The era when no historical documents are available and the historical archaeological materials that remain are classified, based on the classification of historical periods used in archaeology, in the Paleolithic period (in Japan), the Jomon period, the Yayoi period, and the Tumulus period.
文献史料がなく考古史料が残る時代は、考古学上の時代区分に従い、旧石器時代(日本)・縄文時代・弥生時代・古墳時代と区分する。