Join archaeologist Kazuyo Nishihara for a discussion about basketry and plant use in prehistoric Japan during the Jomon period (approximately 16,000-2500 years ago). This presentation will explore the importance of traditional ecological knowledge and the ways people utilize local knowledge to steward their environments in a mutually beneficial way. Recent land stewardship discussions have drawn more attention within and outside the academic community, as has been seen in the conversations regarding Native American basket weavers. Likewise, weavers in Japan have been managing their surroundings in similar ways. Archaeobotanical studies, which seek to understand human interactions with plants through archaeological evidence, suggest that people in the Jomon period in Japan may have influenced their environment by selectively nurturing raw materials for basket making. Learn about these studies as well as the parallels and differences between the application of archaeological knowledge in Japan and North America.

Kazuyo Nishihara will be introduced by Junko Habu, UC Berkeley Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Faculty Curator at the Hearst Museum. This event is presented by the Hearst Museum (http://hearstmuseum.berkeley.edu/) and the Center for Japanese Studies at UC Berkeley (https://ieas.berkeley.edu/cjs).

Kazuyo Nishihara is a Visiting Scholar at UC Berkeley from Kyoto University. Her research interests include environmental archaeology, the interaction between environment and humans in Neolithic East Asia, and comparative research through basket making techniques and transition of lifestyles.

Photos courtesy of The Folk Museum of Higashimurayama, Hida Miyagawa Archaeology and Folklore Museum, Oita Prefectural Center for Archaeological Research, Saga City Board of Education, Sannai Maruyama Jomon Culture Center, and Anna Nielsen.