Austronesian’ and ‘Jōmon’ identities in the Neolithic of the Ryukyu Islands

Abstract

This paper examines Neolithic cultural identities in the Ryukyu Islands of southwest Japan. It is argued that there were two different identities in this archipelago: a ‘Jōmon’ identity in the northern and central Ryukyus and an ‘Austronesian’ identity in the southern Ryukyus. These identities were constructed despite broad similarities in subsistence adaptation in both cultural zones.