Widespread Religion List
A viewset for viewing and editing Widespread Religions.
GET /api/rt/widespread-religions/
{ "count": 1107, "next": "https://seshatdata.com/api/rt/widespread-religions/?page=2", "previous": null, "results": [ { "id": 958, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": "“As with the Jōmon period, the notion of “Yayoi religion” is shorthand for a complex of rituals and beliefs that assumed different forms and do not constitute a singular set of Yayoi practices.” §REF§ (Deal 2017, 192) Deal, William E. 2017. ‘Religion in Archaic Japan’. In Routledge Handbook of Premodern Japanese History. Edited by Karl F. Fruday. New York, NY: Routledge. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/VBIURG65\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: VBIURG65 </b></a> §REF§\r\n\r\n“The characteristics of the Kami were augmented through this historical evolution, adding layers of meaning, but since structure and coordination were absent, it is not appropriate to label Kami worship at this time “Shinto.” §REF§ (Hardacre 2017, 22-23) Hardacre, Hellen. 2017. Shinto: A History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/7RP3IRVR\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 7RP3IRVR </b></a> §REF§ \r\n\r\n“The search for Shinto's beginnings leads us to the prehistoric Jomon and Yayoi periods. Though there is considerable discontinuity between the beliefs of these early periods and later ones, certain primitive strains were preserved in later religious practices. Our understanding of this prehistoric era is based primarily on archaeological evidence. The difficulty of interpreting such evidence makes it difficult, however, to reach a firm understanding of prehistoric rituals, myths, or concepts of the cosmos and divinity. But archaeologists have uncovered many artifacts that seem to have been used for religious purposes in very early times. For a somewhat later time, fragmentary historical evidence appears in Chinese chronicles, amplifying and clarifying the archaeological data.” §REF§ (Takaeshi 1993, 329) Takaeshi, M. 1993. ‘Early Kami Worship’. In The Cambridge History of Japan: Ancient Japan. Edited by Delmer E. Brown. Vol 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5FDFQIWT\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 5FDFQIWT </b></a> §REF§ \r\n\r\n“Though I agree in general with Mishina's periodization, I suggest a more complex scheme that traces the development of Shinto as a whole. This four-part scheme, providing the framework for the remainder of this chapter, takes in all aspects of Shinto from primitive times to the end of the Nara period in 784. It has emerged from a consideration not only of myths but also of beliefs, festivals, rites, the institutionalized priesthood, architecture, and iconography. In my first period, the Jomon-Yayoi age, the roots of Shinto developed from animistic forms of nature worship. Though religious practices were changed during the succeeding Burial Mound period, many elements of early nature worship were retained. In this first period, people venerated spirits of the mountains, the fields, and streams near their villages, and they related tales that pertained to nature and the origins of the most remarkable features of their environment. People of this period developed magical rites to aid them in hunting, fishing, and farming, and they told tales that explained the origin of these rites.” §REF§ (Takaeshi 1993, 325) Takaeshi, Matsumae. 1993. ‘Early Kami Worship’. In The Cambridge History of Japan: Ancient Japan. Edited by Delmer E. Brown. Vol 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5FDFQIWT\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 5FDFQIWT </b></a> §REF§ \r\n\r\n“Shamanism and divination by oracles formed a part of later Shinto, and rites to ensure agricultural prosperity continued as one of Shinto's most basic elements. All these were Yayoi period contributions to the development of Shinto. But the name \"Shinto\" cannot be given properly to either the Yayoi or, of course, the earlier Jomon beliefs and practices. Certain features characteristic of Shinto - definite places of worship that later developed into permanent buildings, or shintai (kami body), the sacred objects in which the kami were thought to lodge - simply did not exist during these times. More important, perhaps, is the fact that Yayoi period artifacts are rarely found at sites of ancient shrines established in later periods. This suggests a discontinuity between Yayoi period religious practices and those of the succeeding Burial Mound period.” §REF§ (Takaeshi 1993, 334) Takaeshi, M. 1993. ‘Early Kami Worship’. In The Cambridge History of Japan: Ancient Japan. Edited by Delmer E. Brown. Vol 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5FDFQIWT\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 5FDFQIWT </b></a> §REF§\r\n\r\n “Thanks to accounts written by Chinese visitors to Japan, we understand the religion of the Yayoi culture somewhat more clearly than we do that of the Jomon. Still, the evidence is fragmentary and often requires some ingenuity to interpret. But it seems that the basic elements of Yayoi religion included shamanism that used oracle bone divination and other methods to guide the course of secular government, and the worship of a \"rice spirit\" that accompanied the introduction of wet-rice cultivation. The Yayoi culture differs from the Jomon in its reliance on rice as a staple food. Yayoi religion reflects the importance of wet-rice agriculture. Harvest festivals described in literary sources and surviving rice-cultivation customs resemble those of southeast Asia and Indonesia, indicating that wet-rice agriculture may have been introduced from southern regions. The important element in these festivals is the veneration of the rice spirit, believed to dwell at harvest time in specially reaped sheaves of rice. These sheaves were enshrined in a grain storehouse. The ritual prayers (norito) that hint at primitive agrarian beliefs identify the food kami Toyouke as the spirit of the rice. Another name for her is Ukanomitama, a name that can be translated literally as \"food spirit.