The people of the Jomon period lived in “pit dwellings,” built by digging into the ground and setting up pillars, and began settled life by forming villages. Let us examine their lives in detail.
Basic Knowledge
A pit dwelling was a residence dug about 50cm into the ground, with a hearth in the center, pillars, and a roof covered with thatch or tree bark. It was 4〜6m in diameter and large enough for a family of 3〜5 people.
Several pit dwellings formed a village. Many were ring-shaped settlements with an open space in the center. The open space is thought to have been used for rituals and meetings.
People obtained food from nearby mountains, seas, and rivers. They combined hunting (deer and wild boar with bows and arrows), gathering (acorns, chestnuts, and wild plants), and fishing (fish and shellfish). This is called the “Jomon subsistence pattern.”
Places where food remains were discarded remain as shell middens, providing valuable clues about the food culture of the time.
Pit dwellings 4〜6m in diameter, for families of 3〜5, with a central hearth
Open space Center of the village, used for rituals and meetings
Shell midden Garbage dump for food remains and a treasure trove of artifacts
Cemetery Around the village, with many flexed burials
Raised-floor storehouse Built in some settlements for storing food
Omori Shell Midden (Tokyo) Excavated by Morse in 1877, birthplace of Japanese archaeology
Further Study (Background and Impact)
The people of the Jomon period skillfully used different foods in each season. They secured food throughout the year: wild plants in spring, fish and shellfish in summer, chestnuts and acorns in autumn, and deer and wild boar in winter.
The Omori Shell Midden in Shinagawa and Ota wards of Tokyo was excavated in 1877 by the American zoologist Morse (E.S. Morse). It was Japan’s first archaeological excavation, marking the beginning of Japanese archaeology. It is said that he happened to notice a pile of shells from a train when he discovered the site.
Jomon villages were often small, consisting of several to a dozen houses, unlike villages in the modern sense. However, large settlements also existed, such as the Sannai Maruyama Site in Aomori Prefecture, where about 500 people lived for a long period. This discovery greatly changed views of the Jomon period.
- Pit dwelling = dug into the ground, with a central hearth and thatched roof
- “Jomon subsistence pattern” = combination of hunting, gathering, and fishing
- Shell midden = dump for food remains that reveals the food culture of the time
- Omori Shell Midden (Tokyo) = excavated by Morse, birthplace of Japanese archaeology
- Ring-shaped settlement = houses arranged around a central open space
- Flexed burial = Jomon custom of burying the dead with bent legs
- Settled life combined with mobile elements such as seasonal movement
Points of Caution (Easily Confused)
① Omori Shell Midden was excavated by “Morse,” an American, not a Japanese person, in 1877 (Meiji 10). ② A “pit dwelling” and a “raised-floor storehouse” are different. A dwelling is dug into the ground, while a storehouse has a raised floor. ③ Note the difference between Jomon flexed burials and extended burials from the Yayoi period onward. ④ A shell midden was not merely a garbage dump; it may also have been a place for ancestor worship. ⑤ Although Jomon people lived in settled communities, they were not completely sedentary and also moved seasonally.
Practice
- Briefly explain the structure of a pit dwelling.
- State the excavator and year of excavation of the Omori Shell Midden.
- Name three main methods of obtaining food during the Jomon period.