Japanese Jomon Artifacts

tsa-la-tsi-s-gi gv-do-di ka-ne

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"CONSUMER ACQUISITION SITE"

Japanese Jomon Artifacts

5000-7000 BP

The Jomon period, which encompasses a great expanse of time, constitutes Japan's Neolithic period. Its name is derived from the "cord markings" that characterize the ceramics made during this time. Jomon people were semi-sedentary, living mostly in pit dwellings arranged around central open spaces, and obtained their food by gathering, fishing, and hunting. ((*))

((*)) http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/jomo/hd_jomo.htm

The Jomon period in Japan started about 12,000 years ago as nomadic groups came via the lower sea levels in waves from Siberia. Some groups headed across the Aleutian path to North America, some headed south into Japan. The dating of Jomon sites is done by examining the rope patterns (Jomon) on the pottery which is found. About 2,500 years ago mass migrations came into Japan from China and Korea due to famines and warfare. With them came bronze and iron work, as well as an advanced process of rice cultivation. These waves gradually pushed back the resident Jomon until only Hokkaido Island has current populations which are now named Ainu. Thus the history of Jomon in Japan is very similar to American Indian. A technologically advanced immigration is able to push back the existing stone age culture. DNA shows that Jomon and Ainu are the same and links to American Indian groups such as Navaho are documented.

Read more about Jomon Archeology in this narrative by Mr. B

The following artifacts were sent to me by Herb Bastuscheck (Mr. "B") from Misawa, Japan. I will do my best to convey their intended usage as it was conveyed to me. The following sketch conveys the area, or type of area where these artifacts were recovered. Following the plowing of the fields by local Japanese farmers, and with the help of frequent rains, numerous artifacts are able to be recovered in these representative locales. Many artifacts, such as clay pots and earthenware are destroyed by the plows, and fully intact specimens are a rarity. I feel blessed to be considered among Mr. B's friends, and to be among the recipients of his generous and sharing nature. Herb, Thank you...

(You may click on any of the images for a full size version, use your browser's back button to return to this page.)

As you can see, many Jomon villages were typically located atop bluffs adjacent to a body of water. The lake depicted would have been an Estuary during that time. Items unearthed in the kitchen "midden" (village dump) included deer teeth, bone fragments, and shellfish.

The Jomon culture made clay pots and articles without the aid of a "potters wheel", each piece being formed by hand to the desired shape by the artisan, larger pieces being decorated by pressing a length of twisted twine or rope into the wet clay as the following shards of pottery depict. Note: Early to middle Jomon pottery was unglazed, it wasn't until the later Jomon periods that glazed earthenware pottery became evident, in fact enamel ware pottery has been found at the Sannai Maruyama site in Aomori City which predates Chinese enamel ware by about 1,000 years. Before, it was thought that enamel ware came from China to Japan. Now evidence shows that the origin was in this area of Japan, and was imported to China.

Other smaller pieces bear no decoration at all as shown in the following example of a small bowl or cup. Note: To date Mr. B has only recovered eight intact pieces from this site. As we will see at a later date, one of the pieces recovered and preserved bears a single fingerprint of it's maker. This example is approximately 2 3/4" in diameter and 1" high.

Also note the base is concave, and there are crude tool marks about the rim of the base.

The following fragment may be part of a nose or ear ring.

May also be a fragment of handle from a larger vessel or pot.

Some of the more common artifacts found are stone tools used for woodworking. There would have been small wood handles to insert the shapers to use in a chopping motion. Then they could be removed to be hand-held.

Shaper, 1 7/16" x 2 7/16" x 3/4"

Shaper, 2 1/4" x 3/4' x 3/8"

Small shaper, 1 1/2" x 5/8" x 1/4" for finer detail work.

Large shaped stone, it's use is unclear to me. the anterior portion of the larger end bears a small notch. Some striations appear to be more recent damage from plows.

1 1/4" x 2 3/4" x 3/8"

This piece is the carved stone handle of a large knife. The reverse side appears to be intentionally unfinished and flat. Purpose unknown. Note the damage from the plows.

Jomon fishermen fished with nets. Shaped stones were used to weight the nets as shown in the following example:

These are typically found on the beach below the village site where they may have separated from the nets. As the sketch above shows, this area would have been submerged during that period.

As did our ancestors all the way back to Paleolithic times, the Jomon culture utilized shaped stone projectile points to hunt with. The following artifacts are representative of those commonly found about the village site and in caches nearby. The style of points and the obvious differences in the knapping techniques would suggest a natural progression of the art through more than one generation of Jomon culture. Scrapers, gravers, points, and drills differ very little from those found in North America and other parts of the world for the same timeline.

Small scraper w/graver tip.

Scraper

Uni-face Scraper

Reverse side

Uni-face Scraper, possibly a pre-form

Possible pre-form or spall.

Scraper w/graver tips, appears specialized.

Drill

Uni-face Scraper

Scraper

Front and reverse of a large knife, incomplete as the broken base shows. This piece is more than 2 1/4" across at the base x 2" x 5/16".

The following pictures demonstrate a more refined technique in the shape and style of knapping.

Two larger projectile points 2" and 1 1/2" long.

These two groups show progressive refinement. All points are 1" - 1 1/4" in length.

Collections of points in all the local museums show that the general size of Jomon points are much smaller as a group than collections of American Indian artifacts. The obsidian pieces below came from Hokkaido, but were collected in the field near Misawa. Jomon people brought obsidian pieces down from Hokkaido along well-established trading routes through Honshu Island.

