History 150A
 
 
Continental Access and Dissemination:
The Yayoi and Tomb Periods
Overview
Yayoi Period (300 BCE to 200 CE)
New wave of migration
Rice culture and the transmission of various technologies
Evidence of distinct class structure
Tomb (Kofun) Period (250 to 500 CE)
Political relations with the Asian Continent
Consolidation of regional power
Debates regarding Queen Himiko and Yamatai
The Yayoi Period
 (300 BCE to 200 CE)
New Technologies,
New Social Structures
From Jômon to Yayoi Culture
New wave of migration from continent, particularly from the Korean Peninsula
Introduction of rice cultivation as a "system" and further development of agriculture
Introduction of metal implements and metallurgy
Warfare and fortification of settlements
Class stratification
Motive to Migrate?
Continent on the Move
China:
Fall of the Zhou Dynasty (1127-256 BCE)
Re-consolidation through Qin (221-206 BCE) and Han (206 BCE-220 CE) dynasties
Korean Peninsula:
Han occupied "Manchuria" & n. "Korea" in 108 BCE
Tribal confederations through expansion & conquest
Why the Japanese archipelago?
Inhabitants both participated and offered refuge
Contact and clashes fueled transmission of various technologies throughout Asia
Crisis as historical engine: climatic to political
Rice Paddies
Rice as a full-fledged technological system
Irrigation
Metal tools
Larger storage facilities
Labor intensive
Larger scale operations
High food yield of rice to support population growth (approx. 600,000)
Did rice displace other forms?
Yayoi Tools and Metallurgy
Wood, iron and bronze:  preservation issues
 
Jômon v. Yayoi Pottery
From hand-thrown to coils to pottery wheel
Yayoi fired at higher temperatures, more durable
From ornate to simpler, more practical shapes
Evidence that pottery became more of an accessible, everyday utensil
Settlements
Multiple moats and fences:  why?
Typical: 20 X 130 m in diameter, 4 m wide, 2 m deep
Diversity of building structures
Where? Low-lying alluvial lands for irrigation
Where? On hills...as beacon system? Military posts?
Burial Practices
Community graveyards
Clay urns or stone coffins (similar to Korean examples)
Marked by mounds of earth & stone slabs
Sometimes particular graves set apart and precious objects found within
What’s missing from this picture?
Evidence of Warfare
Defensive layout of settlements
Some skeletons show signs of violent deaths
Arrowheads larger than necessary for hunting animals
Appearance of ceremonial swords
Common to find early farming societies engaged in warfare.  Why might this be?
Yayoi Trade
Trade and the maritime character of Yayoi peoples
Markets & provinces (perhaps 60 X 90 sq mi)
Regional divisions of labor between coasts, mountains and plains
Variety of sophisticated production techniques
Primacy of rice as a crop?
Impact on the formation of regional federations?
 
Jômon v. Yayoi:  Conflict?
Livelihood as the key distinction
Spheres of influence (SW v. NE)
Different points of contact with the Asian continent
Multiple entry points for certain technologies
Different environmental niches
"Hybridization": mingling of practices rather than abrupt displacement
Some argue that technology more important than numbers when thinking about Yayoi immigrants
The Tomb Period
 250 to 500 CE
Yamato Tombs
300-700 CE/Asian Continent & Japanese Archipelago
General progression from communal graveyards to clan graveyards to individual tombs to royal tombs to cremation
300-400 CE/Inland Sea area
Emergence of circular and keyhole tombs
400-500 CE/Northeast to Kantô Plain
Tombs became larger and possessed exterior moats, drainage
Yamato Tomb Treasures: What do they reveal?
Stirrups and bridles: Horse-riding culture
Armor: Military culture
Elaborate jewelry: symbols of the ruling class
“Fashion” and continental/domestic politics
Question of access: ore (as ingots) obtained from the Korean peninsula; use of Japanese iron sand from 6th c.
The Tombs Speak…
Close interaction with continental cultures
Continental influence on tomb shape suggests broader-scale adaptation of governing technologies
Regional differences exist, but trend toward gradual integration of culture across regions
Diffusion: fashion or political federation?
Monumentality & elevation of particular indiv.
Not communal sites; 4 million work days
Control over labor, exchange networks
Social class and power
Entry into "History"
Tombs yield visual and written evidence that allows us to start discussing specific people and events
Chinese annals yield first synthetic descriptive accounts of peoples in Japanese archipelago
Eras become increasingly precisely defined rather than approximate
Who Was Queen Himiko?
Transitional figure between Yayoi and Tomb periods
"Queen of Wa, Friendly to Wei"
238, 243 CE missions to China
Returned with gold seal, mirrors, textiles, two swords, jade and beads
Nature of her authority
A Ritualist? A Sorceress?
Sister-brother teams
Head of a confederation?
Was Yamatai Yamato?
Where Was Yamatai?
Accuracy of early Chinese accounts?
Sinocentrism (Chz. tilt)
However, much supported by archaeological record
Directions to Yamatai
Strictly followed,end up in ocean s. of Kyûshû
If Honshû, directions off
If Kyûshû, distances off
Stakes:
Length of historical lineage of the Jpz state
Kyoto v. Tokyo scholars
 
 
Sunday, October 1, 2006
Lecture 3: Continental Access