Cord-patterned pottery was first excavated in AD 1877 by an American scholar, Edward S. Morse. He described the decoration as 'cord markings,' and the Japanese translation of this term – jômon – is used to refer to the prehistoric period during which it was produced.

Pots from this period were decorated before firing while the clay was still wet and fairly soft. The earliest methods included rolling a carved stick over the surface, or incising (cutting into the clay) with shells, fingernails, and split bamboo sticks. From about 7500 BC a new technique was developed which used twisted cord made of plant fibres rolled over the surface of the vessel. It was possible to produce a wide variety of patterns by using different types of cord, by wrapping the cord around a stick, and by rolling in different directions. Usually, a combination of rolled and incised designs would cover the surface of a pot, whether large or small.

During the Middle Jômon period (3500-2500 BC) a more three-dimensional form of decoration became popular, using pieces of clay applied to the surface of vessels. However, the cord-marked technique did continue into the Final Jômon period (1000-300 BC), when zones of cord-marked decoration formed part of the elaborate designs on large ritual figurines.