Jōmon period
The Jōmon period is the time in Japanese prehistory, traditionally dated between c. 14,000–300 BCE refined to about 1000 BCE, during which Japan was inhabited by a hunter-gatherer culture, which reached a considerable degree of sedentism and cultural complexity. The name "cord-marked" was first applied by the American scholar Edward S. Morse, who discovered sherds of pottery in 1877 and subsequently translated it into Japanese as jōmon; the pottery style characteristic of the first phases of Jōmon culture was decorated by impressing cords into the surface of wet clay and is accepted to be among the oldest in East Asia and the world. The Jōmon period was rich in tools and jewellery made from bone, stone and antler, it is compared to pre-Columbian cultures of the North American Pacific Northwest and to the Valdivia culture in Ecuador because in these settings cultural complexity developed within a hunting-gathering context with limited use of horticulture. The long 14,000 years, Jōmon period is conventionally divided into a number of phases: Incipient, Early, Middle and Final, with the phases getting progressively shorter.
The fact that this entire period is given the same name by archaeologists should not be taken to mean that there was not considerable regional and temporal diversity. Dating of the Jōmon sub-phases is based upon ceramic typology, to a lesser extent radiocarbon dating. Traces of Paleolithic culture stone tools, occur in Japan from around 30,000 BCE onwards; the earliest "Incipient Jōmon" phase began while Japan was still linked to continental Asia as a narrow peninsula. As the glaciers melted following the end of the last glacial period, sea levels rose, separating the Japanese archipelago from the Asian mainland. In addition, a continuous chain of islands encompasses Luzon, Taiwan and Kyushu, allowing for continuous contact between the Jōmon and maritime Southeast Asia. Within the archipelago, the vegetation was transformed by the end of the Ice Age. In southwestern Honshu and Kyushu, broadleaf evergreen trees dominated the forests, whereas broadleaf deciduous trees and conifers were common in northeastern Honshu and southern Hokkaido.
Many native tree species, such as beeches, buckeyes and oaks produced edible nuts and acorns. These provided abundant sources of food for animals. In the northeast, the plentiful marine life carried south by the Oyashio Current salmon, was another major food source. Settlements along both the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean subsisted on immense amounts of shellfish, leaving distinctive middens that are now prized sources of information for archaeologists. Other food sources meriting special mention include Sika deer, wild boar, wild plants such as yam-like tubers, freshwater fish. Supported by the productive deciduous forests and an abundance of seafood, the population was concentrated in central and northern Honshu, but Jōmon sites range from Hokkaido to the Ryukyu Islands; the earliest pottery in Japan was made before the start of the Incipient Jōmon period. Small fragments, dated to 14,500 BCE, were found at the Odai Yamamoto I site in 1998. Pottery of the same age was subsequently found at other sites such as Kamikuroiwa and Fukui Cave.
Archaeologist Junko Habu claims "he majority of Japanese scholars believed, still believe, that pottery production was first invented in mainland Asia and subsequently introduced into the Japanese archipelago." This seems to be confirmed by recent archaeology. As of now, the earliest pottery vessels in the world date back to 20,000 BP and were discovered in Xianren Cave in Jiangxi, China; the pottery may have been used as cookware. Other early pottery vessels include those excavated from the Yuchanyan Cave in southern China, dated from 16,000 BCE, at present it appears that pottery emerged at the same time in Japan, in the Amur River basin of the Russian Far East; the first Jōmon pottery is characterized by the cord-marking that gives the period its name and has now been found in large numbers of sites. The pottery of the period has been classified by archaeologists into some 70 styles, with many more local varieties of the styles; the antiquity of Jōmon pottery was first identified after World War II, through radiocarbon dating methods.
The earliest vessels were smallish round-bottomed bowls 10–50 cm high that are assumed to have been used for boiling food and storing it beforehand. They belonged to hunter-gatherers and the size of the vessels may have been limited by a need for portability; as bowls increase in size, this is taken to be a sign of an settled pattern of living. These types continued to develop, with elaborate patterns of decoration, undulating rims, flat bottoms so that they could stand on a surface; the manufacture of pottery implies some form of sedentary life because pottery is heavy and fragile and thus unusable for hunter-gatherers. However, this doe
Ishinomaki
Ishinomaki is a city located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. As of 28 February 2017, the city has an estimated population of 146,993, a population density of 269 persons per km2 in 61,233 households; the total area of the city is 554.58 square kilometres. Ishinomaki is in northeastern Miyagi Prefecture; the city borders on Matsushima Bay to the south and Kesennuma Bay to the north, with the Kitakami Mountains to the west. Its coastline forms part of the Sanriku Fukkō National Park, which stretches north to Aomori Prefecture. Ishinomaki includes Tashirojima and Kinkasan, three islands off the south coast of Oshika Peninsula. Miyagi Prefecture Tome Higashimatsushima Wakuya Misato Onagawa Minamisanriku Matsushima Ishinomaki has a humid climate characterized by mild summers and cold winters; the average annual temperature in Ishinomaki is 11.7 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1174 mm with September as the wettest month; the temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.2 °C, lowest in January, at around 0.6 °C.
