The Stone Age of prehistoric Japan lasts until the third century before Christ. In this period, the main industry was hunting and fishing and Jomon ware (straw-rope pattern pottery) was widely used. Being isolated from the continental culture, the use of Jomon ware ranged from Hokkaido to Okinawa. The kaizuka doki (shell-mound earhtenware) and clay figures are things what remains of the stone age life.
In contrast to the Aborigines, who had conducted the stone age life until a few decades ago, are near naked, the ancient Japanese of this age seemed to wear some clothes according to the clay figures which has waistclothes, jackets and even masks. The pressed marks on earthenwears show signs of wears knitted with fine threads. The actual woven clothes were found in the remains of the latter part of the Stone Age. The ancient people probably made fascicular fibers by smashing the coat of bark to pieces. Fish skins and animal skins are also supposed to be used as materials for clothes. The woman in the photos is wearing the deer skin hunted in the summer as a jacket and the waistcloth with thread-twisted braids as a skirt.
[Additinal information: The line-carved goddess found in the Remains of Iwakage wears waistbraids and a waistcloth. The remains is located in Kamikuroiwa, Mikawa-mura, Kamiuwaana-gun, Aichi Prefecture.)