ced contamination and the spread of disease. 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.
             The ancient Japanese people never used clay for building materials, unlike the areas of the Mesopotamia region, since there was an abundant supply of other building materials. These earthenware pots are typically low fired and thin usually ranging from 5-8mm in thickness (Kenrick 30-31). The clay (earthenware) is very porous, but it retained water long enough to serve for cooking. Plant juices were widely used to seal the inside surfaces, applied while the pot is still hot from firing. The Japanese also invented a lacquer from a ferrous oxide compound mixed with the sap of the Japanese sumac tree. The lacquer on most of the pots worn off in time and it is not suitable for pieces exposed to heat. Most of Jomon finishes were burnished. There are very few examples of painted Jomon pots, Kenrick notes the process; "...some vessels were painted with an iron oxide before firing. The paint was applied without designs to wide surface areas, perhaps for ritual symbolism (bones for secondary interment were often painted red), or perhaps to reduce porosity. Decorative painted designs were very rare". (Pg. 55) The iron oxide would mean the designs were black, against a grayish-red clay body. The Jomon people didn't use slips or other colorants, so their pottery resembles more like domestic sculptures, because their decoration was three-dimensio
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