\" Veneration of the rice spirit was an important element in the development of Shinto. Shinto's indebtedness to Yayoi period agrarian ritual is disclosed in the construction of shrine buildings at such early shrines as the Ise Great Shrine, which consists of two main sanctuaries: one for the worship of the Sun Goddess and another for the worship of the food kami Toyouke. The main hall of both Ise sanctuaries is built with a raised floor, ornamental roof crossbeams, and other architectural details that historians believe typify grain storehouse construction. Such structures were probably used in the Yayoi period: an image of one is cast in relief on a Yayoi period ceremonial bronze bell that was found on the island of Shikoku.” §REF§ (Takaeshi 1993, 331-332) Takaeshi, M. 1993. ‘Early Kami Worship’. In The Cambridge History of Japan: Ancient Japan. Edited by Delmer E. Brown. Vol 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5FDFQIWT\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 5FDFQIWT </b></a> §REF§ “The Yayoi period is the first to leave artifacts that can reasonably be linked to the later development of Shinto. […] Archaeological evidence suggests that religious life developed in connection with rice cultivation. One type of Yayoi ritual site centers on large rocks or boulders, some with food containers, wooden fetishes, and such precious objects as jewels. Many such sites were located near springs, waterfalls, and riverbanks or hills and mountains, suggesting a focus on water and its importance to agriculture. It is believed that boundaries were created around ritual sites, and that spirits called Kami were invited to descend into some object, such as a tree, pillar, animal, waterfall, island, or mountain. Once the Kami had entered a tangible object (generically called yorishiro), ritual was performed for them, relating to the fertility of crops. The discovery of large numbers of dōtaku at ritual sites, along with bronze weapons and polished metal mirrors, suggests that these objects had a central role in ritual. It may be that their shiny surfaces or the sounds made by striking them were believed to be capable of calling the Kami to the site. The Kami were strongly identified with natural forces governing the crops. Kami were not originally imagined as having anthropomorphic form or as dwelling permanently in a single place. Instead, they were believed to respond to human invitations to manifest. Otherwise, they remained formless and invisible. The Kami’s association with natural forces gave them an unpredictable quality. Just as nature can produce floods, drought, and epidemic disease, the Kami were not necessarily always beneficent to humanity. They could make erratic appearances, conceptualized as anger or wrath. For this reason, worship mainly took the form of beseeching and placating them, or seeking to avoid their anger. It was only much later that they came to be seen as having compassion for humanity.” §REF§ (Hardacre 2017, 18-19) Hardacre, Hellen. 2017. Shinto: A History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/7RP3IRVR\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 7RP3IRVR </b></a> §REF§<br>\r\n\r\n“Everyone in an early community was apparently convinced that if rice were planted at a propitious time, if rain were plentiful during the growing season, and if protection against wild animals and human enemies were adequate, the community's protective deity (kami) had been exercising its mysterious power benevolently. Because the people believed, both then and later, that they would receive divine assistance only if offerings were made and festivals were held at the right time and in the right place and manner, they paid close attention (especially at crucial times of the year) to establishing and maintaining good relations with the community's kami. Indeed, the principal functions of a community head (at first selected ritually) was to perform rites that honored and ensured the receipt of benefits from the community's kami” §REF§ (Brown 1993, 134) Brown, Delmer. 1993. ‘The Yamato Kingdom. In The Cambridge History of Japan: Ancient Japan. Edited by Delmer E. Brown. Vol 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5FDFQIWT\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 5FDFQIWT </b></a> §REF§", "note": null, "finalized": true, "created_date": null, "modified_date": "2024-03-19T09:43:40.312340Z", "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": false, "drb_reviewed": false, "name": "Widespread_religion", "order": "1", "degree_of_prevalence": null, "polity": { "id": 144, "name": "JpYayoi", "start_year": -300, "end_year": 250, "long_name": "Kansai - Yayoi Period", "new_name": "jp_yayoi", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Yayoi period in the Kansai region (Yayoi period in the Kinki region) is an Iron Age period in Japan marked by the introduction of rice farming, metalworking, cloth making, and new forms of pottery from continental Asia. §REF§ (Mason 1997, 22) Mason, R,H.P and J.G. Caiger. 1997. A History of Japan. Vermont: Tuttle Publishing. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/HC5A5QFR\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/HC5A5QFR</a> §REF§ The beginning of the Yayoi period was characterized by substantial changes and the introduction of new cultural features in the daily life. In the early Yayoi period (ca. 400 BCE - 200 BCE; 300 - 100 BCE) such innovations consisted of new type of houses, burial practices, settlement structures and more importantly of the introduction of full scale farming. §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 79-80. §REF§ §REF§ Hudson, M. J., 2007. \"Japanese beginnings.\"In: W. Tsutsui (ed.), A Companion to Japanese History. