The aims of the symposium “Termination of Last Glaciation and the Formation and Development of Jomon culture in Japan” are to clarify (1) what changes have occurred in natural environments in and around the Japanese Islands from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Postglacial periods, (2) what changes have occurred from Late Paleolithic culture to Jomon culture in terms of the relationship between natural and cultural environments, in paticular changes in coastal and land ecosystems and ways of human life, and (3) how and when the Jomon culture was established in terms of natural environmental changes.
The symposium consisted of three different parts: (1) Last Glacial Maximum (the age of upper Paleolithic culture, 20-15ka), (2) a transition period from Late Glacial to Postglacial (the age of formation of Jomon culture, 15-10ka), and (3) Postglacial period (the age of the development of Jomon culture, after 10ka). The topics were presented by three speakers for each part from the viewpoints of geology, paleoecology, pedology, and archeology.
The topics of presentations in the symposium are the following: Upper Paleolithic culture in Japan and East Asia (Masao Ambiru); Spatial distribution of the vegetation around the Last Glacial Maximum in Japan (Mutsuhiko Minaki); Paleoenvironmental changes of the Japan Sea since the Last Glacial period (Ryuji Tada); A land ecosystem in the transition to the Jomon age (Sei-ichiro Tsuji); The formation of Jomon culture in the Southern and Northern parts of Japanese Islands (Michio Okamura); Soil formation and the environmental change (Kan-ichi Sakagami); Development of Jomon villages (Yasuhiro Okada); Forest vegetation and utilization of wood during the Jomon period in Japan (Mitsuo Suzuki and Shuichi Noshiro), and Jomon agriculture: retrieval of evidence (Masakazu Yoshizaki). The discussions in the symposium have focused on the relationship between the changes in natural environments and ways of human life, in particular the change of land ecosystems and the utilization of natural resources.
The state of the art in studies of the natural environmental changes from the termination of the Last Glacial to the Postglacial and their relations to the regional development from the upper paleolithic culture to the Jomon culture in Japan are reviewed from various viewpoints, and future tasks of research are presented.

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Late Quaternary hemipelagic sediments of the Japan Sea are characterized by cm to m scale rhythmical repetition of the dark and light layers. High-resolution analysis of sediment core from ODP Site 797 of south central Japan Sea revealed that these dark and light layers reflect millennial-scale paleoceanographic changes within the sea which are associated with large and abrupt climatic changes known as Dansgaard-Oeschger Cycles (DOC) which have recently been confirmed by analyses of ice cores from central Greenland. The dark layers depositions, which correspond to interstadials of the DOC, reflect increases in the relative contribution of East China Sea Coastal Water to the influx to the Japan Sea, consequent decreases in the surface water salinity and reduction in deepwater production, and the increase in surface water productivity, whereas light layer depositions, which correspond to stadials of the DOC, reflect decreases in the relative contribution of East China Sea Coastal Water, consequent increases in surface water salinity and enhancement of deepwater production, and decreases surface water productivity. In addition, variation in the relative contribution of the East China Sea Coastal Water could have been caused by changes in the discharge from the Huanghe and Changjiang Rivers which should have reflected wet and dry cycles in Central Asia.

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Wood fossils or plant macrofossils from buried forest or autochthonous peat reflect the local vegetation of the sedimentary basin. When common pollen occurrence is combined with the absence of wood fossils or plant macrofossils at a site, it reflects the mountain vegetation surrounding the sedimentary basin. Vegetational structure around the Last Glacial Maximum is reconstructed with such methods. At Itai-Teragatani Site, Hyogo Prefecture, central Japan, small stands of Picea sect. Picea, Betula and Alnus are distributed in the marsh with Cyperaceae and Lysichiton in lowlands. Pinus subgen. Haploxylon including Pinus parviflora, and Quercus subgenus Quercus are growing in the surrounding mountains. At Tomisawa Site, Miyagi Prefecture, northern Japan, Larix and Picea are growing in the Cyperaceae marsh in the lowland, while Pinus subgenus Haploxylon and Corylus are growing in the surrounding mountains. Grasslands are enlarged in various places, but their extent is not clear. Plant species which compose the vegetation have changed their physiology, ecology and morphology in response to the glacial-interglacial change; so the physiology or ecology of the modern species cannot easily be applied to the glacial taxa. The possibility that the plants were used as food by the Pleistocene people should be keep in mind.

