A Jomon village lived in for some 2,000 years, Aomori
Sannai-Maruyama, in the city of Aomori, is one of the largest prehistoric settlements in Japan. Jomon people lived here continuously for roughly 2,000 years — millennia before farming-based civilization arrived in Japan.
Excavations since 1992 have uncovered roads, graves, large pillar-supported buildings and vast quantities of pottery. Together they reveal a planned, organized community, far more sophisticated than hunter-gatherers were long assumed to be.
The site's best-known landmark is a reconstructed six-pillar tower, based on postholes for massive chestnut columns about one meter thick.
In 2021, Sannai-Maruyama was inscribed as part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing “Jomon Prehistoric Sites in Northern Japan,” a group of 17 sites across Hokkaido and northern Tohoku.
This landmark is covered in a Long episode on the Japan in 60 YouTube channel. New Shorts and Long episodes are posted every week.