[Jomon Period Aomori ②] Pottery Tells the Story of the Jomon People's Lives...The Beginning of Interaction as Seen in Patterns

The long Jomon period is subdivided based on the characteristics of its pottery, and it is common to divide the 10,000-year period into six stages: Initial, Early, Middle, Late, and Final . Furthermore, in archaeology, the periods other than Initial are further subdivided into Early , Middle , and Late stages, and these terms are used to distinguish between Early Late Stage, Middle Early Stage, etc., and can be seen in descriptions of archaeological sites and pottery.

In this paper, we have divided the period according to the official website of the World Heritage Site "Jomon Archaeological Sites in Hokkaido and Tohoku," and have used a periodization that follows the "History of Aomori Prefecture," dividing the Jomon period into phases and further subdividing the middle phase into early, middle, and late phases

The period division into the early, middle, and late stages is as follows:

Jomon period		(The number of years is approximate)
Early period		16,000 to 12,000 years ago
early		12,000 to 7,000 years ago
	early anterior lobe	12,000 to 9,500 years ago
	early middle lobe	9,500 to 8,000 years ago
	Early posterior lobe	8,000 to 7,000 years ago
Early period		7,000 to 5,000 years ago
	prophase anterior lobe	7,000 to 6,300 years ago
	early middle lobe	6,300 to 5,800 years ago
	Early posterior leaves	5,800 to 5,000 years ago
middle period		5,000 to 4,000 years ago
	middle anterior lobe	5,000 to 4,700 years ago
	middle middle lobe	4,700 to 4,300 years ago
	Mid-late stage	4,300 to 4,000 years ago
Late period		4,000 to 3,000 years ago
	late anterior lobe	4,000 to 3,700 years ago
	late middle lobe	3,700 to 3,300 years ago
	late posterior lobe	3,300 to 3,000 years ago
Late stage		3,000 to 2,400 years ago
	Late stage, early lobe	3,000 to 2,900 years ago
	Late to mid-season	2,900 to 2,600 years ago
	Late stage	2,600 to 2,400 years ago

Jomon Period Diagram and Details (Created based on the official website of the World Heritage Site "Jomon Archaeological Sites in Hokkaido and Tohoku"; various theories exist)

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The Jomon period began on the Tsugaru Peninsula

The Jomon period is believed to have begun in the Tsugaru Peninsula, where pottery dating back 16,500 years has been discovered

Towards the end of the Paleolithic era, in northern Tohoku, where winters were once dry but were now snowbound due to global warming, humans needed to shift from a life of hunting prey to one of staying in one place

Currently, the oldest known pottery in Japan has been discovered at the Odaiyamamoto archaeological site (Sotogahama Town, Tsugaru Peninsula/World Heritage Site and National Historic Site), but no dwelling remains have been found there

However, a stone-enclosed hearth (stone-enclosed hearth) dating back approximately 20,000 years has been unearthed (Ohirayama-moto II site), suggesting the arrival of settled and communal living

The hearth was used for warmth and cooking, and it is thought that although they were not yet settled at this time, they may have stayed in it for a considerable period of time during their nomadic tent life

While no pottery similar to that unearthed at Site I has been found at Sites II and III of the Ohirayamamoto area, the fact that cooking was done in hearths approximately 20,000 years ago raises expectations that future excavations will uncover pottery and dwelling remains dating back to around 20,000 years ago

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During the initial and early Jomon period, pottery with various patterns appeared. Its shape was a pointed, inverted cone

The Jomon period ended its initial phase around 12,500 years ago, entering what is called the Early Jomon period, when people are believed to have begun to live in settled communities on a larger scale. Although the climate was becoming warmer, it was still within the last ice age and was a considerably cold time. Even though settlements were limited to around 20 households, each consisting of a family or relative, interaction with surrounding settlements began to expand

Various shapes and patterns of pottery have been found at Early Jomon period sites in Aomori Prefecture. Although they differ from site to site and period to period, similar patterns are often found in pottery from surrounding sites, indicating that there was interaction between settlements. As this interaction expanded, these settlements came together as larger groups and developed into communities where many people lived. The Early Jomon period was a transitional period in this development

There is a common characteristic among pottery from the initial to early Jomon period: it is called "pointed-bottom pottery," which has a pointed bottom. This is thought to be because, at that time, there was no technology to make flat floors or stands, so the pottery was used by sticking it into the ground or sand, or standing it upright in a hearth made of stones

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Pottery with raised lines and textured surfaces made of clay was unearthed from a site dating back approximately 15,700 years

A fragment of roughly one pottery vessel, discovered at the Omotedate (1) site , located 2.5 km south of the Rokkasho Village Office on a coastal terrace at an altitude of about 20 meters , had a pattern created by attaching thin clay cords, characteristic of raised-line pottery, to the outside of the vessel to create a raised and recessed effect.

The raised-line pottery, excavated from the Ohirayama-moto I site, is an older form of pottery that follows the plain pottery that marks the beginning of the Jomon period, and is thought to date back to approximately 15,700 to 13,200 years ago. Raised-line pottery has also been found at the Hatchazawa (1) site, which is adjacent to the Omotate (1) site

The Hatsusawa (1) siteis an archaeological site that shows evidence of human habitation for a very long period, from the early Jomon period through the subsequent Yayoi period and Heian period. Although no dwelling remains from the early Jomon period have been discovered, 23 pit dwelling remains from the early to late Jomon period have been excavated from a slightly more recent layer of the same site.

the Omotate (1) site, various types of pottery were unearthed, including early period pottery with raised lines, as well as pottery that was popular in the middle and late Middle Jomon periods. Among these were pottery that is highly likely to have been imported from Hokkaido, and stone tools made from obsidian from Hokkaido, which is surprising as it suggests that northern Tohoku and southern Hokkaido were interacting nearly 10,000 years ago.

