In Japan dedicated breeders have founded an association called Shiba Inu Hozonkai (SHIBAHO) which has made it its business to recreate a dog from the Paleolithic Age (Old Stone Age) – the Jomon Shiba. Recent archaeological findings indicate Stone Age life existed in Japan 20,000 years ago when the northern islands were still connected to the continent. About 14,500 B.C. the Jomon culture developed, named after the ceramic pottery decorated with cord patterns (jo = cord; mon = pattern) characteristic of that period. The Japanese original inhabitants of this period sustained hunting dogs which they highly appreciated.