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About 50,000 BC to 14,500 BC
Pre-historic hunter-gatherers, traveling during the Ice Age, entered Japan from the Asian mainland by two routes: over a land-bridge connecting Sakhalin Island to both Hokkaido and the Asian mainland, and via a possible land-bridge connecting modern-day South Korea to modern-day Kyushu. The earliest sites in Japan date to 50,000 BC and are located near the south. The earliest sites in Hokkaido date to around 18,000 BC. The pale outline is the Ice Age coastline.
It is important to note that modern-day Hokkaido and Honshu islands were not connected by land during the Ice Age. This is due to the depth of the channel between the two islands. The respective areas have ecosystems similar to the area of the Asian mainland to which they were connected. To this day there is a marked difference between the types of plants and animals found on either side of this channel.
Around 18,000 BC, a new technique that produced very small stone tools was introduced to Japan from the Asian mainland via the two above routes. These "microliths" now enabled hunters to make more lethal and accurate arrows and hunting weapons, resulting in more successful hunts.
Societies in Hokkaido and Sakhalin Island fished and hunted mammoth, bear, and giant deer. Honshu societies fished and hunted elephant, Sika deer, and wild boar. People were successfully adapting to their environments.
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Pre-historic hunter-gatherers, traveling during the Ice Age, entered Japan from the Asian mainland by two routes: over a land-bridge connecting Sakhalin Island to both Hokkaido and the Asian mainland, and via a possible land-bridge connecting modern-day South Korea to modern-day Kyushu. The earliest sites in Japan date to 50,000 BC and are located near the south. The earliest sites in Hokkaido date to around 18,000 BC. The pale outline is the Ice Age coastline.
It is important to note that modern-day Hokkaido and Honshu islands were not connected by land during the Ice Age. This is due to the depth of the channel between the two islands. The respective areas have ecosystems similar to the area of the Asian mainland to which they were connected. To this day there is a marked difference between the types of plants and animals found on either side of this channel.
Around 18,000 BC, a new technique that produced very small stone tools was introduced to Japan from the Asian mainland via the two above routes. These "microliths" now enabled hunters to make more lethal and accurate arrows and hunting weapons, resulting in more successful hunts.
Societies in Hokkaido and Sakhalin Island fished and hunted mammoth, bear, and giant deer. Honshu societies fished and hunted elephant, Sika deer, and wild boar. People were successfully adapting to their environments.
<Next>