This is a past event
The foraging societies of the Japanese Jomon period (ca. 16,500~2500BP) were mostly egalitarian; archaeological data provide tantalising insights into various levels and types of social identities. For example, intergroup identities may have been expressed in regional ceramic styles; portable ornaments (made of stone, animal bone, antler, teeth, and shell) and other cherished possessions further hint at individual identities. However, burials where personal possessions are found in-situ with well-preserved skeletal material are extremely rare. Museums and illustrators often use the appearance of clay figurines combined with traditional Ainu patterns and modern ideas of cuteness to reconstruct the “Jomon look” in representations aimed at the general public.
Currently it appears that a renewed fascination with Jomon cultural heritage, its iconic sites and material culture is taking place at various levels within modern Japanese society—in some cases influencing regional and/or more personal perceptions of identity, but to what extent?
Ilona Bausch specialises in East Asian and Japanese archaeology, with a focus on the Jomon period. After studying at Kokugakuin University in Tokyo and Durham University (PhD), and taking part in the NEOMAP international research project in Kyoto, she lectured at Leiden University. In 2014 she became Project Associate Professor at the Dept of Resource Studies, Tokyo University. Other research interests include the history of Japanese collections in Europe, and the popular representation of Japanese archaeology within contemporary society.
- Speaker
- Ilona Bausch (U Tokyo)
- Hosted by
- Department of Archaeology
- Venue
- Meston MT3
- Contact
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