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 20. §REF§ The new type of house, consisting of a rectangular or round sub-types,spread throughout western Japan (from Kyushu to Kansai) by the end of the Early Yayoi period. In this period settlements started being enclosed by V-sectioned ditches. §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 84-85. §REF§ Another important change was that, in a given settlement, burial grounds were separated by the dwelling area. The dead were mostly buried in rectangular ditch-enclosed burial compounds covered by low earthen mounds. The introduction of rice paddy field agriculture had big impact in the social structure of the Japanese Yayoi communities. The archaeological evidence of paddy fields suggest that Yayoi communities were able to set up paddies in different topographic and climatic environments. Their maintenance and construction required an unprecedented scale of collaboration and social organization. §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 120. §REF§ <br>The Middle Yayoi period saw also an increase of stone and metal tools, bronze mirrors and weapons deposited mainly as grave goods and <i>Dokatu</i> bronze bells deposited as ritual tools. The spread of bronze mirrors and metal objects can be interpreted as the result of trade contacts between western japanese chiefdoms and the Chinese Lelang commandery in Korean peninsula. §REF§ G. Barnes, 2007. State formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-century ruling elite. Routledge, 61-65. §REF§ During the Late Yayoi period (1/50-200 CE; 100 - 300 CE) we have marked evidence of social stratification. §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 202-203. §REF§ <br>During the Yayoi/Kofun Transition Period (200-250/75 CE), according to Mizoguchi's periodization, §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 214. §REF§ or the final Late Yayoi period, according to Barnes' periodization, in western Japan emerged the polity (perhaps a chiefdom) of Yamatai ruled by the queen Himiko. Unfortunately, the evidence of the presence of this polity come from the Chinese dynastic histories and there is not agreement among the scholars about the location of Yamatai. Some scholars located Yamatai in northern Kyushu, §REF§ Takemoto, T. 1983. ‘The Kyishi Dynasty’. Japan Quarterly 30 (4): 383-97. §REF§ while others located it in Kansai. §REF§ Miller, R. 1967. The Japanese language. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 16-18. §REF§ §REF§ Edwards, W., 1999. ‘Mirrors on ancient Yamato’. Monumenta Nipponica 54 (1, spring): 75-110. §REF§ The queen Himiko may have seized the power between the 189 and the 238 CE and her death could be dated to the 248 CE. §REF§ Kidder, J. E., 2007. Himiko and Japan's elusive chiefdom of Yamatai: archaeology, history, and mythology. University of Hawaii Press, 161. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>In the Early Yayoi period, significant features such as ditch-enclosed settlements, paddy fields and irrigation systems required a hierarchical structure able to mobilize the needed labour force and coordinate different tasks. As consequence, the Early Yayoi period saw the emergence of a ranked society, where members of a \"warrior class\" were responsible for guaranteeing and protecting communal interests. §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 102. §REF§ <br>In the Middle Yayoi period (ca. 200 BCE - 1/50 CE; 100 BCE - 100 CE) there is a significant increase in the population, which results in the emergence of large central-type settlements. Hence, there is a two-tiered settlement hierarchy characterized by larger villages acting as regional centres and smaller satellite settlements. A Middle Yayoi settlement was composed of several residential units (hamlets)that were part of a larger kin-based corporate group cross-cutting several different villages. §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 120. §REF§ This would have favoured the relations and cooperation between villages on regional scale. There is a peer-polity interaction between the chiefdoms distributed in Western Japan. Each hamlet had its own burial ground and storage facilities and perhaps was occupied by 30 individuals. The regional centres of Western Japan often contained more than 3-4 hamlets and could reach an overall population higher than 200 inhabitants. More research is needed on total Yayoi population.<br>We know from the Chinese documents that the Japanese chiefs acquired the title of <i>wang</i> (king) ad consequence of the tribute they submitted to the Chinese Han dynasty trough the Lelang commandery. §REF§ G. Barnes, 2007. State formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-century ruling elite. Routledge, 71. §REF§ In the Middle Yayoi period burial compounds, mortuary rectangular allotments usually enclosed by a ditch and covered by an earth mound, are introduced. The spatial distribution of these burial features (usually located beside large regional centres), their skeletal remains (almost all adult males) and their grave good assemblages (bronze weapons, bronze mirrors, cylindrical beads, etc.) suggest that the individuals buried in the compounds were regional chiefs or leaders belonging to a number of corporate groups. §REF§ Mizoguchi, K., 2002. An archaeological history of Japan, 30,000 B.P. to A.D. 700. University of Pennsylvania Press, 142-47. §REF§ §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 150-154. §REF§ Overall, the evidence suggest that the status of the elite was achieved rather than being ascribed.