Using the criteria based on the distribution of the Jomon earthenware, the northern limit is Cape Soya and the Kurile Islands and the southern limit is the islands of Okinawa; the Jomon earthenware is not distributed in Miyakojima Island and the Yaeyama Islands (the earthenware found in Miyakojima Island and the Yaeyama Islands belongs to the family of the earthenware found in Taiwan).
縄文土器の分布を目安とした場合、北は宗谷岬と千島列島、南は沖縄島を限界とし、宮古島や八重山諸島には分布しない（宮古島や八重山諸島は台湾島の土器と同系統のもの）。