Contact between Indigenous People and Immigrants in the Broad-Leafed Evergreen Forests: Plant Utilization during the Final Jomon Period in Southwestern Japan

The purpose of this chapter is to detail the characteristics of the contact between two groups from the point of view of subsistence during the Final Jomon period (ca. 1300-800 cal BC) in the Kyushu region of southwestern Japan. Evidence of interaction between the southwestern Jomon culture and Asian continental culture (between local people and immigrants) has been found throughout the Final Jomon period (e.g., Fujio 2004; Tanaka 1986, 1991; Tanaka and Ozawa 2001). It is also believed that the indigenous people of the Kyushu region were “hunter-gatherers” or “horticulturists” and that the immigrants from the Asian continent were “rice-paddy farmers.” However, few attempts have been made at reconstructing the subsistence patterns of the indigenous people in detail. To discuss the relationship between these two peoples, it is necessary to understand the attendant ecological and economical conditions.