About 30,000 years ago Japanese lived in an island named Japan. These people were different than the ones today. Hi, my name is Goro, and I will tell you about the Jomon period. The Jomon period was the first period of Ancient Japan. My family and many others live in small villages. My dad and other people are mostly hunters or gatherers. They hunt animals like boars, deer, or fish.

The Jomon period was divided into 6 eras. The eras included the incipient era, the Initial era, the early era, the middle era, the last Jomon era, and the final Jomon era. The wise people in our village say that Jomon means cord-marked. I think that it makes sense because our pottery is filled with drawings. We had markings on cords and ropes.

Ok let’s talk about the 6 eras, like I said before the first era was the incipient era. The incipient era was dated to be about 10,500 B.C-8,000 B.C. My grandfather lived in that era. He left behind pottery pieces. My dad said that he made pottery near the Kanto Plain. The reason we make potteries is that we make them for fun.

The people in the incipient Jomon were mostly hunters, but very few gatherers. These people developed the art of pottery before agriculture was introduced in Japan. Also the incipient Jomon demonstrated that pottery making is a human technology and it is just like agriculture.

Now we get to talk about the Initial Jomon, which was dated to be about 8,000B.C. -5,000 B.C. Now the potteries were used for a different reason, boiling food. My mom says that these potteries were different than the ones in the incipient era.

My mom and dad were born in this era. His father made him hunt (at that time people were mostly hunters). They traveled in groups, and they brought animals such as deer, boars, and fish. The people lived in villages, but bigger ones than in the incipient era.

This Jomon era is truly amazing. The era was dated to be about 5,000 B.C- 2,500 B.C. This era took place after the cold period (ice age). Our place started to warm up a little.

In this era the people made up fashion figurines. I’m still confused if the figurines are human or animal. In this period the women helped out a little. The men were hunters, and the women were gatherers.

The one thing that was amazing about this era is that the people made the first human city on the island. The people lived in a very large village (a lot of the people lived in the city). The houses were a different type; they were like large pit houses.

The middle Jomon era is a different type of era. Each era was the same in a way, but this one wasn’t the same. This era was dated to be about 2,500 B.C.- 1,500 B.C. The people moved to another spot, which was the surrounding mountainside.

The Jomon people started living in very large villages. They also developed very simple agriculture (farming). They were no longer hunters or gatherers, but they were farmers. The farmer’s job was to grow crops (the right amount) to feed the village. They also had a new job too, which was an artist. The artist’s job was to decorate the potteries.

The late Jomon era (1,500 B.C.- 1,000 B.C.) and the final (1,000 B.C.- 300 B.C.) were my favorites because I was born in one of them (Final Jomon era). The climate of the island started to cool down. So, the people started to move back to the Kanto plain.

In this period the people believed in a goddess religion, but I’m not sure what was the religion’s name. My mom says that her mom believed in another religion. Ok I got to go I hope you learned a lot from me.

The Yayoi period is after the Jomon period and the second period of Ancient Japan. Hi, my name is Ichiro. The cool thing about this period is that people were brought closer to agriculture. Plus they created a new religion, Shinto (the name wasn’t given until much later). I think that we Jomon people are similar to the Mesopotamian because I think our potteries are similar to theirs.

The Yayoi people lived in clans (a clan is a group who shares the same interest) called uji. Some clans believed in the same god like Kami (this god represents the forces of nature). Even though some groups believe in the same god they also believed in different ones too. Slowly, the Yayoi people practiced their religious beliefs.

The Yayoi people didn’t really have a writing system, but they borrowed one from China, which is Katakana. The people wore clothes from bark. I think it feels itchy if you wear it. People were married to 2 or more wives or husbands.

Slowly the Yayoi people started to change. They together made small states in the island. The first Japanese state would be built in the Yamato peninsula.

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