A pot from the Jomon Nanjai sitein
Gunma Prefecture. / TADAHIRO OGAWA
The Jomon Period of Japanese history is so shrouded in the
mists of time that any bid to fathom its secrets stretches even the usual
astonishing bounds of prehistoric archeology.
Yet as amateurs and experts alike have continued unearthing
and studying 2,000- to 10,000-year-old examples of Jomon pottery and stone
tools for more than a century, the pieces of the puzzle are gradually coming
together.