Fix the mistake: Jomon period

Characteristics of Jomon Pottery and Jomon Culture

The Jomon period began about 16,000 years ago. Jomon pottery, which gave the period its name, is known as artistic pottery unlike any other in the world.

Basic Knowledge

Jomon pottery is pottery with rope patterns on its surface, made by rolling a rope over the clay. It began to be made about 16,000 years ago. The name “Jomon period” also comes from this pottery.
Jomon pottery was used for more than 10,000 years, and its shapes and patterns changed over time. It is generally divided into six phases: Incipient, Initial, Early, Middle, Late, and Final. The flame-style pottery of the Middle period (about 5,000 years ago), including pottery from the Sasayama Site in Niigata Prefecture, is especially famous worldwide for its decorations resembling rising flames.
Jomon pottery was fired outdoors at a low temperature (700〜800℃), so it is thicker and darker brown than later Yayoi pottery. It was used for many purposes, including cooking, storage, and serving food.

Further Study (Background and Impact)

The invention of pottery was a major revolution in human history. Food that had previously been eaten raw or roasted could be treated to remove bitterness by boiling. Nuts such as acorns, horse chestnuts, and chestnuts therefore became major foods. This greatly expanded food sources and made settled life possible.
Among Jomon pottery, flame-style pottery is an artistic work that appears in world art history. It was made mainly about 5,000 years ago in Niigata and Nagano prefectures and was reevaluated after Taro Okamoto described it as having “four-dimensional beauty.” Scholars have proposed various theories about whether flame-style pottery was used as an everyday object or for rituals.
Jomon pottery patterns show regional characteristics. The Kamegaoka-style pottery of Aomori Prefecture, for example, shows the uniqueness of local cultures during the Final period. This indicates that the Jomon people developed regional cultures while maintaining networks across wide areas.

Points of Caution (Easily Confused)

① “Jomon pottery” and “Yayoi pottery” are different. Jomon pottery is thick, richly decorated, and fired at a low temperature, while Yayoi pottery is thin, nearly undecorated, and fired at a high temperature. ② Note that the Jomon period lasted more than 10,000 years. In world history, it corresponds to a long period from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age. ③ Flame-style pottery belongs only to the Middle period, not to every period. ④ “Kamegaoka-style” pottery is named after the Kamegaoka Site in Aomori and refers to the finely made pottery and clay-figurine culture of the Final period.

Practice

1. Briefly state the origin of the name “Jomon pottery” and its characteristics.
2. State the period and region in which flame-style pottery was made.
3. Describe the effects of the invention of pottery on life during the Jomon period.