences among the three populations 220 CHAPTER SIXTEEN The prehistory of Japan and its position in East Asia 222 Palaeolithic 223 The successful Jomort economy and the late beginnings of agriculture 223 Adaptive conditions of agriculture 225 Receptive capacity of agriculture 226 Spread of the continental gene 227 What spurred the diffusion of continental agriculture? 228 Rapid changes in society 229 The existence of similar societies around China 230 Establishment of the ancient state 235 References 236 Index 248 New Perspectives On Insular East Asia