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All About Pottery!

June 22, 2020 justin-david-hebert Jōmon, Season 1 Comments Off on All About Pottery!
Two vessels from the Incipient Jomon Period (11,000-7,000 BCE). Note the relative simplicity, the designs adding only a subtle accent to the overall work. Attrib: Ismoon (talk) (merci Gaspard !) / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)
A pot from the Middle Jōmon Period (2,500-1,500 BCE). Note the extensive applique, the texturized spaces. Attrib.: I, Sailko / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)
Another Middle Jōmon Vessel, this one decorated in the “flame style.” Attrib.: しんぎんぐきゃっと / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)
A Dogū Figurine from Tōhoku (Far Northeastern Honshu), circa 1,000-400 BCE. Attrib.: World Imaging / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

Tōkyo National Museum Jōmon Exhibit – Lots of great pictures of various items which the Jōmon people used every day, including wooden baskets, pottery, Dogū

Cleveland Museum of Art Jōmon Pottery – Great virtual exhibit of Jōmon pottery from various angles, as well as helpful descriptions of their uses.

Chino City Jōmon Page – A pleasant English-language walkthrough of the Jōmon Period with lots of relevant artifacts unearthed in Nagano Prefecture.

The Ainu and Ryukyuan Peoples

June 18, 2020 justin-david-hebert Jōmon, Season 1 Comments Off on The Ainu and Ryukyuan Peoples

This episode was difficult to research but I felt it was important to include both the Ainu and Ryukyuan peoples in the narrative where possible because they are far too often overlooked. Here are some public domain/creative commons photos to help with visualization:

A Group of Ainu people, taken in 1904, Author Unknown
An Ainu Family, photo taken in 1904 – Gerhard Sisters / Public domain
An Ainu Marriage Celebration – munechika tanaka / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)
Ainu Mother and child, 1904 – Public Domain
Five Men Wearing Ryukyuan Dress – year unknown (between 1868-1912) – Public Domain
A traditional Ryukyu home featuring Shisa (Lion Dog) protectors – attrib.: I, 倶楽部オータム / CC BY-SA (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)

The Paleolithic and Jōmon Periods

June 15, 2020 justin-david-hebert Jōmon, Season 1 Comments Off on The Paleolithic and Jōmon Periods

The first episode is now live! IT LIVES!

I got to read a lot of academic articles for this, which was fun. I wish I could go into more detail regarding plant husbandry and Jōmon religion, but a lot of it is still speculation. It’s probably fair to assume a bit of overlap between the Ainu and the Jōmon regarding rituals and cultural practices but, again, there’s still a lot we don’t know for sure about this period.

Sannai-Maruyama Site Official Webpage – Explore the site I mentioned in the podcast from the comfort of your screen! Lots of great photos and information!

Jōmon Archaeological Sites – A fantastic page featuring loads of photos and information of various Jōmon sites throughout Japan!

Hope you enjoyed the episode!