Earliest Settlements and Populating of Japan
Japan has an interesting history of the settlement and population of the country. It begins with the physical, chemical and biological environment which form the background to the human settlement history of Japan. Japan is a rugged mountainous land with significant climatic and biotic diversity from the South to the North. Early in Japans Geological history the Japanese landmass was not an island chain, however it is now a series of islands that form the Eastern edge of Eurasia. Traditional Japanese civilization was based on agriculture, Japan also has one of the longest histories of hunter-gatherer societies in East Asia. Japan was known to be inhabited by indigenous tribes that go as far back as 50,000 BC. What was known as the Paleolithic Age of Japan ended around 12,000 BC with the end of the ice age. The Joman period is where it was known to begin, this period lasted from 11,000 BC to about 400 BC. During this period the development of pottery and ceramics blossomed. This suggests that plant foods quickly became a very important resource once the climate began to warm up. Sedentism and storage became important during this period, as well as pit traps for hunting. The Jomon diet included plants, animals and marine foods. The domesticated dog is also present here and was probably used in hunting. The next period is known as the Yayoi period which took place from 400 to 250 AD, this marked new practices such as weaving, rice farming, iron and bronze making. This is when farming was introduced, however plant foods would have been limited in the dense boreal forests. The Yoshinogari site in Kyushu is one of the most famous archaeological sites of the Yayoi period. This site reveals a large settlement continuously inhabited for hundreds of years. Then the Kofun period began around 250 AD, and is named after the large burial mounds that started appearing at this time. Strong military states were established, and were concentrated around powerful clans known as the dominant Yamato polity and Kawachi from the 3rd century AD till the 7th century. This established the origin of the Japanese imperial lineage. The Asuka Period was next and was believed to last from 538 to 710 AD, this is when the Yamato polity became a centralized state. They then applied a code of governing laws. Buddhism was introduced to Japan in 538 AD by the Baekje people to whom Japan continues to provide military support. Buddhism would become a permanent part of the Japanese culture. By the 5th century models of horses and bronze horse tack appear, along with more sophisticated metal swords, bows, arrows and spears. As the technology increased so did the size of the settlements. The Nara period followed and is known as the golden age, because this is when a strong Japanese state emerged. A powerful new Aristocracy emerged, it controlled the state and collected taxes. Heijo-kyo was the capital of an agriculturally prosperous Japan till the year 784 AD. During this time Farmers in some areas lived in put houses, partially underground and farmed wet rice. Dry land fields were cleared by agricultural techniques that involved burning brushy and forested areas and planting in the ash rich soil. The soil that could be worked for farming encouraged settlers to find homes there, in order to sustain themselves. The Helan Period that followed is known as the last classical period of Japanese history. It is considered the highest point of Japanese imperial court and is noted for its poetry and literature. The landscape abounded in streams, waterfalls and lakes. The population continued to grow in different areas of Japan where resources were plenty. Then the following group of periods in the history of Japan is known as the medieval period of Japanese history and was dominated by the powerful regional families and the military rule of warlords. This lasted from around 1185 to 1600. Resources: Tsutsu, W. M. (2007). A companion to japanese history. United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=KC2T9HchWTEC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0 Ohio State. (n.d.). Japanese history. Retrieved from http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/bender4/eall131/EAHReadings/module02/m02japanese.html Maps of the World. (n.d.). Ancient japan history. Retrieved from http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-ancient-history/japan.html Additional Information on History of Japan: http://books.google.com/books?id=KC2T9HchWTEC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
Additional Statistics associated with Japan: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ja.html SummaryJapan is a Unique country with a lot of good land that has been used for resources and living by the population there. As you can see from the maps located on the right side of this page, the locations of the resources in Japan is where is is densely populated. For example in the South there is a lot more resources and therefore a higher population. In the north of Japan you can see that the population is very sparse and so is the availability of resources.
The Early Settlement History of Japan on Dipity. This population pyramid from 2010 shows us that since 1950 the life expectancy has increased drastically with a lot more people living to be in their 80's and 90's. This pyramid also shows us that fertility rates have dropped. There is also a bulge in the middle of the pyramid which shows us that there is large working population in Japan in 2010.
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