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The is an Iron Age era in the history of Japan traditionally dated 300 BC to AD 300. It is named after the neighborhood of Tokyo where archaeologists first uncovered artifacts and features from that era. Distinguishing characteristics of the Yayoi period include the appearance of new pottery styles and the start of an intensive rice agriculture in paddy fields. A hierarchical social class structure dates from this period. Techniques in metallurgy based on the use of bronze and iron were also introduced to Japan in this period. The Yayoi followed the Jōmon period (13,000–400 BC) and Yayoi culture flourished in a geographic area from southern Kyūshū to northern Honshū. Archaeological evidence supports the idea that during this time, an influx of farmers from the Asian continent to Japan absorbed or overwhelmed the native hunter-gatherer population. == Features of Yayoi culture == The Yayoi period is traditionally dated from 300 BC to AD 300.〔 The earliest archaeological evidence of the Yayoi is found on northern Kyūshū,〔(The Origin of the Farming in the Yayoi Period and East Asia: Establishment of High-Precision Chronology by Carbon 14 Age Analysis ), National Museum of Japanese History〕 though this is still debated. Yayoi culture quickly spread to the main island of Honshū mixing with native Jōmon culture.〔(EASTERN JAPANESE POTTERY DURING THE JOMON-YAYOI TRANSITION: A STUDY IN FORAGER-FARMER INTERACTION ), Seiji Kobayashi, Kokugakuin Tochigi Junior College〕 A recent study that used accelerator mass spectrometry to analyze carbonized remains on pottery and wooden stakes, suggests that they dated back to 900–800 BC, 500 years earlier than previously believed. Yayoi pottery was simply decorated and produced on a potter's wheel, as opposed to Jōmon pottery, which was produced by hand. Yayoi craft specialists made bronze ceremonial bells (''dōtaku''), mirrors, and weapons. By the 1st century AD, Yayoi farmers began using iron agricultural tools and weapons. As the Yayoi population increased, the society became more stratified and complex. They wove textiles, lived in permanent farming villages, and constructed buildings with wood and stone. They also accumulated wealth through land ownership and the storage of grain. These factors promoted the development of distinct social classes. Contemporary Chinese sources described the people as having tattoos and other bodily markings which indicated differences in social status. Yayoi chiefs, in some parts of Kyūshū, appear to have sponsored, and politically manipulated, trade in bronze and other prestige objects.〔Pearson, Richard J. Chiefly Exchange Between Kyushu and Okinawa, Japan, in the Yayoi Period. ''Antiquity'' 64(245)912-922, 1990.〕 This was possible due to the introduction of an irrigated, wet-rice culture from the Yangtze estuary in southern China via the Ryukyu Islands or Korean Peninsula.〔〔(Earlier Start for Japanese Rice Cultivation ), Dennis Normile, Science, 2003〕 Wet-rice agriculture led to the development and growth of a sedentary, agrarian society in Japan. Local political and social developments in Japan were more important than the activities of the central authority within a stratified society. Direct comparisons between Jōmon and Yayoi skeletons show that the two peoples are noticeably distinguishable.〔(縄文人の顔と骨格-骨格の比較 ), Information-technology Promotion Agency〕 The Jōmon tended to be shorter, with relatively longer forearms and lower legs, more wide-set eyes, shorter and wider faces, and much more pronounced facial topography. They also have strikingly raised brow ridges, noses, and nose bridges. Yayoi people, on the other hand, averaged an inch or two taller, with close-set eyes, high and narrow faces, and flat brow ridges and noses. By the Kofun period, almost all skeletons excavated in Japan—except those of the Ainu and Okinawans—are of the Yayoi type,〔(南西諸島出土人骨の形質人類学的・人類遺伝学的研究 ), Doi, Naomi, University of the Ryukyus〕 resembling those of modern-day Japanese. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Yayoi period」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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