Per Japanese census data, the population of Ichinomaki has declined over the past 40 years. The area of present-day Ishinomaki was part of ancient Mutsu Province. During the Sengoku period, the area was contested by various samurai clans before the area came under the control of the Date clan of Sendai Domain during the Edo period; the town prospered as a major port and transshipment center for coastal shipping between Edo and northern Japan. The town of Ishinomaki was established within Oshika District on June 1, 1889 with the establishment of the modern municipalities system; the modern city was founded on April 1, 1933. On April 1, 2005, Ishinomaki absorbed the neighboring towns of Kahoku, Kitakami and Ogatsu, the town of Oshika to more than quadruple its area and add nearly 60,000 people to its population; the town of Ogatsu is regionally famous for its inkstones and has an annual scallop festival in the summer. Ayukawa, a town in Oshika, was a base for several ships in Japan's whaling fleet.
Ishinomaki was among the municipalities most affected by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Several tsunamis, up to about 10 metres high, traveled inland up to 5 kilometres from the coast; the tsunami destroyed around 80% of the 700 houses in the coastal port of Ayukawa, the Kadonowaki neighborhood was leveled. 46% of the city was inundated by the tsunami. Following the tsunami, a Kamen Rider statue was found intact despite damage to the surrounding area. Many public schools were destroyed, including Ishinomaki Okawa Elementary School, which lost 70 of 108 students and nine of 13 teachers and staff There is still anger among some of the parents of the dead students because the teachers had wasted precious time in debating whether to evacuate to higher ground, and when the decision was made, the teachers had decided to get to higher ground further away from the school which necessitated crossing a nearby river bridge. It was here while crossing the bridge that both the teachers and students were swept away by the tsunami.
This decision is deemed unreasonable by many of the parents because there is a hill right behind the school, which they could have reached quickly. One of the teachers had tried to persuade the other teachers to bring the students to safety uphill soon after the earthquake. One of the teachers who survived the tsunami at the bridge committed suicide; as of 17 June 2011, a total of 3,097 deaths had been confirmed in Ishinomaki due to the tsunami, with 2,770 unaccounted for. 29,000 city residents lost their homes. Ishinomaki employs several foreigners to teach English in all of its elementary and junior high schools, as well as the two municipal high schools. American teacher Taylor Anderson was killed by the tsunami. Since her death, her family has been active in supporting the Ishinomaki school district, has set up programs to further English education; the earthquake shifted the city southeast and downward, lowering it by as much as 1.2 metres in some areas and causing it to flood twice daily at high tide.
A once sandy beach in the Kadonowaki area disappeared and tides now reach the wall that once separated the beach from the road. Near the Mangakan Island, a walkway with benches was submerged in the river. Ishinomaki has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 30 members. Ishinomaki traditionally has been a center for commercial fishing for the cultivation of oysters. Ishinomaki Senshu University Ishinomaki has 36 public elementary schools, 20 public junior high schools and one public high school operated by the city government, seven public high schools operated by the Miyagi Prefectural Board of Education; the prefectural operates one special education school. JR East – Ishinomaki Line Maeyachi - Kakeyama - Kanomata - Sobanokami - Ishinomaki - Rikuzen-Inai - Watanoha - Mangoku-Ura - Sawada JR East – Senseki Line Hebita - Rikuzen-Yamashita - Ishinomaki JR East – Kesennuma Line Maeyachi - Wabuchi Daily scheduled intercity buses bound for the following cities, through the Sanriku Expressway, are being served from Ishinomaki Station.
