The photo on the left is the same one as in the beginning of my article of June 10, 2006 Ancient Japan and Extraterrestrials? Take a closer look at what the Goggled Dogu, also called Shako Dogu by the Japanese, is wearing. It is definitely is not an animal hide.What is known about Jomon is that their garments were made from animal skins. Jomon were, in many respects, a rather primitive culture of hunters and gatherers. So why does the above shown dogu wear such a unique garment that very much resembles some sort of armor? And if it is not armor, than it definitely is a very unique type of clothing. Who could have imagined such a dress in a culture that had no concept of clothing other than that made of hides?
Even more curious is the fact that that Goggled Dogu is not a sole such object found in Japan. A number of goggled figurines, very much resembling one another, were excavated throughout the ancient Jomon territory, mostly in the north. This representation was obviously a common knowledge. Considering that the Jomon population of the Japanese archipelago, even at its peak, was only about a quarter of a million (see the previous article of July 23, 2006), how could people scattered far apart produce almost identical clay representations? Remember, there was no means of transportation at the time other than one’s own feet.
Though Jomon, being hunters, were partially nomadic, that does not explain why the image of a goggled figurine was so readily accepted by all the different Jomon clans who were not in a regular communication with each other.
Could a primitive culture have such an inventive imagination as to dream up of images never seen by anybody, translating them into physical representations accepted collectively by far scattered populace?
In addition, why did Jomon people waste their time and energy making elaborate clay dogu that had no utilitarian use? If these were indeed religious or talismanic objects, could they have been actually inspired by something encountered in real life? Judging on the aesthetic complexity of these objects, their religion was not simplistic.
Jomon also left mysterious stone circles, as did many other ancient cultures like, for instance, the ancient Brits with their Stonehedge and other circular stone formations. It is not known what exactly these stone circles were used for. It is speculated that they were used for religious rituals, and also to keep track of astronomical calendar events like solstices and equinoxes.
Though Jomon pottery is highly advanced in craftsmanship and detail, it was produced without a potter’s wheal since they did not know it. It is hard to imagine the Jomon vases featured in my June 10, 2006 article being used in everyday life as mundane food preparation utensils and storage containers.
During the Yoyoi period (300 BC-300AD) that followed the Jomon, pottery was very simplistic and utilitarian. It had no aesthetic elements or conceptual and artistic complexity of the Jomon pottery. Not a single clay dogu sculpture was found belonging to Yoyoi period. The impetus that had inspired the creation of the Goggled dogu was no longer present.
It appears that either Jomon were culturally far more advanced in their everyday habits and the mode of life than is presently believed. Or they were influenced by something outside of themselves that has not yet been accounted for.
It is very clear:
1) There is a dichotomy between the aesthetics portrayed through Jomon clay creations and the supposedly primitive conditions of their everyday life.
2) The origins of their unique artistic inspiration as well as their elaborate religion have not yet been sufficiently explained.
* “Goggled” dogu
Important Cultural Property
1000 to 400 BC
Prehistoric period: Jomon (10,000 to 400 BC)
© Tokyo National Museum collection
This figurine is presently on display at the Montreal Museum of Archaeology and History Pointe-à-Callière, 350 Place Royal, Montreal, QC H2X 3Y5, Canada, until Oct. 15, 2006
Museum’s Website:
http://www.pacmuseum.qc.ca
Here is an example of a fragment of another Goggled Dogu, not shown at the museum.
No comments:
Post a Comment