The constructive features of Jomon dwellings: from Hokkaido to Okinawa

We analyzed in detail the dwelling constructions of Jomon culture, which was spread on the Japanese archipelago in the period of 13,800-2,300 ya. It shew the exceptional level and flexibility of technologies, adapted to the conditions of different climatic zones (Variable, Subtropical, Tropical) and economically specialized settlements of hunter-gatherers and specialized fishers. As an example, we consider the simulative reconstruction of the dwellings from the Onuma (Hokkaido), Midzuko (Honshu), Uanohara (Kyushu) and Nakabaru (Okinawa) the Early, Middle and Late Jomon sites and determine the range of their Pacific analogies. One of the main aspects in this range of problems is the preservation of organic material at the territory of Japanese archipelago. On the one hand, the dwelling constructions were obtained at the 50,000 sites from 90,531. On the contrary, almost complete organic matter (the main construction material) breakdown in the acidic soil remains only construction pits and minimal information for the detailed reconstruction of the walls, roofs and interior space. The numerous parks and museums on the Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu and Okinawa islands contain the various variants of constructions (small or large) and adumbrate the features of the Jomon dwellings. However, all of them are ethnographic, rather than archaeological. Consequently, detailed and based on field data reconstructions are singular. We present here the examples of a few reconstructions, which were created on the ground of publications, data from archaeological parks and consultations with Japanese specialists.