Prehistory and protohistory Flashcards
date paleolithic era
ca. 35.000-15.000 BP
date Jōmon period
ca. 15.000-900 BCE
date Yayoi period
ca. 900 BCE-250 CE
Jōmon society
Advent of hunter-fisher-gatherer society
Jōmon beliefs
fertility cults
Yayoi agriculture
gradual and incomplete transition (wet rice( short rice came from the continent))
Jōmon pottery
rope patterns on the pottery, crucial invention for storing food.
Yayoi pottery
less elaborate than the Jōmon
Jōmon warfare
the Jōmon had no (or little) wars or conflicts
Yayoi warfare
the Yayoi had a lot of war and conflict between smaller political entities
Yayoi metalwork
the Yayoi had bronze artifacts (bells, swords and mirrors)
Himiko
she was a (maybe mythical) ruler of a large number of clans she united.
date Kofun period
250 CE-600 CE
“Japan” Kofun period
“Japan” developed from a land with numerous small political entities into a unified state.
Kofun is characterized by…
burial mounds (kofun - “old graves”), some of them large “keyhole-shaped” tomb mounds
Kofun power
In the Kofun period power was centralizing and in the hands of several clans that had vassals in the surrounding areas. Towards the end of the period, very large “keyhole-shaped” tombs in the Kinai area (roughly Ōsaka, Nara and surrounding area), indicating the rise of the so-called Yamato state headed by an ō-kimi ( originally nothing els than one of the many leaders of a small polity as they originated in the Yayoi-period). Examples of very large Kofun are the Nintoku and the Ōjin Kofun.
Kofun warfare
Archeological findings (armor, weapons, etc.) suggest frequent wars between the numerous small “states”; at the end of the period wars lead to domination by the Yamato state, but burial mounds suggest that the rulers of Yamato were no more warriors themselves but had specialized vassals commanding their troops.
Kofun period and the continent
Frequent exchanges with the continent, including military forces sent by political entities in Japan fighting on the Korean Peninsula. Contacts with Paekche and Silla in Korea. Possibly existence of a “Japanese” military outpost in the south of the Korean peninsula ( Minama or Kaya, but disputed). The ability to write Chinese characters starts to spread (at the end of the period).
What are Kofun tombs surrounded by?
Haniwa
What are Haniwa?
Ceramic sculptures portraying different social strata of people, animals, and items of daily use (representing the entourage of the deceased ruler - probably originally introduced to substitute human sacrifices to accompany the deceased into the afterlife.
Kofun murals?
Mural paintings in grave chambers (i.e. Takamatsu-zuka Kofun) and most of the grave treasures are clearly influenced by models from China and Korea
Kofun
(old tombs)
