Archaic and Ancient Japan
(to 9th century A.D.)

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Archaic Japan (Jomon and Yayoi)

New evidence challenges image of Stone Age
By Takahiro Igaki, Mainichi Shimbun, Saturday 25 December 1999. Evidence that Stone Age people of 15,000 years ago may have already been living in roofed dwellings rather than caves as current theories state.
Kanagawa group plans sea voyage in Jomon-style craft
By Kazuo Takahashi, Mainichi Shimbun, Monday, April 20, 1999. A group of youths plans to use dugout canoes to retrace an ancient trade route off the Izu Peninsula to study the ancient circulation of stone that was used for objects crafted from stone.
Oldest bronze mold found in Wakayama
Mainichi Shimbun, Wednesday 12 May 1999. A fragment of a mold used to make bronzeware, believed to be the nation's oldest of its kind, has been found in ancient Katada ruins and is considered to date back to the latter half of the third century B.C.

Ancient Japan (Yamato, Nara, Heian)

Nara gets boost to Yamatai Kingdom claim
Mainichi Shimbun, Wednesday 29 March 2000. One of the nation's longest-running historical spats has fallen heavily in favor of Nara with the discovery that a burial chamber here probably has a connection with a third-century queen. Debate over location of third-century Queen Himiko's Yamatai Kingdom—one of the first places in Japan to be mentioned in written history.
Archaeologist claims Nara site was ancient maternity ward
Mainichi Shimbun, Monday 10 May 1999. An ancient ditch excavated in Nara and believed to have carried holy water may actually have been a toilet drain linked to a hut where noblewomen were secluded while giving birth.
Rice was the variety of life in old Japan
Mainichi Shimbun, Tuesday 27 July 1999. At least 15 varieties of rice were harvested in ancient Japan, and 10 of those might have been grown until the mid-19th century. Evidence that the government of the Nara (710-784) and Heian (794-1192) periods systematically controlled rice farming, rather than state power devolving to the aristocracy.