Open Archaeology 2018; 4: 206–216 Naoko Matsumoto* Japan: The Earliest Evidence of Complex Technology for Creating Durable Coloured Goods https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2018-0013 Received July 12, 2017; accepted January 15, 2018 Abstract: The invention of lacquer technology is significant in history as the first evidence of the use of an organic substance in creating durable coloured objects. By focusing on the evidence from the Jomon Period, Japan, this article clarifies the nature of complex technology and knowledge required for lacquer production, presents how lacquer technology enhanced our creative ability, and discusses its significance in human history. Lacquer technology was invented in the course of increasing human-plant interaction in the warming climate of the early Holocene. Personal ornaments coated with red lacquer are the most conspicuous throughout the Jomon Period from the beginning of lacquer technology. Strong attention to colour and intensive application on personal ornaments indicate that the creation of symbolic artefacts in social context was at the core of Jomon lacquer technology. Keywords: Urushi, Lacquer technology, Jomon, red pigment, personal ornament 1 Introduction The invention of lacquer technology is significant in human history as an early example of the use of an organic substance in creating durable coloured objects. Application of red pigments dates back to the early stage of anatomically modern humans, and organic material such as animal fat and plant sap may have been added as a binder to give the pigment the required texture as a paint for Upper Palaeolithic cave art. However, the development of lacquer technology in East Asia expanded the ways of producing coloured goods due to the unique nature of lacquer as a highly durable coat as well as a forming material. By focusing on the evidence from the Jomon Period, Japan, this article clarifies the nature of complex technology and knowledge required for lacquer production, presents how lacquer technology enhanced our creative ability, and discusses its significance in human history (Fig.1). Jomon refers to the cultures that developed on the Japanese Archipelago following the Paleolithic Period and preceding the agricultural Yayoi Period (Imamura, 1996; Habu, 2004, 2014). Jomon culture can be characterized by hunter-gatherer subsistence and pottery production, although marked temporal and spatial variability is seen over more than 10,000 years (Matsumoto & Habu, 2018, Table 1). Production of rich material culture based on a sedentary lifestyle is a distinctive feature of the Jomon, which has been noted in discussions on the emergence of social complexity (Hayden, 1995). Lacquer is an important part of the specific material culture production. Original Study Article note: This article is a part of Topical Issue on From Line to Colour: Social Context and Visual Communication of Prehistoric Art edited by Liliana Janik and Simon Kaner. *Corresponding author: Naoko Matsumoto, Okayama University, Archaeology, 3-1-1, Kita-ku, Tsushima-naka, Okayama, 700 8530, Japan, E-mail: naoko_m@cc.okayama-u.ac.jp Open Access. © 2018 Naoko Matsumoto, published by De Gruyter. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 License.