Exploring Prehistoric Pottery in Japan

Contents

List of Figures and Tables

Acknowledgments

Preface – Hiroki Obata

Chapter 1: Prehistoric Pottery in Japan

Prehistoric pottery in the Japanese archipelago and its dating: The beginning of pottery and paddy-rice farming – Ken’ichi Kobayashi

Pottery and the spread of agriculture in Japan – Dai Kunikita

The emergence of cultivated plants in Japan: Seed impressions and carbonised seeds – Kei Ōta, Tatsuya Kokubo, Takashi Sano, Asako Yanagihara, Aya Manabe, Hiroki Obata

Chapter 2: Vegetal Temper and Pottery

Vegetal-tempered pottery in the Jōmon Period – Eastern Japan – Akinori Abe

Vegetal-tempered Pottery in the Jōmon Period -Western Japan – Kazutomo Mizunoe

Vegetal-tempered pottery of the world – Yastami Nishida

Plant temper identification methods – Yastami Nishida

Examination of vegetal temper through phytolith analysis – Tetsuro Udatsu

Identification of plant materials tempered in Jōmon pottery – Yastami Nishida, Mitsuo Suzuki, Kazutaka Kobayashi, Akinori Abe

Chapter 3: Macrobotanical Remains on and Inside Pottery Fabrics and Their Uses

Identification of woven baskets, mats and cords – Yuka Sasaki, Shuichi Noshiro, Kazutaka Kobayashi

Woven items as pottery impressions – Aya Manabe

Identification of materials adhering to pottery surfaces – Yuka Sasaki

Fishing nets in Jōmon Pottery – Hiroki Obata

Chapter 4: Various Impressions Found on Pottery

Detected seed impressions on pottery and their significance – Hiroki Obata

Various insect impressions – Hiroyuki Yoshitomi

‘Hidden’ shell middens and discoveries from shell impressions on pottery – Taiji Kurozumi

Proposal for ‘a pottery-impression house pestology’: Reconstructing prehistoric life and food from insect impressions – Hiroki Obata

Chapter 5: A Comprehensive Analytical Approach to Prehistoric Pottery

Artificial intelligence and pottery studies: Advancing classification approaches – Israel Mendonça

Pottery studies and comprehensive analytical approach – Hiroki Obata

Conclusion – Hiroki Obata, Ken’ichi Kobayashi, Dai Kunikita, Yuka Sasaki, Yoshiki Miyata, Akinori Abe, Yastami Nishida

About the Author

Hiroki Obata is an archaeologist specialising in archaeobotanical and archaeoentomological analysis based on organic inclusions found in Jōmon and Yayoi pottery. His research focuses on the history of plant cultivation and insect pests. He has achieved numerous breakthroughs – such as the discovery of cultivated soybeans from the Jōmon period and the oldest maize weevil in China – by adopting innovative research methods, including X-ray analysis of impressions on pottery. Since retiring from Kumamoto University, he has continued his ambitious research and remains a leading authority on pottery impressions in Japan and East Asia.