The Jomon period
Introduction Jomon people were hunter-gatherers, relying on hunting animals and fishing, and also early agriculturalists. Later they developed a more sedentary lifestyle settling into villages with population around 500 people. Agricultural revolution fully came with the introduction of rice farming near the end of the period. Incipient Jomon (14 000 - 8 000 BCE) The earliest Incipient Jomon phase began while Japan was still linked to continental Asia. As the glaciers melted, following the end of the last glacial period, sea levels rose, separating Japan from the rest of Asia. Within the archipelago, the vegetation was transformed by the end of the Ice Age. Biggest food sources were salmon, shellfish, Sika deer, wild boar and seafood. The population was concentrated in Honshu and Kyushu. Early Jomon (5 000 - 3 520 BCE) Early Jomon sites suggest a pattern of increased stabilization of communities, formation of small settlements, and explosion in population. This period occurred during t
