View source for Periods of Okinawan History

The periods of [[Okinawa|Okinawan]] history are divided up differently from those of Japan.

==='''Paleolithic Period''' (ends c. 10,000 BCE)===

==='''Shell Mound Period''' (c. 10,000 BCE - c. 1000 CE)===
*c. 7000 BCE - 300 BCE - Early Shell Mound Period<ref>Shell Mound periodization from [[Richard Pearson]], ''Ancient Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2013), 3.</ref>
*c. 300 BCE - 1000 CE - Late Shell Mound Period
**Hunter-gatherer subsistence society until c. 800 CE
**Beginnings of agricultural subsistence c. 800 CE
**Shell exchanges from c. 600 BCE to 1200 CE

==='''Gusuku Period''' (1100s-[[1429]])===
Marked by emergence of the ''[[anji]]'' (local chieftains/lords), construction of ''[[gusuku]]'' (fortresses), and introduction of [[pottery]] and [[porcelain]] technologies from China.
*[[1187]]-[[1259]] - [[Shunten Dynasty]]
*[[1260]] - c. 1354 - [[Eiso Dynasty]]
*[[1314]]-1429 - [[Sanzan Period]] ([[Okinawa Island]] is divided into three kingdoms: [[Nanzan]], [[Chuzan|Chûzan]], and [[Hokuzan]])

==='''Kingdom Period''' (1429-[[1879]])===
Okinawa Island is united under the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]], and expands to incorporate much of the rest of the [[Ryukyu Islands|Ryûkyû Islands]]
*[[1406]]-[[1469]] - [[First Sho Dynasty|First Shô Dynasty]]
*1469-1879 - [[Second Sho Dynasty|Second Shô Dynasty]]
*[[1609]]-[[1872]] - Period under [[Satsuma han]]
*1872-1879 - [[Ryukyu han|Ryûkyû han]]

==='''Modern Period''' (1879 - present)===
Incorporation into modern state of Japan as [[Okinawa Prefecture]].
*1879-[[1912]] - [[Meiji Period]]
*1912-1945 - Pre-war & World War II
*1945-1972 - US Occupation
*1972 - present - Reversion

==Periodization in Sakishima==
Archaeologists have divided the historical periods somewhat differently for the [[Miyako Islands|Miyako]] and [[Yaeyama Islands]].

*Shell Mound Period prior to earthenware
*Shell Mound Period after introduction of earthenware
*Third Period (13th-15th centuries)
*Fourth Period  (16th-17th centuries)
*Ryûkyû Kingdom Period
*Modern Period

==References==
*Suzuki Kakichi, et al. "Ryukyuan Architecture: Its History and Features," ''Okinawa bijutsu zenshû'' 沖縄美術全集, vol 5, Okinawa Times (1989), 89.
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[[Category:Ryukyu]]
[[Category:Resource Articles]]
[[Category:Historical Periods]]