The yayoi and kofun periods of japan

The Yayoi and Kofun (meaning ‘old tumuli’) Periods of the Japanese Archipelago witnessed the introduction of rice paddy field agriculture and the subsequent rapid development of social complexity and hierarchy, culminating in the establishment of ascribed social stratification and the formation of an early state. The process can most typically be observed in the transformation of the way people dwelled and buried the dead. In what follows, I trace that process in Japan and describe possible causes of significant changes punctuating the historical trajectory by focusing on settlement and mortuary evidence.¹