Sendai via Aeon Ishinomaki Shopping Center, by Miyakou Bus Co. Ltd. a subsidiary of Miyagi Transportation Co. Ltd. Shinjuku, Tokyo via Shibuya: via Sendai, operated by Miyagi Transportation
Snow goggles
Snow goggles are a type of eyewear traditionally used by the Inuit and the Yupik known as Eskimo, peoples of the Arctic to prevent snow blindness. The goggles are traditionally made of driftwood, walrus ivory, caribou antler, or in some cases seashore grass; the workpiece is carved to fit the wearer's face, one or more narrow horizontal slits are carved through the front. The goggles fit against the face so that the only light entering is through the slits, soot is sometimes applied to the inside to help cut down on glare; the slits are made narrow not only to reduce the amount of light entering but to improve the visual acuity. The greater the width of the slits the larger the field of view. Like other Inuit language words, such as inukhuk/inuksuk, a different word may be used in different dialects. In the Kivalliq dialect, ilgaak is used. Both words are used to refer to sunglasses. In Central Yup ` ik, snow goggles are called nigaugek. In Siberian Yupik, the word is iyegaatek
Tajiri, Miyagi
Tajiri was a town located in Tōda District, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. In 2003, the town had an estimated population of 13,023 and a population density of 198.55 persons per km². The total area was 65.59 km². The primary industry was rice farming. There was a chemical plant. On March 31, 2006, along with the city of Furukawa, the towns of Iwadeyama and Naruko, the towns of Kashimadai and Sanbongi, was merged to create the city of Ōsaki. Tamatsukuri District and Shida District were dissolved as a result of this merger. Archive index at the Wayback Machine Official Ōsaki website
Figurine
A figurine or statuette is a small statue that represents a human, deity or animal, or in practice a pair or small group of them. Figurines have been made in many media, with clay, wood and today plastic or resin the most significant. Ceramic figurines not made of porcelain are called terracottas in historical contexts. Figures with movable parts, allowing limbs to be posed, are more to be called dolls, mannequins, or action figures. Figurines and miniatures are sometimes used in board games, such as chess, tabletop role playing games. In China, there are extant Neolithic figurines. European prehistoric figurines of women, some appearing pregnant, are called Venus figurines, because of their presumed connection to fertility; the two oldest known examples are made of stone, were found in Africa and Asia, are several hundred thousand years old. Many made of fired clay have been found in Europe that date to 25-30,000 BC, are the oldest ceramics known. Olmec figurines in semi-precious stones and pottery had a wide influence all over Mesoamerica about 1000-500 BC, were usually kept in houses.
These early figurines are among the first signs of human culture. One can not know in some cases, they had religious or ceremonial significance and may have been used in many types of rituals. Many are found in burials; some may have been intended to amuse children. Porcelain and other ceramics are common materials for figurines. Ancient Greek terracotta figurines, made in moulds, were a large industry by the Hellenistic period, ones in bronze very common. In Roman art bronze came to predominate. Most of these were religious, deposited in large numbers in temples as votives, or kept in the home and sometimes buried with their owner, but types such as Tanagra figurines included many purely decorative subjects, such as fashionable ladies. There are many early examples from China religious figures in Dehua porcelain, which drove the experimentation in Europe to replicate the process; the first European porcelain figurines, were produced in Meissen porcelain in a plain glazed white, but soon brightly painted in overglaze "enamels", were soon produced by neally all European porcelain factories.
The initial function of these seems to have been as permanent versions of sugar sculptures which were used to decorate tables on special occasions by European elites, but they soon found a place on mantelpieces and side tables. There was some production of earthenware figures in English delftware and stoneware, for example by John Dwight of the Fulham Pottery in London, after 1720 such figures became more popular. By around 1750 pottery figures were being produced in large numbers all over Europe. Genre figurines of gallant scenes, beggars or figurines of saints are carved from pinewood in Val Gardena, South Tyrol, since the 17th century. Modern figurines those made of plastic, are referred to as figures, they can encompass modern action figures and other model figures as well as Precious Moments and Hummel figurines, Sebastian Miniatures and other kinds of memorabilia. Some companies which produce porcelain figurines are Lladró and Camal Enterprises. Figurines of comic book or sci-fi/fantasy characters without movable parts have been referred to by the terms inaction figures and staction figures.
