Japanese Jomon Ceramics
Ceramics developed independently all over the world. The Japanese Jomon were perhaps the very first people to create storage and cooking jars, their techniques and style has little change for 8,000 years. The oldest pots are from the Jomon culture; the oldest one is dated to about 10,700 BCE. There is some debate over the first ceramic pot; there are some vague references to pieces found in Siberia that closely matches the age to those of the incipient Jomon. Even if this was the case, it is highly unlikely the Jomon culture traded outside of Japan at this time. The people of Japan were isolated, and later on their contact was limited to mainly Korea and parts of China. Korean and Kyushu techniques, shapes and design slowly converged in the late and final phase of Jomon ceramics, and another unique Japanese style doesn't arise again until the medieval period. There is little debate between scholars about the structure and functions of Jomon pottery, so I plan to present an introduction to the utilitarian ceramic crafts of the Jomon people from three sources, Douglas Moore Kenrick, Namio Egami, Junko Habu and Mark E. Hall. The three texts by these authors offer more insights to certain areas than the former, th
The building method for Jomon ceramics is coiling, which was then paddled to obtain a smooth surface. But has Jomon pots of the early phase became thicker, yet fired at the same rate, with temperatures now averaging close to 700 degrees. Kenrick, author of Jomon of Japan approaches a more practical theory, suggesting that the decorations were applied for practical purposes, to make the pots easier to handle (for grip) and to even out the thickness in the walls and to patch holes. Nail marking was common in western Honshu; the patterning resembles Australian aborigine design. Early cooking jars were small, averaging around 30 cm, but in the middle phase, large jars were common place, often 80-90 cm high. The middle Jomon is the most impressive phase, the pots have a real sculptural quality to them, and the mouths of the pots often contain 1-4 ears that appear to have a solely decorative function. Perhaps this would support Kenrick's theory that these ceramic containers were meant to store items, and being as such, were used to transport goods from region to region. There is evidence of mass production from kiln sites, but I believe that the containers served both ritual and practical purposes. It was heavy and three-dimensional in the middle Jomon period where vessels are at their peak of boldness. (Modern pots are often fired to 1,100 degrees in the biscuit firing). The clay (earthenware) is very porous, but it retained water long enough to serve for cooking. Excavations of ancient Jomon sites provide important information of prehistoric cultures. Through modern chemical tests, potsherd samples from any given site may not necessarily match the majority from the given area. Anthropologists have noted the health and age of people from these regions greatly improve with evidence suggesting a more established society, such as the middle Jomon phase, where the population reached a high of about 260,000 people.
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