Head of a Clay Figure (Dogū)

The Jōmon period of Japanese prehistory spanned from about 14,000 BCE to sometime after 900 BCE. It is conventionally subdivided into six eras: incipient, initial, early, middle, late, and final. The Jōmon people were primarily hunter-gatherers who relied on wild resources for sustenance, though they also practiced limited cultivation of crops such as millet and beans. Clay figurines (dogū)—perhaps the most representative artifacts of the period—may have been created in connection with spiritual beliefs and ritual practices. Rather than depicting specific deities or people, they likely embody the otherwise invisible spirits the Jōmon believed to inhabit the natural world.