Jomon Fishing and Hunting

How To Hunt and What to Hunt

Jomon fish hooks. (Photo by Susan O'Connor)

Adjacent to relatively well-used Jomon base camps and sedentary villages, archaeologists have uncovered extensive shell mounds as well as accumulations of sea and land mammal bones. These remains give us an excellent idea of what kinds of foods comprised the majority of the Jomon diet. Additionally, we can see how people obtained their food. There is good evidence of fish hooks and harpoons made from antler and bone as well as fishing weirs that were used to funnel fish into an enclosure for collection. Many coastal sites that are now partially or completely submerged have excellent organic preservation of these artifacts and we can see how the Jomon people extensively hunted these resources.

A collection of Jomon fishing tools, including net sinkers (bottom right) (Photo from Orjach)

There is also evidence of flake and blade tool technologies such as microliths, mostly made of obsidian. The different shapes and forms of tools are each characteristic of different geographical areas, demonstrating local traditions. These differences in design and use can tell us a lot about the social and cultural diversity among the Jomon hunter-gatherers across the Japanese archipelago.

Stone tools recovered from the site at Hokkaido. (Photo from Taisho)

The archaeological remains of both the animals themselves as well as the tool kits used to hunt these animals, such as bows and arrows and spears, indicate that Jomon subsistence relied heavily upon deer, pig, and occasionally bear. The Jomon people also hunted smaller game such as hare, raccoon, pheasant, and duck. Also preserved in the archaeological record is evidence of pit traps used to catch large-bodied mammals in open terrain. Over 10,000 pit traps made by the Earliest Jomon were uncovered in the Tama Hills region outside of Tokyo. These are deep and narrow holes dug into the ground and then covered with grass.  Through a coordinated hunting effort, the Jomon would chase or herd animals into these pits and then could easily spear them.

Image of a trap-pit from the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo

If you would like to make your own microlith tools, here is a short video to get you started.

"Microblade Microburin Microlith" video retrieved from YouTube and posted by blattspitz