Stem Cup, 1000-400 BCE, Unknown Japanese, 3 1/8 x 3 15/16 x 4 in. (7.94 x 10 x 10.16 cm), Earthenware, Japan, 10th-4th century BCE, Throughout Japans prehistoric Jōmon era (14,000-300 BCE), artisans made deep jars for ritual use and food storage. Toward the end of this era, they also began to shape small clay bowls and cups for individual use. These vessels suggest the practical concerns of a more settled society as the Japanese began to organize into larger communities. Despite its modest scale, this cup exhibits distinctive markings that were made by pressing ropes and cords onto its surface before it was fired. These markings, called jōmon (literally, 'rope markings') in Japanese, lent the Jōmon era its name.