Note these two points have broken tips 1" x 1/2".

Small bird point - 3/4 x 1/2"

In addition to projectile points, Jomon hunters also utilized the Bola to ensnare small game. These stones are believed to have been used for such a Bola.

Many thanks go out to Herb for providing the artifacts pictured above. It has been my pleasure to receive them and provide this pictorial.

HAVE YOU BEEN THE TARGET OF A SCAM LATELY? DON'T LET YOUR GUARD DOWN!

AUGUST 20TH, 2008 - BROKEN ARROW, OKLAHOMA

If you are not on your toes all of time, you could be the target of a scam or con. Last evening while filling up with gas at QT in Broken Arrow a blue PT Cruiser pulled across in front of my truck. A casually dressed black man stepped out and in a hushed voice asked if I was interested in buying a laptop computer. He proceeded to tell me he had three or four of these for sale for $250 each. Claiming they were brand new Sony Vaio laptops. My first question was "Are they hot?" and I informed him I wasn't interested. He pressed on asking if I would pay $200, then $150. "I don't buy merchandise from the trunk of a car" I informed him. He then asked how much I would be willing to pay, and went back to his car, retrieving a package from the back seat that appeared to be a box about the size of a laptop, wrapped in brown paper, taped up excessively with packaging tape, and a photocopied ad from Office Depot advertising a Sony Vaio for $2099. In the process of getting the package from his car, he covered it with a sheet before bringing it to show me.... A lot suspicious... He handed me the package and returned to his car to retrieve a laptop from the back seat, again covering it with the sheet so no one else could see what he was doing. The laptop was an older Compaq, that he claimed a lady had dropped, but the ones in the packages were Sony. He very quickly returned it to his car, not letting me see more than a glimpse of it under the sheet. Meanwhile, I was hefting the supposed "new" packaged laptop, the entire time suspecting a scam more so than stolen merchandise. I strung him along a little while, squeezing the package (it was too lightweight, and compressed easily) Now knowing I was actually holding a package with nothing substantial inside, I told him I might be interested if he showed me what was in the box. He very quickly retrieved it from me, still trying to get me to pay $150 for it, as he gradually put distance between us getting back to his car. That pretty much ended the conversation. I told him again, "show me what's in the box, I might be interested." No go, he got back in his car and quickly went looking for another mark.

I had meanwhile finished filling my tank, and drove to a strategic location in the parking lot to watch him and his accomplice as they drove about the lot, approaching literally everyone coming and going, I quickly dialed 911 and reported their activity, gave a description of the vehicle and what they were doing, stressing that I firmly believed they were scamming people with empty boxes. I waited for police to arrive, but before they did, the vehicle exited the QT, and drove down the street. I followed at a distance, again calling 911 dispatch to report they had moved to another location, near Chili's and Buffalo Wild Wings. Actually, they had gone to the Lowe's parking lot and by the time officers arrived, had already approached several patrons in the lot. As an unmarked Dodge Charger pulled into the BWW lot, I pointed them to the Lowes. Two other marked units quickly converged on the lot, and as the PT Cruiser approached another mark in front of the store, they hit the lights and surrounded the vehicle! Too cool! I watched from the lobby of Lowes as they talked to the "suspects", and got the passenger out to open the back of the vehicle. After some minutes, a couple came out of the store and saw that the police were questioning the pair, and hollered at them "What are they doin'? Tryin' to sell ya a laptop?" One officer motioned them over and asked if they had been approached, to which they answered yes. The officer asked if they would be willing to make a statement, and a citizens arrest on suspicion of fraud. When they said they would, one of the suspects started cursing at them, this just added resolve to the couple, and they immediately made the citizens arrest. (This was necessary because the officers had no evidence of a crime otherwise.) At this point the two were arrested on fraud charges.

As it turns out, the packages were Fed-X boxes filled with newspaper... They had empty boxes, brown paper bags, tape, scissors, and flyers in the back to make more fake packages. Officers also found bolt cutters and a few personal items in the vehicle, along with three or four bogus packages, and the old, useless Compaq laptop they were using as a prop for their con. They did not find any weapons or drugs fortunately, but the passenger had a felony warrant for his arrest in Florida (the officer said that unfortunately, Florida would not extradite). Officers said they also had a fair amount of cash on them, leading officers to believe they were semi-successful with their con game. Both suspects were from Alabama, and the PT Cruiser had Alabama plates. Both are now sitting in the Broken Arrow jail, the PT Cruiser is impounded, and at least for now, they are off of the street.

Do you think those who paid $150-$250 for a box of newspaper will report it to authorities? Probably not.... Wouldn't you feel a bit foolish for falling for the scam? How about the fact that anyone with common sense would know they were about to purchase stolen merchandise, had the package actually contained a new $2000 laptop...

If you buy merchandise, especially new or near new expensive merchandise off the street, or from the trunk of someone's car, for pennies on the dollar, you should know you are about to buy stolen merchandise, and will be supporting crime. So don't do it! Don't be a victim! Report this kind of activity and save some other fool from making a mistake. These are tough times and if we don't stand up as citizens and do our part, then we are part of the problem!

In all honesty, it felt good to help get these two apprehended! And yes, I gave a written statement, and if asked, would gladly testify against them in court!

Virgil

VIRGIL G. RICHARDS

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