Shakōkidogū
by Rachel Polus
The shakōki dogū are Japanese figurines dating back to the Jōmon era. Dogū are made of clay and range from 3 cm to 40 cm tall.[1] They were created in the Jōmon period, which spanned from approximately 11,000 to 400 B.C.[2] There are multiple types of dogū, but pseudoarchaeological beliefs center around the shakōki dogū, or "goggle eye" type.
Artifact
Shakōki dogū were only produced in the final period of the Jōmon era, from approximately 1,000 to 300 B.C.[3] They are most commonly recovered from multipurpose sites with storage, dwellings, and burials, and most of the figures are found discarded in refuse.[4] Many figures feature exaggerated hips and breasts, sometimes with swollen abdomens.[5] For this reason, researchers believe that they are made to represent female forms and fertility,[5] but religion in the Jōmon era was likely highly variable between regions and time periods, so it has also been suggested that interpreting all dogū in the context of fertility may be imprudent.[6]
(therioanthropic facial features - Kidder)
Context
The Jōmon people are believed to have been hunter-gatherers, though some evidence for small-scale plant cultivation exists.[7] They lived in concentrated groups and utilized food storage and waste disposal techniques.[7]
At least 10,630 dogū were documented by 1991,[5] but the shakōki dogū type is relatively rare.[4] There are a few other types of dogū that were produced in the same era, though the types produced in each time period within the era were slightly different. These include the pregnant woman type, the heart shaped type, and the horned owl type. Each have distinct body characteristics.
It is believed that the dogū had a personal ritual significance, as no evidence has been found of public ritual use.[4] Figurines are often found broken with an arm or a leg commonly missing.[8] Because of the frequency with which they are discovered broken, it is believed that breaking the dogū may have been part of a ritual.[5]
Similar figures can be found in the Kofun period, which spanned from 250 AD to 538 AD. These figures are called haniwa, and they are associated with burial.[9] However, they came much later than the dogū, and their purpose is not the same. While haniwa are found at burial sites, dogū are mainly recovered from refuse pits where they have been discarded.[4]
Pseudoarchaeology
Pseudoarchaeological Narrative
The prominent eyes of the shakōki dogū have drawn many comparisons to modern astronauts. One proponent of this idea is ancient alien believer, Erich von Däniken. Von Däniken has written that the shakōki dogū "...has modern fastenings and eye apertures on its helmet"[10]
Another pseudoarchaeological idea is that the shakōki dogū are representations of alien visitors. One such proponent, Catrien Ross, believes that an alien visitation spawned a religious ritual in which the shakōki dogū were a part: "Is this fantastic clay doll simply the product of an artist's rich imagination? Or was it created to capture the memory of an alien connection that was celebrated thereafter in careful ritual?"[11]
Deconstruction
Von Däniken's response to the shakōki dogū demonstrates a key theme in much of his work: the principle of the inkblot test. In an inkblot, the viewer describes what they see in a pseudo-random pattern. Von Däniken is a major proponent of the belief in ancient aliens and their intervention in human history, so he is predisposed to see a space traveler in artifacts that have strong and well-understood contextual background. The shakōki dogū are not the only artifact that has been subjected to a similar treatment by von Däniken, but it provides an excellent illustration of the habit in the pseudoarchaeological community to take one type of artifact out of a series of similar artifacts, decontextualize said artifact, and use it to support the notion that early humans were visited by aliens or that early humans were capable of space travel.
Additionally, most of von Däniken's argument stems from the head of the figurines bearing resemblance to a space helmet. However, it has been shown that the head is not the most important characteristic in human representation. In fact, the torso is the most important feature in representing a human, not the face.[3] Early dogū do not have any facial features, but detailed torsos. As the Jōmon era progressed, arms, legs, and facial features were added to the figures.[3] Therefore, because the head does not bear as much significance in the dogū, so artistic liberty could be taken with facial features.
With regards to the rest of the form of the shakōki dogū, the large inflated arms and legs with small to absent arms may be interpreted as reminiscent of a bulky space suit. However, shakōki dogū are late-period dogū. The earliest dogū did not have arms, legs, or heads, and arms and legs slowly developed over time.[5] Even with the development of arms, the hands and distinction between upper and lower arm is still not well-defined. It was likely not seen as important in representing a human and made carrying a dogū in daily use easier. It is believed hat early dogū were carried, perhaps to remember ancestors.[5]
The large eyes are interpreted in a modern sense as snow goggles, a stretched membrane applied to a frame.[12] However, in the geographic region in which shakōki dogū are found, such goggles would probably not be needed. Instead, they might be interpreted simply as exaggerated eyes, with eyes being connected directly to the soul.[13]
In regards Ross's argument structure, the way in which the suggestion of ancient aliens is presented is quite familiar. As von Däniken said, "in Chariots of the Gods, I had 238 question marks."[14] This tactic is popular in the pseudoarchaeological community because it removes blame from the speaker. When von Däniken was criticized for his statements in Chariots of the Gods, he responded by stating that he was merely making suggestions instead of arguments.
References
- ↑ Kaner, S. & Bailey D. (2009) The power of dogu: Ceramic figures, from ancient japan, 2009. British Museum Press.
- ↑ Insoll, T. (2012). The new hakodate jomon culture center, minamikayabe, japan. Material Religion, 8(2), 262-264.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Sumioka, H., Koda, K., Nishio, S., Minato, T., & Ishiguro, H. (2013). Revisiting ancient design of human form for communication avatar: Design considerations from chronological development of Dogū. Presented at The 22nd IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication, Gyeongju, South Korea, 26-29 August 2013. IEEE.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Pearson, R. (2004). New Perspectives on Jomon Society, Presented at the International Jomon Culture Conference, 2004.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Hudson, M.J. & Aoyama, M. (2007). Waist-to-hip ratios of Jomon figurines. Antiquity, 81(314), 961-971.
- ↑ Naumann, N. (2000). Japanese Prehistory: The Material and Spiritual Culture of the Jōmon Period, 2000. Harrassowitz Verlag.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Habu, J. (2004). Ancient Jomon of Japan, 2004. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- ↑ James, N. & Chippindale, J. (2010). Figurine enigmas: who's to know? Antiquity, 84(326), 1172-1176.
- ↑ Miki, F. (1960). Haniwa: the clay sculpture of protohistoric Japan. CE Tuttle Co..
- ↑ von Däniken, E. (1968). Chariots of the Gods? 1968. Bantam Books.
- ↑ Ross, C. (1996). Supernatural and Mysterious Japan: Spirits, Hauntings and Paranormal Phenomena, 1996. Yenbooks.
- ↑ Maringer, J. (1974). Clay Figurines of the Jōmon Period: A Contribution to the History of Ancient Religion in Japan. History of Religions, 14(2). 128-139.
- ↑ Kidder, J. (1957). The Jomon Pottery of Japan. Artibus Asiae. Supplementum, 17.
- ↑ Eggert, Kaylan. "The Von Däniken Legacy." Ancient Aliens, season 5, episode 10, The History Channel, 5 Apr. 2013.