The site of a major archeological discovery, Iwajuku (岩宿) provided evidence of habitation of Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 by humans before the 10th millennium BC

10th millennium BC

The 10th millennium BC marks the beginning of the Mesolithic and Epipaleolithic period, which is the first part of the Holocene epoch. Agriculture, based on the cultivation of primitive forms of millet and rice, occurred in Southwest Asia...

. To date, these are the oldest records of human dwellings from Japan's past. Excavations in 1949 following the discovery of the site by Aizawa Tadahiro confirmed the existence of two cultural strata, one of which contained small tools such as Projectile points and blade

Blade

A blade is that portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with a cutting edge and/or a pointed tip that is designed to cut and/or puncture, stab, slash, chop, slice, thrust, or scrape animate or inanimate surfaces or materials...

s made of obsidian

Obsidian

Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock.It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimum crystal growth...

 and agate

Agate

Agate is a microcrystalline variety of silica, chiefly chalcedony, characterised by its fineness of grain and brightness of color. Although agates may be found in various kinds of rock, they are classically associated with volcanic rocks and can be common in certain metamorphic rocks.-Etymology...

. Iwajuku is in the town of Kasakake

Kasakake, Gunma

Kasakake is a former town that was located in the now dissolved Nitta District, Gunma, Japan.On March 27, 2006 Kasakake was merged with the town of Ōmama, from Yamada District, and the village of Azuma, from Seta District, to form the new city of Midori.The Iwajuku archaeological site is in...

, Midori

Midori, Gunma

is a city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan.The name "Midori-shi", literally means "Greenery City".The city was founded on March 27, 2006 from the merger of the town of Ōmama, from Yamada District, the town of Kasakake, from Nitta District, and the village of Azuma, from Seta District.As of this...

, Gunma Prefecture

Gunma Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the northwest corner of the Kantō region on Honshu island. Its capital is Maebashi.- History :The remains of a Paleolithic man were found at Iwajuku, Gunma Prefecture, in the early 20th century and there is a public museum there.Japan was without horses until...

 (Nitta District)