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Fish hook

Final Jōmon period (ca. 1000–300 BCE)
Not on view
The Jōmon period is the earliest period in Japanese history, lasting from roughly 14,000 to 300 BCE. The Jōmon people were primarily hunter-gatherers, hunting land animals and gathering vegetables and nuts on the land as well as hunting and fishing at sea. Using implements such as this fishhook, Jōmon communities, especially those close to the sea, were able to consume a variety of fish. Fish bones found at Jōmon archaeological sites indicate that the Jōmon hunted fish not only close to the shore but also farther out in the open sea, where larger fish such as tuna could be caught. There is even evidence that the Jōmon ate pufferfish, a poisonous fish considered a delicacy in modern Japan.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 釣針
  • Title: Fish hook
  • Period: Final Jōmon period (ca. 1000–300 BCE)
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Bone
  • Dimensions: W. 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm); L. 2 5/8 in. (6.7 cm)
  • Classification: Bone
  • Credit Line: The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975
  • Object Number: 1975.268.343
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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