<br>In the Late Yayoi period, the elites started showing their dominance within a settlement by living in clear marked compounds enclosed by ditches and containing raised-floor storage buildings. In addition, clustering of iron tools have been found in proximity of the elites compounds. This evidence suggest that the elites controlled the means of production and the storage and distribution of products. §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 202-203. §REF§ In this period in the rectangular burial compounds, not only adults, but also children and infants were buried, suggesting that the elite status was no longer achieved during their lifetimes but inherited at birth. The population saw also an intensification of inter-communal competition.", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 21, "name": "Kansai", "subregion": "Northeast Asia", "longitude": "135.762200000000", "latitude": "35.025280000000", "capital_city": "Kyoto", "nga_code": "JP", "fao_country": "Japan", "world_region": "East Asia" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 14, "name": "Northeast Asia", "subregions_list": "Korea, Japan, forest part of Manchuria, Russian Far East", "mac_region": { "id": 4, "name": "East Asia" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "widespread_religion": { "id": 221, "name": "Religion", "religion_name": "Yayoi Religion", "religion_family": null, "religion_genus": null }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 674, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": null, "note": null, "finalized": false, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": false, "drb_reviewed": null, "name": "Widespread_religion", "order": "1", "degree_of_prevalence": "unc", "polity": { "id": 427, "name": "MlJeJe1", "start_year": -250, "end_year": 49, "long_name": "Jenne-jeno I", "new_name": "ml_jenne_jeno_1", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The archaeological site of Jenne-jeno (or Djenné-djenno) is a mound located in the Niger Inland Delta, a region of West Africa just south of the Sahara and part of modern-day Mali, characterized by lakes and floodplains. It was continuously inhabited between 250 BCE and 1400 CE. 'Jenne-jeno I' refers to the period of earliest occupation, from 250 BCE to 50 CE. During this time, the site's inhabitants fished, gathered wild plants, hunted, and cultivated rice (as well as millet and sorghum). They also made and used pottery, and smelted, smithed and used iron, though they probably imported the raw material for the latter from far afield. §REF§ (McIntosh 2006, 174-75) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. <i>Ancient Middle Niger</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>There does not seem to be enough data to reconstruct Jenne-jeno's political or social organization at this time, but even for later periods, there is a lack of archaeological evidence for 'coercive' centralized control or the development of hierarchical social structures. §REF§ (Reader 1998, 225, 228) John Reader. 1998. <i>Africa: A Biography of the Continent</i>. London: Penguin Books. §REF§ It is also unclear how many people were living at Jenne-jeno or at the surrounding sites. However, one of the site's excavators, Roderick McIntosh, does say that the founding population was probably not inconsiderable, and expanded rapidly. §REF§ (McIntosh 2006, 174-75) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. <i>Ancient Middle Niger</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ ", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 6, "name": "Niger Inland Delta", "subregion": "Sahel", "longitude": "-3.041703000000", "latitude": "16.717549000000", "capital_city": "Timbuctu", "nga_code": "ML", "fao_country": "Mali", "world_region": "Africa" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 7, "name": "West Africa", "subregions_list": "From Senegal to Gabon (Tropical)", "mac_region": { "id": 2, "name": "Africa" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "widespread_religion": { "id": 23, "name": "Religion", "religion_name": "Jenne-jeno Religion", "religion_family": null, "religion_genus": null }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 709, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": "No information found in the literature consulted, which focuses almost exclusively on the period following the advent of Islam.", "note": null, "finalized": false, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": false, "drb_reviewed": null, "name": "Widespread_religion", "order": "1", "degree_of_prevalence": "unc", "polity": { "id": 220, "name": "TdKanem", "start_year": 850, "end_year": 1380, "long_name": "Kanem Empire", "new_name": "td_kanem", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": null, "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": null, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 5, "name": "Sahel", "subregions_list": "Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad (Arid)", "mac_region": { "id": 2, "name": "Africa" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "widespread_religion": { "id": 91, "name": "Religion", "religion_name": "unknown", "religion_family": null, "religion_genus": null }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 957, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": "NB It may not be appropriate to use the name “Shinto” to label indigenous Japanese religious beliefs and practices in this era. “That being said, however, it remains extremely difficult to discuss Shinto in the ages before the term itself is widely used, that is, from the fifteenth century on. Up to that point, Shinto is a collective designation for jingi, state-sponsored Kami rites, and miscellaneous Kami cults. This usage is inevitably imprecise and unsatisfactory in various ways. To uphold the significance of institutional, social, and ritual continuities forces one to struggle for clarity where little is to be found, but others have also accepted this challenge.” §REF§(Hardacre 2017: 44) Hardacre, H. Shinto: A History. Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/hardacre/titleCreatorYear/items/7RP3IRVR/item-list §REF§\r\n\r\n“ […] because of the preoccupation on the part of Buddhist leaders with the upper strata of society, the masses in Japan had to depend on pre-Buddhist, shamanistic religious leaders.” §REF§ Kitigawa 1987, 222) Kitigawa, Joseph. 1987. On Understanding Japanese Religion. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/Q7PC3JB7\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: Q7PC3JB7 </b></a>§REF§ \r\n\r\n“The impressive growth of Buddhism during the eighth century, however, was confined to the upper strata of society. While courtiers and high ecclesiastics rode by making a splash of their elegant robes, the masses had neither enough to eat nor the means to clothe themselves. To them, the lofty teachings of the Indian and Chinese sages had little meaning. Far more real to them were the traditional spirits and gods (kami) of field and fen and crossroad and of hearth and mattock. It is no wonder shamanic-diviners, healers, and sorcerers continued to exert strong influence in the countryside.” §REF§ Kitigawa 1987, 223) Kitigawa, Joseph. 1987. On Understanding Japanese Religion. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/Q7PC3JB7\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: Q7PC3JB7 </b></a>§REF§ \r\n\r\n“The world of clans and kami was modified irreversibly by the sixth and seventh centuries through the introduction of Buddhist and Confucian thought, as well as by the subsequent consolidation of state and society on a Chinese pattern with Buddhism as a state-patronised religion. But the world of archaic Japan did not wholly disappear, nor has it to this day. Its worldview is perpetuated in the rites of Shinto – both those of the court and of the ordinary shrine. Beneath the façade of continental bureaucracy the old loyalties and power structures of clan and family continued (and continue) to broker the real power in Japanese political and social life. ” §REF§ (Ellwood and Pilgrim 1985, 22) Ellwood, Robert and Pilgrim Richard. 1985. Japanese Religion: A Cultural Perspective. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/VRQCT8UW\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: VRQCT8UW </b></a>§REF§", "note": null, "finalized": true, "created_date": null, "modified_date": "2024-03-19T10:20:11.381634Z", "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": false, "drb_reviewed": false, "name": "Widespread_religion", "order": "1", "degree_of_prevalence": null, "polity": { "id": 146, "name": "JpAsuka", "start_year": 538, "end_year": 710, "long_name": "Asuka", "new_name": "jp_asuka", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The last segment of the Kofun period is often designated by historians as Asuka period on the basis of the intoduction of the Buddhism religion in 538 CE. §REF§ G. Barnes, 2007. State formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-century ruling elite. Routledge, 15. §REF§ §REF§ Brooks, T, 2013. \"Early Japanese Urbanism: A Study of the Urbanism of Proto-historic Japan and Continuities from the Yayoi to the Asuka Periods.\"Unpublished thesis, Sydney University, 11. §REF§ As a consequence the historical period \"Asuka\" overlaps with the archaeological period \"Kofun\" until 710 CE.The Asuka period can be divided into two main phases. The first phase covers the period (572-645 CE) when four successive heads of the Soga clan were leading figures at court: Saga no Iname, Saga no Umako, Siga no Emishi, and Soga no Ir. The second period is the phase after the violent overthrow of the Soga which was dominated by Tenchi Tenno, his brother Temmu Tenno, and Temmu's widow Jito Tenno from 645 to 692. It ends with the abdication of Jito Tenno in favor of her son Mommu and the move of the capital to the Heijō Palace of Nara. §REF§ Brown, D., 1993.The Cambridge History of Japan, vol. 2.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 164-190. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>In this period there is the establishment of a central administrative control with the introduction of the Ritsuryo law system based on Chinese style law codes. §REF§ G. Barnes, 2007. State formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-century ruling elite. Routledge, 15. §REF§ §REF§ Farris, WW 1998, Sacred Texts and Buried Treasures: Issues in Historical Archaeology of Ancient Japan, University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu. §REF§ The introduction of Buddhism in Japan was favoured by the Soga clan, a Japanese court family, which acquired political prominence with the ascension of the emperor Kimmei in 531. §REF§ McCallum, D. F., 2009. The Four Great Temples: Buddhist Archaeology, Architecture, and Icons of Seventh-Century Japan. Honolulu: University of Haway Press, 19-21. §REF§ The Soga clan intoduced Chinese model-based fiscal policies, etsablished the first national treasury and promoted trade links with the Korean peninsula. §REF§ Brown, D., 1993.The Cambridge History of Japan, vol. 2.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 163-164. §REF§ With the Taika reform the size of large burial tumuli (kofun) was strongly decreased by imperial decree. §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013 The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 319. §REF§ The disappearance of large tumuli coincided with the emergence of a marked pyramidal hierarchy indicated by the difference in the burial assemblage. §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 320. §REF§ In the seventh century a deceased person was buried in individual, very small round tumuli, which were much smaller than the preceding monumental mounded tombs. However, burial tumuli disapperead at the end of the seventh century. §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 320. §REF§ §REF§ Barnes, GL 1993, China, Korea and Japan: The Rise of Civilization in East Asia, Thames and Hudson, London, 251-255. §REF§ During this period elites began devoting resources to the building of Buddhist temples, which explains the reduction in size of tombs §REF§ Brooks, T, 2013. \"Early Japanese Urbanism: A Study of the Urbanism of Proto-historic Japan and Continuities from the Yayoi to the Asuka Periods.