The is a type of ancient earthenware pottery which was made during the JÃ Âmon period in Japan. The term "JÃ Âmon" () means "rope-patterned" in Japanese, describing the patterns that are pressed into the clay.
The pottery vessels crafted in Ancient Japan during the JÃ Âmon period are generally accepted to be the oldest pottery in Japan and among the oldest in the world.
Odai Yamamoto I site in Aomori Prefecture currently has the oldest pottery in Japan. Excavations in 1998 uncovered forty-six earthenware fragments which have been dated as early as 14,500 BCE (ca 16,500 BP); this places them among the earliest pottery currently known. This appears to be plain, undecorated pottery. Such a date puts the development of pottery before the warming at the end of the Pleistocene.
'Linear-relief' pottery was also found at Fukui cave Layer III dating to 13,850âÂÂ12,250 BCE. This site is located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Kyushu. Both linear-relief, and 'nail-impressed' pottery were found at Torihama shell mound, in Fukui prefecture, dating to 12000-11000 BCE.
Bits of pottery discovered in a cave in the northwest coast of modern-day Kyushu date back to as far as 12,700 BCE in radiometric dating tests.
It is believed by many that JÃ Âmon pottery was probably made even earlier than this date. However, due to ambiguity and multiple sources claiming different dates based on different dating techniques, it is difficult to say for sure how far back JÃ Âmon Pottery was made. Some sources claim archaeological discoveries as far back as the 14th millennium BCE.
The Jà Âmon Period in Ancient Japan lasted until roughly 300 BCE. From there, it is divided into six periods: Incipient Jà Âmon, from 10,500âÂÂ8,000 BCE, Earliest Jà Âmon, from 8,000âÂÂ5,000 BCE, Early Jà Âmon, from 5,000âÂÂ2,500 BCE, Middle Jà Âmon, from 2,500- 1,500 BCE, Late Jà Âmon, from 1,500âÂÂ1,000 BCE, and Final Jà Âmon, from 1,000âÂÂ300 BCE. There are over 80 sites in Japan where Incipient Jà Âmon pottery vessels have been found, but the majority of Jà Âmon pottery remains come from the later periods.
It was later followed by the Yayoi pottery.
The majority of JÃ Âmon pottery has rounded bottoms and the vessels are usually small. All of the elaborately decorated vessels, as well as most others, show that the vessels would typically be used to cook food due to the residue and soot found on the pots. Later JÃ Âmon pottery pieces are more elaborate, especially during the Middle JÃ Âmon period, where the rims of pots became much more complex and decorated.
The name Jà Âmon itself means âÂÂrope-patternedâÂÂ. This refers to the impressions on the surface of the pottery which were created by pressing rope into the clay before it was heated to approximately 600âÂÂ900 degrees Celsius.
A specific type of clay figurines produced during this period are the dogà «.