Rim Sherd

Rim sherd. Part of very round pot. Design in bands of cord marking and burnished areas separated by incised lines. Wide band around rim. Interior smooth and shiny as if burnished. Black surface. Dark clay. White accrustation on interior and exterior of pot. This more refined piece was probably produced during the later periods of the Jomon age. It's more refined form and decoration has more in commmon with several illustrated examples of Late and Final Jomon than earlier wares. For example the combination of fine cord marking and smooth burnished surfaces separated by incised lines in bands which are curved and form almond-shaped patterns appears on a published example in Kenrick's Jomon of Japan. Figure J82 is classified as the Tokoshinai type. It is Late Jomon from the north Tohoku region. Like 13066 its decoration consists of cord marked and burnished areas separated by incised lines. The bands are almond shaped. In addition in both pots there is a circular motif at the point where almond shaped bands join. Pearson's Ancient Japan also illustrates a pot, Figure 60, with similar cord marked and burnished areas divided by incised lines. The wide band at the rim and more subtle decoration seem to be closer in spirit to the later types in general although an identical prototype has not yet been identified.