Jomon Prehistoric Sites in Northern Japan
The property comprises 17 archaeological sites in the southern part of Hokkaido Island and the northern part of the Tohoku region, with geography ranging from mountainous hills to plain lowlands, from inland bays to lakes and rivers. They provide unique testimony to the development of the pre-agricultural but sedentary Jomon culture and its complex spiritual belief system and rituals over a period of around 10,000 years. It demonstrates the emergence, development, maturity and adaptability of a sedentary hunter-fisher-gatherer society to environmental changes from around 13,000 BC. The expression of Jomon spirituality is present in tangible forms in objects such as lacquerware, clay tablets with footprints, the famous bulging-eyed dolls, and ritual sites including earthworks and large stone circles with a diameter of more than 50 meters. This collection of properties testifies to a rare and very early development of pre-agricultural sedentary life from its emergence to maturity.