\"Unpublished thesis, Sydney University, 43. §REF§ §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 322-323. §REF§ <br>We have estimated the population of Kansai to be between 1.5 million and 2 million people in 600 CE, and between 2 million and 3 million by 700 CE. §REF§ Kidder, J. E., 2007. Himiko and Japan's elusive chiefdom of Yamatai: archaeology, history, and mythology. University of Hawaii Press, 60. §REF§ §REF§ Koyama, S., 1978. Jomon Subsistence and Population. Senri Ethnological Studies 2. Osaka: National Museum of Ethnology §REF§", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": "", "created_date": null, "modified_date": "2023-12-19T08:45:11.147310Z", "home_nga": { "id": 21, "name": "Kansai", "subregion": "Northeast Asia", "longitude": "135.762200000000", "latitude": "35.025280000000", "capital_city": "Kyoto", "nga_code": "JP", "fao_country": "Japan", "world_region": "East Asia" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 14, "name": "Northeast Asia", "subregions_list": "Korea, Japan, forest part of Manchuria, Russian Far East", "mac_region": { "id": 4, "name": "East Asia" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "widespread_religion": { "id": 215, "name": "Religion", "religion_name": "Shinto", "religion_family": null, "religion_genus": null }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 1026, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": "The “Early Aztec phase” is the term archaeologists use to describe Middle Postclassic sites in the Valley of Mexico.“During the Early Aztec period a common Aztec culture emerged among the new settlers of the central Mexican highlands. The use of the Nahuatl language and the acknowledgement of a common Aztlan origin were at the foundation of this widespread culture. The interactions among city-states, particularly through trade and noble marriage alliances, kept far-flung peoples in touch. An important component of this widespread culture was religious ritual. Although individual gods and ceremonies varied slightly from region to region, a common core of ritual and belief united the central Mexican peoples. This religion received concrete material expression in both cult objects – incense burners and figurines – and temple architecture. In contrast to earlier Mesoamerican pyramids with a single temple on top and a single stairway up the side, the pyramids built by the Early Aztec peoples had twin temples and double stairways. Impressive examples of such pyramids have been excavated and restored at the Early Aztec sites of Teopanzolco and Tenayuca.” §REF§ (Smith 2012, 41) Smith, Michael E. 2012. The Aztecs. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/W3PNEUBJ\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: W3PNEUBJ </b></a> §REF§ “Whereas excavations have encountered significant variability in burial practices in Aztec Mexico, ceramic figurines reveal remarkable continuity of tradition across space and time (Figure 44.2). Many Aztec figurine types are iconographically identical across the entire Postclassic and, in some cases, into the Early Colonial period (Brumfiel and Overholtzer 2009). Aztec-style figurines (both imported and imitated) appear outside of the Basin of Mexico at Yautepec, Morelos, as early as the Middle Postclassic (Smith 2005:45). Aztec figurines followed the expansion of the Aztec Empire and possibly colonists to reach some cities farther from the Aztec heartland (Ohnersorgen 2006), although this acceptance was not universal (Venter 2012).” §REF§ (Overholtzer 2017, 626-627) Overholtzer, Lisa. 2017. ‘Aztec Domestic Ritual’. In The Oxford Handbook of the Aztecs. Edited by Deborah L. Nichols and Enrique Rodríquez-Alegría. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/22QVUKFF\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 22QVUKFF </b></a> §REF§", "note": null, "finalized": false, "created_date": null, "modified_date": "2024-06-10T10:49:15.526750Z", "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": true, "drb_reviewed": false, "name": "Widespread_religion", "order": "1", "degree_of_prevalence": "v_m", "polity": { "id": 15, "name": "MxPostM", "start_year": 1200, "end_year": 1426, "long_name": "Middle Postclassic Basin of Mexico", "new_name": "mx_basin_of_mexico_10", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Basin or Valley of Mexico is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly corresponding to modern-day Mexico City. Here, we are interested in the phase of its prehistory known as the Middle Postclassic (c. 1200-1426 CE). By this time, Tula no longer held sway over the region, and had been replaced by several city-states (altepetl). Documents written much later record the dynastic histories and conflicts between these city-states; toward the very end of this period, they came to form growing confederations, paving the way for the Aztec empire. §REF§ (Evans 2012: 123-124) Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/AN5IUQ7X\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/AN5IUQ7X</a>. §REF§ Major centres such as Azcapotzalco, Texcoco, or Cholula likely had between 20,000 and 30,000 inhabitants. §REF§ (Carballo 2019: pers. comm. to E. Cioni and G. Nazzaro) §REF§ Each altepetl was ruled by a king (tlatoani) and a council of nobles. §REF§ (Smith and Sergheraert 2012: 449) Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XC9E2B7Q\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XC9E2B7Q</a>. §REF§ ", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 27, "name": "Basin of Mexico", "subregion": "Mexico", "longitude": "-99.130000000000", "latitude": "19.430000000000", "capital_city": "Ciudad de Mexico", "nga_code": "MX", "fao_country": "Mexico", "world_region": "North America" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 23, "name": "Mexico", "subregions_list": "Mexico", "mac_region": { "id": 7, "name": "North America" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": { "id": 96, "text": "a new_comment_text" }, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "widespread_religion": { "id": 290, "name": "Religion", "religion_name": "Mesoamerican Religions", "religion_family": null, "religion_genus": null }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 710, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": "“Although exposed to Islamic influences through Muslim clerics, traders and court advisers, the Djolof Empire, unlike Tekrur resisted Islamization and most leaders and people remained firmly attached to their traditional religious practices. §REF§ (Gellar, 2020) Gellar, Sheldon. 