Home Region: Northeast Asia (East Asia)

Japan - Early Jomon

5300 BCE 3500 BCE

D G SC WF R

EQ 2020 jp_jomon_3 / JpJomo3

Preceding Entity: Add one more here.

9200 BCE 5300 BCE Japan - Initial Jomon (jp_jomon_2) [continuity]

Succeeding Entity: Add one more here.

3500 BCE 2500 BCE Japan - Middle Jomon (jp_jomon_4) [continuity]

General Description

"Consistent warming and a rising sea level pushed the coastal population farther inland during the Early Jomon period, with the temperature peaking several degrees higher than today toward the end of this stage. Water flooded low valleys, and some Kanto sites are as much as fifty kilometers from the present shore. [...].
"The shell mounds of this stage contain chiefly freshwater clams (Yamato shijimi or Corbicula japonica, and marine haigai or Anada granosa) and oysters (magaki or Crossostrea gigas). Animal bones - not numerous - are chiefly those of deer, boars, flying squirrels, and Siberian mountain lions. Investigations indicate that mainly older deer were hunted, that the fast-breeding wild boars were killed indiscriminately, and that mountain lions were dying out. In the more isolated areas of western Japan, animal life was reduced, leaving fewer resources for human survival. The higher temperature encouraged the growth of the evergreen oak forests (Quercus) that covered much of west Japan.
"The warmer temperature was also conducive to the growth of warm-water Anadara granosa as far north as the Daigi shell mound near Matsushima Bay, although its habitat is now south of Tokyo. On the other hand, the coldwater mollusk (Pecten yesoensis), now thriving in northeast Honshu, could not stand the warmth and is therefore missing from the Early Jomon shell mounds of that area.
"Around the middle of the Early Jomon, reliable food sources and somewhat longer stays near the coast produced a dramatic increase in population. According to Koyama’s calculations, the Early Jomon population numbered around 106,000, or five times that of the Earliest Jomon, an increase unmatched at any other stage of the Jomon period.
"Small Early Jomon villages, developed on bluffs, had pit houses grouped in the form of a horseshoe. The presence of pottery of several successive types at a single site indicates continuous habitation. As this occurred, family demands fostered advances in house construction. The older, poorer shelters or huts were now transformed by the introduction of substantial inner posts strong enough to hold a roof over a rectanguloid floor. Rainwater shed by the pitched roof was drained off through surrounding ditches. Kaya (a miscanthus) was probably the roofing grass, fifteen centimeters of which would have been enough to keep the interior dry. Toward the end of the Early Jomon, the inner space took the form of a square with rounded corners. Some fireplaces were moved inside, though rarely were placed in the middle of the floor. Indoor living now offered more attractions.
"Houses were occasionally extended to accommodate growing families, but archaeological evidence reveals few repairs and almost no overlapped houses so often found at Middle Jomon sites. The forty-eight houses of the Minabori shell mound, located on a rather level plateau in Yokohama and distributed to form a rough arc, had doors facing an open space to the north. Because successive rebuilding did not alter this fundamental plan, it is thought that use of the common area had become well established. An improving economy is suggested by storage pits found both inside and outside houses. Such pits were lined by alternating layers of leaves and nuts in order to keep most of the pit’s contents dry, allowing cupboard raids to expose only a little at a time.
"Most of the house pits of Minabori contained Kurohama-type pottery belonging to the middle years of the Early Jomon. These flat-bottomed pots were designed for cooking, and their new shapes made them more practical for indoor living on intensely used floors that were tamped hard. A short-lived spell of tempering the clay with small fibers - a practice that perhaps started in the Tohoku and moved south - may have been connected with attempts to strengthen the walls of the pots when increasing their size and experimenting with flat bottoms. Heavy cord marking is typical, and before the Early Jomon phase was over, Moroiso-type pottery appeared, bearing imprinted and incised decorative arcs and parallel lines made with the end of a small split bamboo stick.
"Recent excavations at the Torihama shell mound in Mikata-cho of Fukui Prefecture point up hitherto unknown advances in the Early Jomon. One of the rather few kitchen middens found on the west side of Japan, it lies beside the Hasu River in a laurel (laurilignosa) forest area dominated by oak. These excavations show that boars, deer, monkeys, raccoon-dogs, bear, serows, otters, martens, and badgers were hunted; several kinds of fish were caught; and a variety of freshwater shellfish, saltwater mollusks, clams, oysters, and ark shells were collected. Walnuts, hazelnuts, and acorns were also gathered. But of special interest are the bottle gourds {Lagenaria siceraria) and "green beans" (Phaseolus sp.) that were pea shaped and found in long narrow pods averaging eleven centimeters in length and thirteen beans to a pod. Many Japanese archaeologists regard both as cultivated plants, indeed suggesting that pollen changes indicate environmental alterations caused by clearing and that trees of foothill forests were cut and used for building materials, wooden tools, and firewood.
"Preserved remarkably well are ropes, reed baskets, and many wooden objects, including oars, boards, adzes, bows, and carved bowls and a comb which are the oldest pieces of lacquer ever found in Japan. Other innovations were polished stone axes, bone needles, and thimblelike bone rings. Vertically angled blades were changed to adze-shaped tools by the use of right-angled tree forks, probably for better hacking and digging of new forms of vegetation.
"Torihama is no longer an isolated case. Gourd seeds have also been found in the Early and Latest Jomon sites of Gifu and Saitama. The Middle Jomon Idojiri "bread," which has long defied analysis, is now thought to have contained some eight skins of beans. The Middle Jomon Tsurune settlement site in Takayama City, Gifu Prefecture, yielded two carbonized beans (Leguminosae) that are reportedly similar to a cultivated continental Asian bean for which there was nothing comparable in Japan." ^[1]

