During the Jomon period in Japan which began as early as 13,000 BC, Neolithic hunters and gatherers created figures of clay. These wonderful, expressive figures are called Dogu. They took intriguing forms – some with heart shaped faces or triangular pointed heads. Some squat, perhaps in childbirth, others appear to be praying while some even seem to wear goggles and spaceperson attire. Many dogu have recognizably female characteristics with swelling breasts and hips, not unlike the fertility figures common in other cultures. Size ranges from two inches up to nearly two feet for the larger dogu.

There is much debate about what dogu meant to the Jomon people and how they were used. It appears that these figures were purposely broken by the people and then somehow used in rituals or possibly as healing devices. One theory is that the dogu acted as effigies of people and manifested some kind of sympathetic magic. For example, it may have been believed that illnesses could be transferred into the Dogu, then destroyed, clearing the illness or other misfortune. At any rate, the ritual destruction of dogu has made them quite rare.

These figures have been discovered in all parts of Japan with northern Japan yielding the most variety. Some dogu are known as the "goggles type." Their eyes resemble snow goggles worn by Inuit people to protect their eyes against the sun's reflection on snow.  Many of these goggle-donning dogu also appear to be in outer-space garb complete with riveted suit, helmet and face mask, thus fueling arguments that the dogu are actually representations of ancient aliens.

Some relate the broken figures to the Indonesian origin myth of Hainuwele. The Wemale people of Ceram tell a story in which the first animals and plants are the result of the sacrifice of Hainuwele. A man called Ameta cuts his finger while collecting sap from the newly discovered coconut tree and a baby girl, which he named Hainuwele or "coconut branch" emerges from the mixture of blood and sap. Hainuwele grows up in a few days and joins the ritual dance that is being performed by the nine first human clans. In this ritual, the men dance in circles around the women who give them betel to chew as they dance. But Hainuwele, blessed from birth with the dubious ability to excrete valuable items, gave these treasures – coral, jewels, gongs, etc. - to the people who danced around her. She was so generous that it raised the suspicions of her fellow humans who soon dug a deep hole and pushed her into it, burying her alive. This was the first instance of human death. The next day, Ameta suspects what has happened to Hainuwele and digs up his daughter, dismembers her (ah, here's the connection to the broken Dogu!) and plants the various pieces in the earth. The story goes that from these plantings came the staple tuberous vegetables which sustained the Wemale people. When the Goddess Mulia Satene learned of the murder of Hainuwele (who was in fact an aspect of herself) she struck several of the people with the arm of the dead maiden – these people then became the first animals. (Leading me to ponder whether or not dogu were perhaps part voodoo doll.)

In modern times, dogu serve as artistic inspiration, and in recent decades have been featured in manga comics where they look like aliens, and the Playstation game Dokioki, where the dogu are indeed aliens.