A Consideration of Totemism in Late-Latest Jomon Age Based upon Archaeological Records

Summary

Recent advance in anthropology have resurrected the term totemism from earlier the theories developed by such scholars as Robertson Smith and E, Durkheim at the beginning of 20th century. The crucial features of totemism are: 1) it represents total emblems of the descent groups; 2) it functions to support solidarity of the group; 3) it has as exogamic function; 4) it invokes taboos against killing certain animals and eating them; 5) it constitutes intimate relationships between human being and specific animals and plants; and 6) It strengthens the special bound human groups and their ancestors by means of ceremonial feasts and rituals. From an archaeological perspective, some elements of totemism are present in the Late to Latest Jomon age culture in Japan, including evidence of zoomorphic clay figures and ceremonial feasts and rites, animal sacrifice, polite attitude for special animals, identification animals for human. Those features were diagnostic in northern Japan in Late Jomon age.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Feasts and Ritual Structures: Ethnoarchaelogical and Archaeological Perspectives

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16727