There is a hobby known as mini war gaming in which players use figurines in table top based games. These figurines are made of plastic and pewter. However, some premium models are made of resin. For more images related for "Figurine", see Category:Figurines on Commons Olmec figurine Psi and phi type figurine Animal figurines Model figure Bric-a-brac
Venus figurines
A Venus figurine is any Upper Paleolithic statuette portraying a woman, with fewer sculptures depicting men or figures of uncertain sex, those in relief or engraved on rock or stones are discussed together. Most have been unearthed in Europe, but others have been found as far away as Siberia, extending their distribution across much of Eurasia, although with many gaps, such as the Mediterranean outside Italy. Most of them date from the Gravettian period, but examples exist as early as the Venus of Hohle Fels, which dates back at least 35,000 years to the Aurignacian, as late as the Venus of Monruz, from about 11,000 years ago in the Magdalenian; these figurines were carved from soft stone, bone or ivory, or fired. The latter are among the oldest ceramics known. In total, some 144 such figurines are known, they are some of the earliest works of prehistoric art. Most of them have small heads, wide hips, legs that taper to a point. Various figurines exaggerate the abdomen, breasts, thighs, or vulva, although many do not, the concentration in popular accounts on those that do reflects modern preoccupations rather than the range of actual artefacts.
In contrast and feet are absent, the head is small and faceless. Depictions of hairstyles can be detailed, in Siberian examples, clothing or tattoos may be indicated; the original cultural meaning and purpose of these artifacts is not known. It has been suggested that they may have served a ritual or symbolic function. There are varying and speculative interpretations of their use or meaning: they have been seen as religious figures, as erotic art or sex aids, grandmother goddesses or as self-depictions by female artists; the expression'Venus' was first used in the mid-nineteenth century by the Marquis de Vibraye, who discovered an important ivory figurine and named it La Vénus impudique or Venus Impudica, contrasting it to the Venus Pudica, Hellenistic sculpture by Praxiteles showing Aphrodite covering her naked pubis with her right hand. The use of the name is metaphorical as there is no link between the figurines and the Roman goddess Venus, although they have been interpreted as representations of a primordial female goddess.
The term has been criticised for being more a reflection of modern western ideas than reflecting the beliefs of the sculptures' original owners, but the name has persisted. Vénus impudique, the figurine that gave the whole class its name, was the first Paleolithic sculptural representation of a woman discovered in modern times, it was found in about 1864 by Paul Hurault, 8th Marquis de Vibraye at the famous archaeological site of Laugerie-Basse in the Vézère valley. The Magdalenian "Venus" from Laugerie-Basse is headless, armless but with a incised vaginal opening. Four years Salomon Reinach published an article about a group of steatite figurines from the caves of Balzi Rossi; the famous Venus of Willendorf was excavated in 1908 in a loess deposit in the Danube valley, Austria. Since hundreds of similar figurines have been discovered from the Pyrenees to the plains of Siberia, they are collectively described as "Venus figurines" in reference to the Roman goddess of beauty, since the prehistorians of the early 20th century assumed they represented an ancient ideal of beauty.
Early discourse on "Venus figurines" was preoccupied with identifying the race being represented and the steatopygous fascination of Saartjie Baartman, the "Hottentot Venus" exhibited as a living ethnographic curiosity to connoisseurs in Paris early in the nineteenth century. In September 2008, archaeologists from the University of Tübingen discovered a 6 cm figurine woman carved from a mammoth's tusk, the Venus of Hohle Fels, dated to at least 35,000 years ago, representing the earliest known sculpture of this type, the earliest known work of figurative art altogether; the ivory carving, found in six fragments in Germany's Hohle Fels cave, represents the typical features of Venus figurines, including the swollen belly, wide-set thighs, large breasts. The majority of the Venus figurines appear to be depictions of women, many of which follow certain artistic conventions, on the lines of schematisation and stylisation. Most of them are lozenge-shaped, with two tapering terminals at top and bottom and the widest point in the middle.
In some examples, certain parts of the human anatomy are exaggerated: abdomen, breasts, vulva. In contrast, other anatomical details are neglected or absent arms and feet; the heads are of small size and devoid of detail. Some may represent pregnant women, it has been suggested that aspects of the typical depiction and perspective, such as the large and pendulous breasts, emphasis on the upper rather than lower buttocks, lack of feet and faces, support the theory that these are self-portraits by women without access to mirrors, looking at their own bodies. The absence of feet has led to suggestions that the figures might have been made to stand upright by inserting the legs into the ground like a peg; the high amount of fat around the buttocks of some of the figurines has led to numerous interpretations. The issue was first raised by Édouard Piette, excavator of the Brassempouy figure and of several other examples from the Pyrenees; some authors saw this feature as the depiction of an actual physical property, resembling the Khoisan tribe of so
