Prehistoric Japan : new perspectives on insular East Asia

Description

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