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Jōmon Venus
The is a ''dogū'', a humanoid clay female figurine from the Middle Jōmon period (3,000–2,000 BC),. discovered in 1986 in Chino, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. It was designated a National Treasure in 1995, the first Jōmon-period artifact to be so designated. The ''dogū'' is an ocher-colored clay statuette high and weighing . The clay from which it is made has been carefully polished and contains mica. Its shape is thought to resemble a pregnant woman: broad hips, a pronounced gluteal arch, prominent breasts and an enlarged belly. In contrast to the overwhelming majority of the 20,000 ''dogū'' found in Japan, which were fragmented, the Venus of Jōmon is complete and has all its limbs. History In 1986, archaeological excavations were organized before the construction of an industrial park in the town of Chino at the site of the former hamlet of Tanabatake, located at the foot of the southern slope of Mount Kirigamine in the Yatsugatake Mountains, about northwest of T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jōmon Period
The is the time in Japanese history, traditionally dated between 6,000–300 BCE, during which Japan was inhabited by a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united through a common Jōmon culture, which reached a considerable degree of sedentism and cultural complexity. The name "cord-marked" was first applied by the American zoologist and orientalist Edward S. Morse, who discovered sherds of pottery in 1877 and subsequently translated it into Japanese as ''Jōmon''.Mason, 14 The pottery style characteristic of the first phases of Jōmon culture was decorated by impressing cords into the surface of wet clay and is generally accepted to be among the oldest in the world. The Jōmon period was rich in tools and jewelry made from bone, stone, shell and antler; pottery figurines and vessels; and lacquerware.Imamura, K. (1996) ''Prehistoric Japan: New Perspectives on Insular East Asia''. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press It is often compared to pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of National Treasures Of Japan (archaeological Materials)
The term " National Treasure" has been used in Japan to denote cultural properties since 1897. The definition and the criteria have changed since the introduction of the term. These archaeological materials adhere to the current definition, and have been designated national treasures since the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties came into effect on June 9, 1951. The items are selected by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology based on their "especially high historical or artistic value". The list presents 49 materials or sets of materials from ancient to feudal Japan, spanning a period from about 4,500 BC to 1361 AD. The actual number of items is more than 49 because groups of related objects have been combined into single entries. Most of the items have been excavated from tombs, ''kofun'', sutra mounds or other archaeological sites. The materials are housed in museums (31), temples (9), shrines (8) and a university (1) in 27 citi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Treasures Of Japan
Some of the National Treasures of Japan A is the most precious of Japan's Tangible Cultural Properties, as determined and designated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs (a special body of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology). A Tangible Cultural Property is considered to be of historic or artistic value, classified either as "buildings and structures" or as "fine arts and crafts." Each National Treasure must show outstanding workmanship, a high value for world cultural history, or exceptional value for scholarship. Approximately 20% of the National Treasures are structures such as castles, Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, or residences. The other 80% are paintings; scrolls; sutras; works of calligraphy; sculptures of wood, bronze, lacquer or stone; crafts such as pottery and lacquerware carvings; metalworks; swords and textiles; and archaeological and historical artifacts. The items span the period of ancient to early modern Japan before ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Sculpture
Sculpture in Japan began with the clay figure. Towards the end of the long Neolithic Jōmon period, some pottery vessels were "flame-rimmed" with extravagant extensions to the rim that can only be called sculptural, and very stylized pottery dogū figures were produced, many with the characteristic "snow-goggle" eyes. During the Kofun period of the 3rd to 6th century CE, haniwa terracotta figures of humans and animals in a simplistic style were erected outside important tombs. The arrival of Buddhism in the 6th century brought with it sophisticated traditions in sculpture, Chinese styles mediated via Korea. The 7th-century Hōryū-ji and its contents have survived more intact than any East Asian Buddhist temple of its date, with works including a ''Shaka Trinity'' of 623 in bronze, showing the historical Buddha flanked by two bodhisattvas and also the Guardian Kings of the Four Directions. Jōchō is said to be one of the greatest Buddhist sculptors not only in the Heian period ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archaeological Artifacts
An artifact, or artefact (see American and British English spelling differences), is a general term for an item made or given shape by humans, such as a tool or a work of art, especially an object of archaeological interest. In archaeology, the word has become a term of particular nuance and is defined as an object recovered by archaeological endeavor, which may be a cultural artifact having cultural interest. Artifact is the general term used in archaeology, while in museums the equivalent general term is normally "object", and in art history perhaps artwork or a more specific term such as "carving". The same item may be called all or any of these in different contexts, and more specific terms will be used when talking about individual objects, or groups of similar ones. Artifacts exist in many different forms and can sometimes be confused with ecofacts and features; all three of these can sometimes be found together at archaeological sites. They can also exist in different ty ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1986 Archaeological Discoveries
