Prehistoric Japan : new perspectives on insular East Asia

Cover
Half Title
Title
Copyright
Contents
Preface
CHAPTER ONE An introduction to Japan's natural environment
	Japan's geographical setting
	Climate
	A country of forest
	Agriculture
	Fish resources
CHAPTER TWO The periodization of Japanese archaeology
	The Pre-ceramic or Palaeolithic period
	The Jomon period
	The Yayoi period
	The Kofun period
	Principles of period divisions
	Pottery in the periodization of Japanese prehistory
CHAPTER THREE Palaeolithic research on the volcanic islands
	The discovery of the Iwajuku site
	The extensive volcanic ash
	Edge-ground stone axes of the Palaeolithic
	The pursuit of "the Early Palaeolithic"
	The palaeoenvironment
	Contact With the mainland
CHAPTER FOUR Earliest pottery and the dates controversy
	Relative chronological study of Jomon pottery
	Controversy over the dating of Japanese prehistory
	Japanese pottery goes back further
CHAPTER FIVE Establishment of the Jomon economic system, and stable settlements
	Origins of agriculture in China
	From the Incipient (I) to the Initial (II) phase
	Yoriitomon series of pottery types
	Establishment of the Jomon economic system
CHAPTER SIX Marine transgression and fishing
	The rising sea level
	Distribution of shell middens in the Kanto plain
	The Mazukari shell midden
	Various fishing activities of the Jomon period
CHAPTER SEVEN Pit-traps and Jomon hunting
	The Kirigaoka excavation
	Pit-traps are found throughout Japan
	Significance of pit-traps in Jomon hunting
	Relative importance of hunting, fishing, and plant food gathering
CHAPTER EIGHT Plant foods and the Middle Jomon culture
	An outline of the Middle Jomon culture
	Economic foundations
	Early to Middle Jomon
	Storage pits
	The mass use of storage pits or chipped stone axes, and plant cultivation
CHAPTER NINE Questions in the Late—Final Jomon period
	Regional differences in Jomon culture
	The spread of pottery with zoned cord-marking
	Two central areas in northeastern and southwestern Japan
	Northeastern Japan
	Development in crafts and ritual objects
	Southwestern Japan
CHAPTER TEN The arrival of agriculture
	The original area of rice cultivation
	Diffusion to Japan
	The Initial Yayoi period
	Character of the earliest rice fields
	Dispersal to the east and north
	Yayoi agriculture and Japanese cultural tradition
CHAPTER ELEVEN Racial questions of Jomon and Yayoi peoples
	Anthropological research
	Archaeological evidence
	Pottery tradition
	The large-scale migration theory
	Increasing rate of population
	Estimation of population change
	Repeated increases and decreases
	Expansion of continental gene?
	Revival of the Ainu theory?
CHAPTER TWELVE Immigrant settlements and overseas trade
	Settlements of immigrants
	Yayoi pottery discovered in Korea
	Roles of the immigrants
CHAPTER THIRTEEN Iron and bronze
	Differences between iron and bronze
	Iron tools
	Bronze tools
CHAPTER FOURTEEN Political unification
	Wars
	Social stratification
	Role of trade
	Entry into international relations
	The Yamatai controversy
	From funkyubo to kofun
CHAPTER FIFTEEN Two late prehistories in the north and south
	Three cultural areas
	The historical territory of Japan
	Late prehistory in Hokkaido
	Late prehistory in Okinawa
	Political unification in Okinawa and Hokkaido
	Morphological and genetic differences among the three populations
CHAPTER SIXTEEN The prehistory of Japan and its position in East Asia
	Palaeolithic
	The successful Jomort economy and the late beginnings of agriculture
	Adaptive conditions of agriculture
	Receptive capacity of agriculture
	Spread of the continental gene
	What spurred the diffusion of continental agriculture?
	Rapid changes in society
	The existence of similar societies around China
	Establishment of the ancient state
References
Index