Emerging craft production and local identity: A case of the Late Jōmon period

Abstract

After the Late Jōmon period, several changes have been identified, such as a reduction in the number of settlements, new types of settlement, an increase in the number of ritual objects, and emerging local craft production. Of these changes, the appearance of new types of settlement implies a change in the settlement system, which leads to a more sedentary system. This can be connected with the emergence of local crafts and social identity. In the Kantō Plain of the Late Jōmon clay earrings, shell bracelets, stone rods, and salt were produced. In this paper, I focus on salt production in the Late Jōmon, and examine the meaning of emerging craft production in this period.