Jōmon Venus

Jōmon Venus

Jōmon Venus
Material clay
Size height: 27 cm (11 in)
weight: 2.14 kg (4.7 lb)[1]
Created ca. 3,000–2,000 BC
Period/culture middle Jōmon period
Discovered 1986
Tanabatake (棚畑) site, Yonezawa (米沢), Chino, Nagano
Present location Togariishi Jōmon Archeological Museum, Chino, Nagano, Japan

The Jōmon Vénus (縄文のビーナス Jōmon no Bīnasu) is a dogū, a humanoid clay figurine from the Jōmon period, discovered in 1986 in Chino, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. It was designated a National Treasure in 1995.

Description

The dogū excavated at Chino in 1986 is a clay statuette of ocher color, with a height of 27 cm (11 in) and a weight of 2.14 kg (4.7 lb).[2] Its shape is thought to resemble a pregnant woman: broad hips, a pronounced gluteal arch, prominent mammaries and an enlarged belly.[2] In contrast to the 20 thousand other dogū which have been found in Japan, all of which were fragmented, the Venus of Jōmon is complete and has all its limbs.[2] The clay from which it is made has been carefully polished and contains mica.[2]

History

The statuette known as the Jónmon Venus dates to the Jōmon period (~ 14,000 – 300 BC), more precisely to the middle Jōmon period, 3,000 – 2,000 BC.[3] Since its discovery in 1986, it has been in the custody of the city of Chino in Nagano prefecture. It is exhibited at the city's Togariishi Jōmon Archeological Museum.[1]

In 1986, archaeological excavations were organized before the construction of an industrial park in the town of Chino at the site of the former hamlet of Tanabatake, located at the foot of the southern slope of Mount Kirigamine in the Yatsugatake Mountains, about 140 km (87 mi) northwest of Tokyo.[3] This Tanabatake archaeological site (棚畑遺跡 tanabateke iseki) revealed the vestiges of a village of 149 houses, out of which 146 date from the middle Jōmon period. The pieces of obsidian discovered at the site indicate that this village was a prospering trading center. Among the burial pits at the center of the excavation site, a clay figurine (dogū) representing a pregnant woman was found.[4] This figure received the name Tanabatake Venus and later: Jōmon Venus.[2]

National Treasure

In 1989, the Venus of Jōmon acquired the status of Important Cultural Property. Then, on 15 June 1995, it was the first Jōmon period artifact to be designated a National Treasure.[3][2] It was joined in this category in 2004 by the "Masked Goddess", another dogū discovered in 2000 at the neighboring archaeological site of Nakappara (中ッ原) in Chino.[5] Both statuettes are exhibited at the Togariishi Jōmon Archeological Museum in Chino.

References

  1. 1 2 "The « Dogu » (« Jomon no Venus ») [Clay Figurine (the Venus of Jomon)] of the Tanabatake site". Chino City Board of Education. 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2016..
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "National Treasure « Dogu » part 1: « Jomon no Venus » (the Venus of Jomon)". www.city.chino.lg.jp. Chino City Board of Education. 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016..
  3. 1 2 3 土偶 [Dogū] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 29 November 2016. Unknown parameter |DUPLICATE_url= ignored (help).
  4. ↑ 棚畑遺跡 [Tanabatake archaeological site] (in Japanese). Chino city, Jōmon project. 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2016..
  5. ↑ 土偶／長野県中ッ原遺跡出土 [Dogū : excavation of the Nakappara archaeological site in Nagano Nagano]. Cultural Heritage Online (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 29 November 2016..

See also

Related articles

External

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