Japan

Overview

Before the introduction of rice and millet agriculture, the Japanese island was inhabited by a population of hunter-fisher-gatherers, who lived in large sedentary villages, built monumental architecture, and produced an extraordinary material culture, including pottery with highly intricate designs (fig.1). Archaeologists refer to the archaeological evidence associated with these populations as the Jomon culture (ca. 16,000–3,000 BP), which takes its name (‘Jomon’ translated to ‘cord-marked’ in Japanese) from the most commonly observed design found in their ceramic vessels. 

The Jomon period was far from uniform, and many studies have identified episodes of cyclical shifts in the demography, subsistence, and settlement patterns.  The most prominent among these was observed in central Japan between 5,500 and 4,500 years ago, when a dramatic population boom was followed by an equally dramatic decline. Previous archaeological estimates of the growth rate experienced by Jomon foragers suggest values comparable to those of early farming communities (fig 2). Estimates over a 500-year time span in the Jomon period, based on different proxies, suggest growth rates comparable to those observed in the same region after the introduction of rice agriculture. We know that this population boom and bust was observed in certain regions but not in others, and was marked by shifts between nucleated and dispersed settlement patterns, the rise and demise of large ring-layout settlements, significant changes in the spatial distribution of ceramic types, and possible changes in diet. 

Key questions

• What enabled these foragers to experience such a rapid population increase? 

• Why was this high population density not sustainable? 

We will investigate these long-standing questions while framing them within the wider cross-cultural framework of the FORAGER project.