Japan has been inhabited by people since about 35,000 years ago. Roughly 16,500 years ago a group of Neolithic hunter-gatherers, referred to as the "Jomon" culture, developed a complex society including the production of pottery and jewellery.About 3,000 years ago, rice cultivation in paddy fields was introduced to Japan. This saw the beginning of the Yayoi period which ended around the year 300 CE. After the Yayoi came the Kofun period (300–538 CE)...The authors note that the current consensus based on DNA evidence from modern Japanese people is that there was 2 or 3-way mixing between the indigenous Jomon people...