asphalt? They used it

 I am continueing to read about Ancient Japan

I downloaded the book from Scribd: 

 Japan to 1600

A S OCIAL AND E C O N O M I C HISTORY

  WI L L I A M W A Y N E F A R R I S

I am still in the first 100 pages, and the author is discussing trade, and mentions asphalt.

Asphalt?  CiNii research   

During the Jomon period asphalt was used as a binder to fix a harpoon or a fishspear in its shaft, to tie a sring with a spoon-shaped lithic knife or a stone weight, and to mend broken pottery

 

The use of asphalt began about 3, 300 B. C., saw its climax in the latter part of the Late Jomon and Final Jomon periods (about 1, 500-300 B. C.), and was suddenly abandoned in the Yayoi period.During the Jomon period, asphalt was collected only in the oil-fields along the Japan Sea side areasof the Tohoku district where it came out to the surface. Tukinoki and Komagata in Akitaprefecture and Yunodai in Yamagata prefecture are well-known locations of the surface asphalt. InNiigata prefecture oil-layers lie near the surface and, therefore, crude oil came out to accumulate inponds located on foothills and is found half-soild along the pond shore. During the Jomon period, the asphalt collected in the oil-producing areas was distributed in the whole Tohoku district alongseveral trading routes

Grok says the same thing, so I guess they found the same article and summarized it nicely,

But Grok mentions the oil fields of Akita and western Japan. 

Oil fields? I wasn't aware that Japan had oil fields, but apparently they do.

and since Gork noticed I was asking about the Jomon period added the history as above, including mentioning the trade 

• Trade Networks: Asphalt from Akita was traded across the Tohoku region and as far as the Kanto region, indicating a sophisticated exchange system. Archaeological evidence from 67 sites confirms its widespread use, peaking in the Late and Final Jomon periods (c. 1,500–300 BCE).

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Bitumen vs asphalt: almost the same thing, but not quite:

Asphalt is a composite of aggregates, sand, and bitumen; where bitumen acts as a liquid binding material that holds asphalt together.

Actually there was a trade in bitumin in the Middle East that goes back 40 000 years: as a glue to fix flint to their tools, and much later to waterproof things, and also a glue in construction.

more HERE.

and get out your Herodatus and your Livy and your Bible: Bitumen was why King Sargon (and Moses and Romulus/Remus) didn't sink into rivers and drown.

An ancient legend tells that, as a baby, King Sargon of Accad was placed in a reed basket coated with asphalt by his mother, Itti-Bel, and set adrift on the waters of the Euphrates river around 3800 B.C. This legend corresponds closely with the story of Moses being set adrift in the Nile river in an asphalt-coated basket.

Cynics who hate the idea that the Bible might be accurate would say that this proves the Bible is just made up. But I would say that women would place unwanted babies in such boats (or in the case of Moses, hide him in the rushes from inspector searching houses looking for illegal kids). 

In ancient times, infanticide happened, but too many legends suggest it was looked down upon:  often unwanted babies were left at crossroads (or in baskets on rivers), so the parents could  say they didn't kill the kid, but that they left it to the gods if the kid should live or die. But legends of heroes saved by ordinary folk (Sargon, Moses, Romulus and Remus, Oedipus) were probably told to caution against the practice. 

well, anyway: Bitumen in the middle East was used for construction, 

The early uses of asphalt include cementing bricks together for the construction of buildings and pavements and for protecting exterior masonry surfaces. It was also used for trowling the surface of interior floors and stair treads, and for waterproofing baths and drains.

  not only traded, but the ability to waterproof boats led to the ability to trade.

 

Grok also has a long essay on the use of asphalt/bitumen in ancient South America, but I will have to read that later.

.................

update: There is something in the bible about Sodom and tar pits. But this article is about Bitumen from the Dead Sea are found in Nubia.1300 BC

and what about those tar pits in California?

The Chumash and Tongva people used tar from the pits to build plank boats by sealing planks of California redwood trunks and pieces of driftwood from the Santa Barbara Channel, which they used to navigate the California coastline and Channel Islands.[5]