2020. Senegal: An African Nation Between Islam and the West. Second Edition. London: Routledge. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/ZCQVA3UX\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: ZCQVA3UX </b></a> §REF§", "note": null, "finalized": false, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": false, "drb_reviewed": null, "name": "Widespread_religion", "order": "1", "degree_of_prevalence": "v_m", "polity": { "id": 679, "name": "se_jolof_emp", "start_year": 1360, "end_year": 1549, "long_name": "Jolof Empire", "new_name": "se_jolof_emp", "polity_tag": "POL_AFR_WEST", "general_description": "The Jolof Empire was a Wolof Kingdom that originated as early as the thirteenth century by the leader Ndiadiane N’Diaye. Ndiadine N’Diaye was also the founder of the other Wolof Kingdoms of Waalo and Cayor. Around 1360 CE, the Jolof Empire grew in influence out of the decline of the Mali Empire. The Jolof Empire created a confederation of five kingdoms which included Waalo, Cayor, Baol, Sine and Saloum. All five kingdoms paid tribute and contributed to defensive matters. §REF§ (Fage 2008, 484-486) Fage, J.D. 2008. ‘Upper and Lower Guinea’ In The Cambridge History of Africa c. 1050 – c. 1600. Edited by Roland Oliver. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/search/Fage/titleCreatorYear/items/9V3CTHZ9/item-list\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/search/Fage/titleCreatorYear/items/9V3CTHZ9/item-list</a> §REF§ In the fifteenth century, the Jolof Empire established important trade relations with the Portuguese. §REF§ (Gijanto 2016, 30-32) Gijanto, Liza. 2016. The Life of Trade: Events and Happenings in the Niumi’s Atlantic Center. London: Routledge. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/7XNBIF95/collection\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/7XNBIF95/collection</a> §REF§ However, competition between European traders and their trading interests caused the Jolof Empire to decline. §REF§ (Fage 2008, 508) Fage, J.D. 2008. ‘Upper and Lower Guinea’ In The Cambridge History of Africa c. 1050 – c. 1600. Edited by Roland Oliver. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/search/Fage/titleCreatorYear/items/9V3CTHZ9/item-list\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/search/Fage/titleCreatorYear/items/9V3CTHZ9/item-list</a> §REF§ In 1549, the Empire broke down and split into five independent kingdoms, after the ruler of Cayor led a rebellion against the Jolof. §REF§ (Aderinto 2017, 281) Aderinto, Saheed. 2017. African Kingdoms: An Encyclopedia of Empires and Civilizations. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/4E8Q8Z29/collection\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/4E8Q8Z29/collection</a> §REF§", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": null, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 7, "name": "West Africa", "subregions_list": "From Senegal to Gabon (Tropical)", "mac_region": { "id": 2, "name": "Africa" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "widespread_religion": { "id": 50, "name": "Religion", "religion_name": "Wolof Religion", "religion_family": null, "religion_genus": null }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 683, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": "\"Turning now to the matter of popular religion, the outstanding features during both the Pratihara and Gahadavala periods were the worship of idols and the variety of gods. Temples were built in large numbers[...].\"§REF§(Tripathi 1989, 352) Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/EAMVURAK\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: EAMVURAK </b></a>§REF§", "note": null, "finalized": false, "created_date": null, "modified_date": "2024-06-11T15:12:25.277943Z", "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": false, "drb_reviewed": false, "name": "Widespread_religion", "order": "1", "degree_of_prevalence": "v_m", "polity": { "id": 418, "name": "in_gurjara_pratihara_dyn", "start_year": 730, "end_year": 1030, "long_name": "Gurjar-Pratihara Dynasty", "new_name": "in_gurjara_pratihara_dyn", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The polity of Gurjar ran from c. 730 to 1030 CE with its territory spanning approximately 1 million square kilometres; roughly corresponding to a slightly smaller area than the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar combined. §REF§ (Keay 2000: 198) Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/HSHAKZ3X\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/HSHAKZ3X</a>. §REF§ <br>There has been no information could be found in the sources consulted regarding the polity's overall population, but the imperial capital of Kanauj is thought to have had a population of 80,000 people at its peak in 810 - 950 CE.", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": "JR: Changed start year from 810 to 730 CE -- now matches the date range for ruler transitions.", "created_date": null, "modified_date": "2024-06-11T12:26:04.458158Z", "home_nga": { "id": 14, "name": "Middle Ganga", "subregion": "Indo-Gangetic Plain", "longitude": "82.700000000000", "latitude": "25.750000000000", "capital_city": "Jaunpur", "nga_code": "UTPR", "fao_country": "India", "world_region": "South Asia" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 40, "name": "Southern South Asia", "subregions_list": "Southern India and Sri Lanka", "mac_region": { "id": 9, "name": "South Asia" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 57, "text": "a new_private_comment_text new approach for polity" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "widespread_religion": { "id": 3, "name": "Religion", "religion_name": "Hinduism", "religion_family": null, "religion_genus": null }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 701, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": "\"Islam began gaining ground during the reign of Mai Idris Alooma, who attempted to establish Islamic law on a wide scale. Hiskett mentions that Alooma opened many educational centers and had diplomatic links with other Muslim regions, such as Tripoli and Turkey. He argues that, despite all his attempts to establish it, there is no convincing evidence that Islamic law was adopted as the state law, nor that Islam swept away non-Islamic beliefs and practices. Islamic law was not chosen as the state law because the people were attached to their customs. Hogben points out that some rulers who became Muslims reverted at times to their native religions because of the cultural pressure exerted on them by their society. Nevertheless, attempts made by a number of mai in Bornu Empire resulted in influencing and spreading Islamic culture in the region.