About 10,000 years ago, the global environment changed greatly as the Ice Age ended, and the lives of people in the Japanese Archipelago also changed dramatically. Let us examine the end of the Paleolithic period and the beginning of the Jomon period.
Basic Knowledge
About 10,000 years ago, Earth transitioned from a glacial period to an interglacial period (a warm period). As a result, the natural environment of the Japanese Archipelago changed dramatically.
・Rising temperatures → expansion of deciduous broad-leaved forests (beech, oak, and chestnut)
・Rising sea levels → land bridges to the continent were submerged, forming the Japanese Archipelago
・Large animals such as Naumann elephants and mammoths became extinct
・Medium-sized and small animals such as deer, wild boar, and rabbits became central instead
To adapt to this environmental change, people developed new technologies. These were polished stone tools and pottery. As a result, people gradually moved from the Paleolithic period to the Jomon period.
Climate Cold (glacial period) → warm (interglacial period)
Landform Connected to the continent → Japanese Archipelago formed by rising sea levels
Animals Large animals (Naumann elephants) → medium-sized and small animals (deer and wild boar)
Tools Only chipped stone tools → chipped and polished stone tools + pottery + bows and arrows
Lifestyle Mobile life → Settled life (pit dwellings)
Further Study (Background and Impact)
The extinction of large animals is thought to have been caused not only by climate change but also by human hunting pressure (the overkill hypothesis). In the new environment, people no longer needed to pursue large prey. They hunted smaller animals with bows and arrows and gathered more plant foods such as chestnuts, acorns, and wild plants.
Because plant foods needed to be boiled, the invention of pottery was revolutionary. Pottery made it possible to remove bitterness, boil, cook, and preserve food, greatly expanding the range of available foods.
People could also settle in places where food sources were stable. They built pit dwellings and lived there for long periods. This was a fundamental change in lifestyle that led to the formation of later villages and societies. Jomon pottery from about 16,000 years ago has been discovered at the Odai Yamamoto Site in Aomori Prefecture, making it among the oldest pottery in the world.
- About 10,000 years ago: glacial period → interglacial period; formation of the Japanese Archipelago
- Extinction of large animals → hunting focused on medium-sized and small animals
- Invention of polished stone tools, pottery, bows, and arrows = beginning of the Jomon period
- Pottery made boiling, cooking, removing bitterness, and preserving food possible
- Change from mobile life to settled life (pit dwellings)
- Pottery from the Odai Yamamoto Site in Aomori = about 16,000 years old, among the oldest in the world
- Adaptation to environmental change encouraged technological innovation
Points of Caution (Easily Confused)
① “The end of the Ice Age = the beginning of the Jomon period” is not entirely correct. Pottery began somewhat earlier, around 16,000 years ago, so the two periods overlap. ② There are two theories about the extinction of large animals: climate change and human hunting. ③ The invention of bows and arrows spans the end of the Paleolithic and the beginning of the Jomon period. ④ Even after polished stone tools appeared, chipped stone tools continued to be used as well. ⑤ The pottery from the Odai Yamamoto Site in Aomori Prefecture is among the oldest in the world, but it cannot be definitively called “the oldest” because it is compared with sites in China.
Practice
- Describe the climate change that occurred about 10,000 years ago and its effects on the Japanese Archipelago.
- Name three new technologies that emerged during the transition from the Paleolithic period to the Jomon period.
- Give the name of the site in Aomori Prefecture where some of Japan’s oldest pottery was unearthed.