The northern zone comprised Tanegeshima and Yakushima island, of the Satsunan group of islands. The Amami and Ryukyu Island groups comprised the central cultural zone, and the southern zone consisted of the Miyako and Yaeyama island groups.
The Jomon culture of the northern zone moved south into the central zone's Amami and Ryukyu Island groups in the first part of the Jomon period. In those areas there was an independent culture that had already developed and its origin, according to recent archeological excavations, has been found to date from several thousands of years earlier than had previously been thought.
On the other hand, the so-called Sakishima cultural sphere (the Sakishima, Miyako-jima and the Yaeyama Island groups) had a different type of culture than the Jomon and Yayoi cultures of mainland Japan. There were few relations with the Japanese mainland, or the Amami and Okinawa Islands. The Sakishima Islands' roots are deeply related to Taiwan, the Philippines and the southern regions of Asia.
