Pottery Found in the Kushiro Area
The styles of earthenware found in the Kushiro area range from the Jomon period (13,000–500 BCE) to the Satsumon period (600–1200 CE), indicating that the area has been settled for thousands of years. The earliest fragments from the Jomon period were either unpatterned or had patterns made with shells pressed on the surface. Later Jomon pottery was distinguished by cord patterns pressed into the clay.
The diversity of shapes increased through the late and post-Jomon periods, and fragments of plates and jars have been found from that time. Pottery fragments of the Satsumon period were thinner, with smooth, burnished surfaces. Some pieces from the eleventh century combine the shapes of Satsumon pottery with applied cord patterns, typical of earthenware found at archaeological sites along the northern coast of Hokkaido and on the island of Sakhalin. This blending of styles indicates there was contact between communities in eastern Hokkaido and those farther to the north.