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter the European Community, which becomes the European Union in 1993. *January 11 – The Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges, Gateway Bridge in Brisbane, Australia, at this time the world's longest prestressed concrete free-cantilever bridge, is opened. *January 13–January 24, 24 – South Yemen Civil War. *January 20 – The United Kingdom and France announce plans to construct the Channel Tunnel. *January 24 – The Voyager 2 space probe makes its first encounter with Uranus. *January 25 – Yoweri Museveni's National Resistance Army Rebel group takes over Uganda after leading a five-year guerrilla war in which up to half a million people are believed to have been killed. They will later use January 26 as the official date to avoid a coincidence of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jōmon Pottery
The is a type of ancient earthenware pottery which was made during the Jōmon period in Japan. The term "Jōmon" () means "rope-patterned" in Japanese, describing the patterns that are pressed into the clay. Outline Oldest pottery in Japan The pottery vessels crafted in Ancient Japan during the Jōmon period are generally accepted to be the oldest pottery in Japan and among the oldest in the world. Dating Odai Yamamoto I site in Aomori Prefecture currently has the oldest pottery in Japan. Excavations in 1998 uncovered forty-six earthenware fragments which have been dated as early as 14,500 BCE (ca 16,500 BP); this places them among the earliest pottery currently known. This appears to be plain, undecorated pottery. Such a date puts the development of pottery before the warming at the end of the Pleistocene. 'Linear-relief' pottery was also found at Fukui Cave Layer III dating to 13,850–12,250 BCE. This site is located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Kyushu. Both linear- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Prehistoric Art
Japanese prehistoric art is a wide-ranging category, spanning the Jōmon (c. 10,000 BCE – 350 BCE) and Yayoi periods (c. 350 BCE – 250 CE), and the entire Japanese archipelago, including Hokkaidō in the north, and the Ryukyu Islands in the south which were politically not part of Japan until the late 19th century. Much about these two periods remains unknown, and debates continue among scholars regarding the nature of the cultures and societies of the period, their number and the extent to which they can be considered to be united, uniform cultures across the archipelago, and across time. Jōmon art The Jōmon people are generally said to have been the first settlers of Japan. Nomadic hunter-gatherers who later practice organized farming and built cities, the Jōmon people are named for the "cord-markings", impressions made with rope, found as decorations on pottery of this time, a term which was first applied to the pottery, and the culture, by American Edward Sylvester Mor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Important Cultural Property (Japan)
An The term is often shortened into just is an item officially classified as Tangible Cultural Property by the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) and judged to be of particular importance to the history, arts, and culture of the Japanese people. Classification of Cultural Properties To protect the cultural heritage of Japan, the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties was created as a under which important items are appropriated as Cultural Properties,In this article, capitals indicate an official designation as opposed to a simple, unofficial definition, e.g "Cultural Properties" as opposed to "cultural properties". thus imposing restrictions to their alteration, repair and export. Besides the "designation system", there exists a , which guarantees a lower level of protection and support to Registered Cultural Properties. Cultural Properties are classified according to their nature. Items de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Togariishi Museum Of Jōmon Archaeology
20px, Togariishi ruins The is a municipal museum located in the city of Chino, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, specializing in artifacts of the Jōmon period (between 14,000 and 1000 BCE). Togariishi Museum of Jōmon Archaeology The museum was opened in July 2000. Its collection includes over two thousand artifacts includes two Jōmon period ''dogū'' that have been designated National Treasures, the "Jōmon Venus" and the "Masked Goddess". The Togariishi stone age ruins The is an archaeological site containing the ruins of a large scale Jōmon period settlement located in the Toyohira neighborhood of the city of Chino, Nagano. It was one of the first Jōmon period settlements found in Japan. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1942 and a Special National Historic Site in 1952. Despite the designation “Stone Age” in its name, the site has no connection with the Japanese Paleolithic period. The site is located on along plateau at the foot of Mount Ya ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Obsidian
Obsidian () is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock. Obsidian is produced from felsic lava, rich in the lighter elements such as silicon, oxygen, aluminium, sodium, and potassium. It is commonly found within the margins of rhyolitic lava flows known as obsidian flows. These flows have a high content of silica, granting them a high viscosity. The high viscosity inhibits diffusion of atoms through the lava, which inhibits the first step ( nucleation) in the formation of mineral crystals. Together with rapid cooling, this results in a natural glass forming from the lava. Obsidian is hard, brittle, and amorphous; it therefore fractures with sharp edges. In the past, it was used to manufacture cutting and piercing tools, and it has been used experimentally as surgical scalpel blades. Origin and properties The '' Natural History'' by the Roman writer Pliny the Elder inc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
