Origins of the First Japanese Kingdom (Fifth BCE to Mid-Second Century CE), Born from Outlanders and Indigenous Inhabitants

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

From late 6th century BCE to the 2nd century CE, various interactions between the Mumun-era southern Korea and Jomon-era are evident. The sea was not a barrier, but a valuable tool in migration, and trade relations between the content and western regions of Japanese archipelago via Tsushima and Iki islands. Interaction routes are seen through the movement of various forms of material culture, prehistoric Jomon foragers integrated Korean technologies such as wet rice agriculture, metal wares, ritual practice, new forms of burial structures, and social hierarchical systems. From this cultural and societal transition, Mumun and indigenous Jomon hybridized into the Yayoi people, who eventually became the dominant population and culture in western Japan. Ultimately, these events ushered in the transition from complex hunter-gatherer societies to complex agriculture hierarchical status societies that brought forth the first kingdom of Japan.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 50441