The Omotate site and surrounding ruins were excavated in the 1970s as part of the "Mutsu-Ogawara Development Plan." After the completion of the archaeological surveys and the storage of excavated artifacts, most of the sites were demolished, and they no longer retain their original form. Currently, facilities for the nuclear fuel cycle project stand on top of the site

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A pit dwelling and pottery with Jomon markings, dating back approximately 15,000 years, were discovered at the Kushibiki archaeological site

A pit dwelling site dating back approximately 15,000 years has been discovered at the Kushibiki ruins in Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture

The Kushibiki archaeological site is located 6.5 km southwest of Hachinohe City Hall, situated on a river terrace at an elevation of 20 to 110 meters on the right bank of the Mabuchi River, and is a site dating from the Initial to Early Jomon period

The dwelling sites from the early Jomon period are pit dwellings, and two have been discovered. One of them is an irregularly shaped oval with a major axis of 6m, and pottery with claw-shaped patterns and multi-cord-patterned pottery have also been found

The other building is roughly oval-shaped with a major axis of 5.2m, and has yielded numerous Jomon-style pottery and stone tools

Multi-cord pattern pottery is made by rolling or pressing a rope onto the surface to create patterns, and it is the first type of pottery to appear with cord markings in the early Jomon period. Claw-shaped pattern pottery, on the other hand, is made by using fingernails or tools, rather than rope, to create patterns such as crescent shapes or V-shapes

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Early Jomon pottery with diverse patterns

In the early Jomon period, pottery with various patterns has been found at different sites and in different regions. Representative examples include Hibakari-style pottery, Neinuma-style pottery, Akamido-style pottery, and Monomidai-style pottery

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Early period pottery with imprinted patterns: Hikei-style pottery

The Hikei-style potteryat the Hikei archaeological site, located 4.8 km north of Hachinohe City Hall, on a terrace 25-30 meters above sea level, nestled between three riverspatterns, created by pressing some kind of tool onto the surface, and is currently considered the oldest pottery from the Early Jomon period.

Hikae-style pottery is found not only at the Hikae site, but also in large numbers along the Pacific coast, and has been unearthed not only in northern Tohoku, but also at sites in Fukushima Prefecture and northern Kanto

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Neinuma-style pottery with patterns created by pressing seashells into it

Neinuma-style pottery is pottery discovered at the Neinuma (1) site (Misawa City), located in Neinuma, adjacent to Lake Ogawara, a lake at the base of the Shimokita Peninsula, and dates to the early Jomon period. It is characterized by incised lines drawn by pressing the edges of seashells, and is considered a very important pottery form in the subsequent development of the Tohoku Jomon culture.

The oldest clay figurine in northern Japan was unearthed at the Neinuma (1) site along with this pottery, making it an extremely important type for understanding the beginnings of spiritual culture. The image shows Neinuma-style pottery unearthed at the Ushigasawa (4) site (Hachinohe City)

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Akamido-style pottery with Jomon patterns on both the front and back

Akamido-style pottery is believed to be late Early Edo period pottery discovered at the Akamido archaeological site , located 4.5 km southeast of Hachinohe City Hall, on a gentle slope at an altitude of 7-14 meters, nestled between two rivers . Its distinguishing features are that the clay does not contain any plant fibers, and that cord markings are applied to both the inside and outside of the pottery.

At the Akamido site, one pit dwelling from the late Early Jomon period was discovered, and a shell layer reaching 60 cm in thickness was found at the site of the pit dwelling. A large quantity of fish bones were also unearthed from this shell mound. Furthermore, human remains, including the skull of an infant, were excavated from a shell mound a short distance away. The image shows Akamido-style pottery unearthed from the Choshichiyachi No. 7 site (Hachinohe City)

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Observation platform-style pottery decorated with various patterns using bivalve shells

The observation deck-style pottery was excavated from the observation deck site , located on a coastal terrace at an altitude of approximately 15 meters, facing the Tsugaru Strait, about 18 km northeast of the Higashidori Village Office in the eastern part of the Shimokita Peninsula, and 1.1 km southwest of the Shiriyazaki Lighthouse

A distinctive feature of this pottery is that, as the name "shell-rim patterned pottery" suggests, the jagged edges (ventral rims) of bivalve shells are pressed or dragged onto the clay to create patterns. This pottery was widely distributed, mainly in the northern Tohoku region, during the early to mid-Early Jomon period and appears to have been a popular style

The Monomidai site has been investigated in two adjacent locations. No pottery was found at Monomidai (1) site, so it is classified as a Paleolithic site. Monomidai (2) site is a Jomon period site because this shell-rim decorated pottery was discovered there

No dwelling remains or fossils have been found at either site, but a large number of fossils of large mammals such as Naumann's elephants, brown bears, and Yabe's giant deer have been unearthed in the surrounding Shimokita Peninsula, and in January 2026, it was reported that what was previously identified as a tiger fossil was actually a lion (cave lion)

The pottery shown in the image is a lookout-style pottery vessel excavated from the Tamonokitai (1) site (Hachinohe City)

The Jomon period enters its early stage. In Part 3 of our series on the Jomon period in Aomori, we will introduce the golden age of the Jomon period, exemplified by the Sannai-Maruyama site

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