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To elucidate the relationship between the formation and development of Jomon culture and an ecosystom change, many data on a drastic vegetational change from the Late Glacial to Postglacial in the Japanese Archipelago have been compiled and reviewed. In the Kanto district and in central to west Japan, three transitional stages to the lucidophyllous forest stage (after 8, 000yrs BP) were established: temperate conifer and Qurecus serrata-Carpinus type broad-leaved forest stage (13, 000-12, 000 to 10, 000yrs BP), Quercus serrata-Carpinus type broad-leaved forest stage (10, 000 to 9, 000yrs BP), and Celtis sinensise-Zelkova serrata type broad-leaved forest stage (9, 000 to 8, 000yrs BP). In the Tohoku and Hokkaido districts, two stages to the Fagus-Lepidobalanus forest or Lepidobalanus forest stage (after 8, 000yrs BP) were established: temperate and subboreal conifer forest stage (13, 000-12, 000 to 10, 000yrs BP), Betula and Alnus forest stage (10, 000 to 8, 000yrs BP). The formation of Jomon culture had a strong relation to an expansion of the broad-leaved forest, because the change at 10, 000yrs BP was most drastic, and coincided with the beginning of the Jomon period. Southwest Japan, in which Quercus serrata-Carpinus type broad-leaved forest widely expanded early, was one of the formation centers of Jomon culture.

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It is necessary to construct the chronological and regional frameworks for investigating the relationship between the human activities and natural environments. The natural environmental changes in Japanese Islands are not well understood in terms of the time and regions. In this article, the relationship between the natural environments (in particular climate, flora and fauna) and human remains in the south Kyushu, eastern Tokai to Kanto, Chubu and Hokkaido regions has been analyzed for the period from late Glacial (late paleolithic) to early Holocene (Jomon culture).
In the southern and western part of Japan, temperate forests spread extensively from late Glacial to early Holocene and the utilization of natural resources from temperate forests are exploited along with the development of associated implements such as stone dishes and earthenware. Pitfalls and stone arrowheads were used for hunting deers and wild boars in the temperate forests. In the northern part of Japan, cold climate remained even in early Holocene and late paleolithic culture with microblades and stone spearheads continued along with hunting. The formation of Jomon culture in Japan was developed both in the southern and northern parts of Japan separated by the middle of Honshu Island.

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Forest vegetation and its changes during the Jomon Period are reconstructed on the basis of fossil woods excavated from many archaeological sites in Japan. At the maximum period of the Last Glacial Age (about 20, 000yrs BP) boreal conifer forests consisting of Picea, Larix, Abies and Pinus (Haploxylon) species were developed in Honshu Island. Subsequently, the climate became warmer, and the boreal conifer forests were replaced by cool-temperate deciduous forests consisting of Fraxinus, Ulmus, Juglans, Maackia, Alnus and others in the Incipient Jomon Period (about 11, 000-9, 000yrs BP). This vegetational change accompanying climatic warming continued to the Early Jomon Period (about 6, 000-5, 000yrs BP). At this period, the warm-temperate evergreen broad-leaved forests dominated by Quercus subgen. Cyclobalanopsis and Castanopsis were established in south-western Japan, and the warm-temperate deciduous forests dominated by Fraxinus, Quercus sect. Aegilops, Quercus sect. Pinus, Castanea and others were developed in eastern Japan, while in northernmost Honshu the cool-temperate deciduous forests were preserved. Such regional differences in vegetation were maintained until the end of the Jomon Period (about 2, 000yrs BP).
With the development of human communities during the Jomon Period, the impact on natural forests of human activity became stronger and resulted in the establishment of secondary forests composed of deciduous broad-leaved forests such as Castanea, Quercus sect. Aegilops, Quercus sect. Pinus, Zelkova, and some others. The recent mixed deciduous forests around villages in rural areas of Japan may be descendants of these secondary forests.
Peoples of the Jomon Period utilized wood for fuel, wooden tools, building houses, and other purposes. Selection of tree species was definitive for some special purposes and indefinitive for other purposes, but Castanea wood was most widely utilized during the Jomon Period all over Japan. It is suggested that the Jomon people may have cultivated Castanea trees for obtaining nuts and wood.

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The evidences of domesticated plants such as asa (cannabis), egoma (Perilla), byotan (Lagenaria), and kuri (Castanea) have known already among the Jomon culture in Japan.
According to the some excellent recent result from archaeobotanical research including flotation and plant opal analysis, hie (Echinochloa utilis) has been found in East Japan and also ine (Oryza sativa) has been found in West Japan dated to between 6, 000 and 5, 000yrs BP (the Eary-Midle Jomon stages). Although a cultural context of these eviedence is still unknown, it is possible to consider that hie (Echinochloa utilis) has been domesticated in East Japan and ine (Oryza sativa) has been brought over from East Asia.
Definite evidence of ryokutou (Vigna radiata) has not been found yet in Japan.

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