The late paleolithic era is sometimes called the early Jomon Era. More than 15 thousands years ago, the Japanese Island was connected to the Asian continent by land during the Ice Age at that time. People from the Eurasian Continent started to migrate east. A major reason for the migration may have been to follow the food supply by following animal herds for hunting. Agriculture was not practiced during this era. Therefore, hunting animals and gathering wild plants were the predominant sources of food. A fossil of a mammoth was discovered in the northern part of Japan and a fossil of a Naumann elephant was discovered in the southern part of Japan. Naumann Elephants roamed in East Asia and Japan from 300 thousands years ago until 15 thousands years ago. The Elephant inhabited warmer climates than that of the Mammoth. Pottery was not created during this period. Therefore, the way people cooked meat was to dry, smoke, or broil the meat. Also, this time period is sometimes called the Non-pottery age.

About 10,000 to 12,000 years ago, the Jomon Era started and lasted for thousands of years. The temperature got warmer and the ice began to melt. Therefore, the sea level got higher and the Japanese Island was formed during this time. However, Japan is not established yet as a country. People were still hunting animals and gathering wild plants in the early Jomon Period. They hunted big animals such as the huge deer, which later became extinct. The extinction of the big game animals is thought to be a result of both human activity and climatic change. Meat and fish were dried, smoked, and roasted in the early period. Interestingly enough, Japanese people still apply those methods to preserve some kinds of food from decay.

There is still debate over the emergence and the end of Jomon culture and so the debate continues as to the extent of the Jomon culture. The Jomon Period is followed by theYayoi Period.