[1]: (Kidder, Jr. 2008, 62-65)

General Variables

Identity and Location

1 Utm Zone

1 Original Name

1 Capital

4 Alternative Name

Temporal Bounds

1 Duration

Political and Cultural Relations

1 Succeeding Entity

1 Relationship to preceding Entity

2 Polity Succession

1 Degree of Centralization

Language

1 Linguistic Family

1 Language

Religion

Social Complexity Variables

Social Scale

1 Population of the Largest Settlement

1 Polity Territory

1 Polity Population

1 Largest Communication Distance

Hierarchical Complexity

1 Settlement Hierarchy

1 Administrative Level

Professions

1 Professional Soldier

1 Professional Priesthood

1 Professional Military Officer

Bureaucracy Characteristics

1 Specialized Government Building

1 Merit Promotion

1 Full Time Bureaucrat

1 Examination System

Law

1 Professional Lawyer

1 Judge

1 Formal Legal Code

1 Court

Specialized Buildings: polity owned

1 Market

1 Irrigation System

1 Food Storage Site

1 Drinking Water Supply System

Transport Infrastructure

1 Road

Special-purpose Sites

1 Mines or Quarry

1 Enclosure

Information / Writing System

1 Written Record

1 Script

1 Phonetic Alphabetic Writing

Information / Kinds of Written Documents

1 Scientific Literature

1 Sacred Text

1 Religious Literature

1 Practical Literature

1 Philosophy

1 Lists Tables and Classification

1 History

1 Fiction

1 Calendar

Information / Money

1 Token

1 Paper Currency

1 Indigenous Coin

1 Article

Information / Postal System

1 Postal Station

1 General Postal Service

1 Courier

Information / Measurement System

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)

Fortifications

1 Wooden Palisade

1 Stone Walls Non Mortared

1 Stone Walls Mortared

1 Settlements in a Defensive Position

1 Modern Fortification

1 Moat

1 Fortified Camp

1 Earth Rampart

1 Ditch

1 Complex Fortification

1 Long Wall

Military use of Metals

1 Steel

1 Iron

1 Copper

1 Bronze

Projectiles

1 Tension Siege Engine

1 Sling Siege Engine

1 Sling

1 Self Bow

1 Javelin

1 Handheld Firearm

1 Gunpowder Siege Artillery

1 Crossbow

1 Composite Bow

1 Atlatl

Handheld weapons

1 War Club

1 Sword

1 Spear

1 Polearm

1 Dagger

1 Battle Axe

Animals used in warfare

1 Horse

1 Elephant

1 Donkey

1 Dog

1 Camel

Armor

1 Wood Bark Etc

1 Shield

1 Scaled Armor

1 Plate Armor

1 Limb Protection

1 Leather Cloth

1 Laminar Armor

1 Helmet

1 Chainmail

1 Breastplate

Naval technology

1 Specialized Military Vessel

1 Small Vessels Canoes Etc

1 Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service

Economy Variables (Luxury Goods) Coding in Progress.

Religion Variables Coding in Progress.

Crisis Consequence Cases Coding in Progress.

Power Transitions Coding in Progress.

Instability Events Coding in Progress.

NGA Settlements:

Year Range	Japan - Early Jomon (jp_jomon_3) was in:
(5300 BCE 3501 BCE)	Kansai

Home NGA: Kansai

General Variables

Identity and Location Japan - Early Jomon (jp_jomon_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Utm Zone	53 S	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Original Name	Japan - Early Jomon	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Capital	absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Alternative Name	Nakanoya	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Alternative Name	Matsubara	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Alternative Name	Ondashi	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Alternative Name	Torihama	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Temporal Bounds Japan - Early Jomon (jp_jomon_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More
Duration	[5300 BCE ➜ 3500 BCE]
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Political and Cultural Relations Japan - Early Jomon (jp_jomon_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Succeeding Entity	Japan - Middle Jomon	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Relationship to Preceding Entity	continuity	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Succeeding Entity 3500 BCE 2500 BCE	Japan - Middle Jomon (jp_jomon_4) [continuity]
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Preceding Entity 9200 BCE 5300 BCE	Japan - Initial Jomon (jp_jomon_2) [continuity]
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Degree of Centralization	quasi-polity	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Language Japan - Early Jomon (jp_jomon_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Linguistic Family	NO_VALUE_ON_WIKI	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Language	uncoded Undecided	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Religion Japan - Early Jomon (jp_jomon_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Social Complexity Variables

