Naumann Hall - Entrance Hall -

The Prehistoric Nature and Dawn of Human Society in Osaka

It is still unclear precisely when human beings began to inhabit the Osaka area. However, stone implements have been excavated from thirty and several thousand years-old strata. At that time, Naumannfs elephants and Yabefs giant deer roamed in herds in the Osaka area as well as surrounding region. Humans of that age most likely survived by hunting these animals throughout the vast wilderness that existed here in Osaka at the time.

Early Human Activity and Impact on the Environment

Approximately 3,000 years ago during the Final Jomon Period, early humans began the cultivation of rice, moving from a hunter-gatherer based existence to an agrarian lifestyle. Eventually, with the passage from the Yayoi to Kofun Periods, the inhabitants of the area formed large communities and developed extensive paddy fields for rice cultivation. How did this activity affect the environment, and how did the environment respond?

Changies of Osaka through geographical maps.

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