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HOW TO SPELL JOMON
The name Jomon is derived from two words in Japanese: jo (long o) = cord, mon = pattern. The name was coined to describe pottery decorated by pressing various kinds of cord (rope, string or net) into wet clay before pots were fired. Often the cord was rolled while being pressed to produce dramatic geometrical patterns. Pottery decorated in this way was eventually recognised as typical of pottery over a large area and over a long period in Japan, and the archaeological period was eventually named after the pottery.
Since the identities of modern cultures and societies are obviously dependent on much more than pots, there is no reason to suppose that just one culture and society is represented by thousands of archaeological sites that contain so-called Jomon pottery. Nevertheless, the pottery does provide a unifying framework for discussing the archaeology of a long period of Japanese prehistory. It is merely a reference point, not a full or final definition of past societies in Japan. Despite our present focus on Jomon materials and sites, we do not want to discourage alternative interpretations and classifications of the archaeological evidence. Many points of view are possible, and should be encouraged if they help us to get closer to the realities of life in the distant past.
One thing is certain, if we could ask people from the Jomon period if they are "Jomon people", they would not know what we are talking about. This is a name invented by us - the "Aluminium and Plastic" people - for our own purposes. The modern Japanese word "Jomon" would not have been used by "Jomon people" to describe themselves. While they are unlikely to be offended by our ignorance, we should respect them by not attaching too much importance to this name.
To return to the title of this note, the name Jomon is sometimes Romanised in other ways or is mis-spelled. Here are the results of a quick test using the Google.com search engine (Nov. 2002):
The keywords Joomon Japan give 32 hits, Johmon Japan 75 hits, Jyomon Japan 92 hits, Joumon Japan 130, and Jomon Japan 11,300 hits. Other spellings/mis-spellings noted: Jommon and Joman. Please tell us about any other spellings you can discover, in any language (see contact details below). For now, Jomon rules... (PJM 26.11.02).
