In contrast to the Jomon period, which lasted more than ten millennia, the Yayoi period lasted only several hundred years, and the Yayoi period is classified, according to the style of the excavated articles, into three stages, that is, the early stage, the middle stage, and the late stage.
1万年以上続いた縄文時代に比して、弥生時代は期間的には数百年にすぎないが、出土品の形式編年から前期・中期・後期に分けられている。