\" §REF§(Sodiq 2017: 29) Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/6F2IFDUB\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 6F2IFDUB </b></a>§REF§", "note": null, "finalized": false, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": false, "drb_reviewed": null, "name": "Widespread_religion", "order": "1", "degree_of_prevalence": "v_m", "polity": { "id": 670, "name": "ni_bornu_emp", "start_year": 1380, "end_year": 1893, "long_name": "Kanem-Borno", "new_name": "ni_bornu_emp", "polity_tag": "POL_AFR_WEST", "general_description": null, "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": null, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 7, "name": "West Africa", "subregions_list": "From Senegal to Gabon (Tropical)", "mac_region": { "id": 2, "name": "Africa" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "widespread_religion": { "id": 43, "name": "Religion", "religion_name": "Bornu Religion", "religion_family": null, "religion_genus": null }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 703, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": "“The Cwezi-kubandwa religious complex covered most of Great Lakes Africa by the nineteenth century, being found in modern-day Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, north-west Tanzania and eastern Congo, a region united by closely related Bantu languages as well as traditions of kingship and other cultural similarities.”§REF§(Doyle 2007: 559) Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/9EXDF5UP\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 9EXDF5UP </b></a>§REF§", "note": null, "finalized": false, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": false, "drb_reviewed": null, "name": "Widespread_religion", "order": "1", "degree_of_prevalence": "v_m", "polity": { "id": 687, "name": "Early Niynginya", "start_year": 1650, "end_year": 1897, "long_name": "Kingdom of Nyinginya", "new_name": "Early Niynginya", "polity_tag": "POL_AFR_EAST", "general_description": "", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": "", "created_date": null, "modified_date": "2024-06-13T09:26:46.862473Z", "home_nga": null, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 2, "name": "East Africa", "subregions_list": "Tanzania, Burundi, Uganda, So Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea", "mac_region": { "id": 2, "name": "Africa" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 46, "text": "a new_private_comment_text new approach for polity" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "widespread_religion": { "id": 46, "name": "Religion", "religion_name": "Cwezi-Kubandwa Religion", "religion_family": null, "religion_genus": null }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 675, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": null, "note": null, "finalized": false, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": false, "drb_reviewed": null, "name": "Widespread_religion", "order": "1", "degree_of_prevalence": "unc", "polity": { "id": 428, "name": "MlJeJe2", "start_year": 50, "end_year": 399, "long_name": "Jenne-jeno II", "new_name": "ml_jenne_jeno_2", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The archaeological site of Jenne-jeno (or Djenné-djenno) is a mound located in the Niger Inland Delta, a region of West Africa just south of the Sahara and part of modern-day Mali, characterized by lakes and floodplains. It was continuously inhabited between 250 BCE and 1400 CE. 'Jenne-jeno II' refers to the period from 50 to 400 CE. During this time, the site's inhabitants fished, gathered wild plants, hunted, and cultivated rice (as well as millet and sorghum). They also made and used pottery, and smelted, smithed and used iron, though they probably imported the raw material for the latter from far afield. §REF§ (McIntosh 2006, 174-75) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. <i>Ancient Middle Niger</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>It appears that the heterarchical organization that characterized Jenne-jeno in later times developed during this period. §REF§ (McIntosh 2006, xv) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. <i>Ancient Middle Niger</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ As for population, it is unclear how many people were living at Jenne-jeno or at the surrounding sites at this time, but a relatively rapid demographic increase is also likely. §REF§ (McIntosh 2006, 174-75) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. <i>Ancient Middle Niger</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ ", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 6, "name": "Niger Inland Delta", "subregion": "Sahel", "longitude": "-3.041703000000", "latitude": "16.717549000000", "capital_city": "Timbuctu", "nga_code": "ML", "fao_country": "Mali", "world_region": "Africa" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 7, "name": "West Africa", "subregions_list": "From Senegal to Gabon (Tropical)", "mac_region": { "id": 2, "name": "Africa" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "widespread_religion": { "id": 23, "name": "Religion", "religion_name": "Jenne-jeno Religion", "religion_family": null, "religion_genus": null }, "citations": [], "curator": [] } ] }