Nutritional deficiency and ecological stress in the Middle to Final western Jomon

Authors

Melandri Vlok, The University of Notre Dame AustraliaFollow
Clare McFadden
Hirofumi Matsumura
Hallie Buckley

Publication Details

Vlok, M., McFadden, C., Matsumura, H., & Buckley, H. (2024). Nutritional deficiency and ecological stress in the Middle to Final western Jomon. Antiquity,.

Abstract

Despite significant research, the direct and indirect causes of a population decline in the eponymous foragers of the Late Jō mon period (c. 4500–2300 BP) in Japan remains undetermined. Here, the authors examine the impact of nutritional stress, using scurvy as a case study, on Middle and a Late/Final Jō mon populations. While an increase in the prevalence of scurvy between the time periods is apparent, no associated change in age at death was observed. The authors argue that the Late Jō mon adapted their food-sharing practices in times of ecological stress, and they highlight the need to consider morbidity and mortality together in palaeopathological assessments and the growing evidence for a non-nutritional cause in the Late Jō mon population decline.

Keywords

Japan, pre-Neolithic, scurvy, climate change, population decline, morbidity, mortality

Link to Publisher Version (URL)

10.15184/aqy.2024.50