Attributes of ritual practices of the Jomon period, Japanese archipelago

Ancient inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago actively made and used not only everyday tools, but also ritual objects throughout the Jomon period. These items primarily included the dogu clay figurines and stone sekibd staffs. Sharp increase in the attributes of ritual practices is observed during the Middle and Final Jomon. Such objects have been most frequently discovered in a broken state and were deliberately stacked inside ritual complexes, and in exceptional cases inside the dwelling space (the bottom of the dwelling pit). According to archaeology, unique complexes with individual finds and hoards of ritual objects are known. This article describes the materials of such complexes, including the finds from the Tanabatake site (Nagano Prefecture), Midorikawa Higashi site (Tokyo Metropolitan Area), Kinsei site (Yamanashi Prefecture), and Uenodai “A” site (Fukushima Prefecture). Analysis of the shape and integrity or fragmentation of the artifacts as well as location of finds inside residential and burial zones, and generally inside the settlements makes it possible to suggest a special protective or magical function of the objects under study. Although the article mainly focuses on specific features of the dogu figurines and sekibd stone staffs, it also notes that special importance in ritual practices was given to various objects of fired clay and objects made of stone, such as clay masks, various beads and drop-shaped magatamapendants, clay and stone tablets, stone figurines, sword-shaped and crown-shaped stone objects, etc. These objects had a variety of functions (decoration, status symbol, amulet, etc.), many of which have not yet been reliably identified and require more detailed research.