Social Scale Japan - Early Jomon (jp_jomon_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Population of the Largest Settlement	[400 to 500] people	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Polity Territory	- Undecided	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Polity Population	[400 to 1,000] people	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Largest Communication Distance	- Undecided	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Hierarchical Complexity Japan - Early Jomon (jp_jomon_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Settlement Hierarchy	[1 to 2]	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Administrative Level	- Undecided	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Professions Japan - Early Jomon (jp_jomon_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Professional Soldier	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Professional Priesthood	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Professional Military Officer	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Bureaucracy Characteristics Japan - Early Jomon (jp_jomon_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Specialized Government Building	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Merit Promotion	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Full Time Bureaucrat	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Examination System	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Law Japan - Early Jomon (jp_jomon_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Professional Lawyer	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Judge	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Formal Legal Code	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Court	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Specialized Buildings: polity owned Japan - Early Jomon (jp_jomon_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Market	Unknown Suspected	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Irrigation System	Absent Inferred	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Food Storage Site	Absent Inferred	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Drinking Water Supply System	Unknown Suspected	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Transport Infrastructure Japan - Early Jomon (jp_jomon_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Road	Absent Inferred	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Special-purpose Sites Japan - Early Jomon (jp_jomon_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Mines or Quarry	Present	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Enclosure	Uncoded Undecided	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Information / Writing System Japan - Early Jomon (jp_jomon_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Written Record	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Script	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Phonetic Alphabetic Writing	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Information / Kinds of Written Documents Japan - Early Jomon (jp_jomon_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Scientific Literature	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Sacred Text	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Religious Literature	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Practical Literature	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Philosophy	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Lists Tables and Classification	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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History	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Fiction	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Calendar	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Information / Money Japan - Early Jomon (jp_jomon_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Token	Uncoded Undecided	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Paper Currency	Absent Inferred	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Indigenous Coin	Absent Inferred	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Article	Uncoded Undecided	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Information / Postal System Japan - Early Jomon (jp_jomon_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Postal Station	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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General Postal Service	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Courier	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Information / Measurement System Japan - Early Jomon (jp_jomon_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)

Fortifications Japan - Early Jomon (jp_jomon_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Wooden Palisade	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Stone Walls Non Mortared	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Stone Walls Mortared	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Settlements in a Defensive Position	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Modern Fortification	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Moat	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Fortified Camp	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Earth Rampart	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Ditch	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Complex Fortification	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Long Wall	absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Military use of Metals Japan - Early Jomon (jp_jomon_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Steel	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Iron	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Copper	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Bronze	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Projectiles Japan - Early Jomon (jp_jomon_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Tension Siege Engine	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Sling Siege Engine	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Sling	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Self Bow	Present Inferred	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Javelin	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Handheld Firearm	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Gunpowder Siege Artillery	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Crossbow	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Composite Bow	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Atlatl	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Handheld weapons Japan - Early Jomon (jp_jomon_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
War Club	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Sword	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Spear	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Polearm	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Dagger	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Battle Axe	Present Inferred	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Animals used in warfare Japan - Early Jomon (jp_jomon_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Horse	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Elephant	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Donkey	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Dog	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Camel	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Armor Japan - Early Jomon (jp_jomon_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Wood Bark Etc	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Shield	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Scaled Armor	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Plate Armor	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Limb Protection	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Leather Cloth	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Laminar Armor	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Helmet	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Chainmail	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Breastplate	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Naval technology Japan - Early Jomon (jp_jomon_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Specialized Military Vessel	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Small Vessels Canoes Etc	Present Inferred	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service	Absent	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Economy Variables (Luxury Goods)

Religion Variables

Moralizing Supernatural Punishment and Reward Japan - Early Jomon (jp_jomon_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Moralizing Enforcement is Broad	Unknown	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Moralizing Supernatural Concern is Primary	Unknown	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Agentic	Unknown	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Moralizing Enforcement in This Life	Unknown	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Moralizing Supernatural Punishment And Reward	Unknown	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Moralizing Religion Adopted by Commoners	Unknown	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Targeted	Unknown	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Moralizing Enforcement in Afterlife	Unknown	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Moralizing Religion Adopted by Elites	Unknown	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Moralizing Enforcement of Rulers	Unknown	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Certain	Unknown	5300 BCE 3500 BCE
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Human Sacrifice Japan - Early Jomon (jp_jomon_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More