<P> Haniwa were made with water - based clay and dried into a coarse and absorbent material that stood the test of time . Their name means "circle of clay" referring to how they were arranged in a circle above the tomb . The protruding parts of the figures were made separately and then attached, while a few things were carved into them . They were smoothed out by a wooden paddle . Terraces were arranged to place them with a cylindrical base into the ground, where the earth would hold them in place . </P> <P> During the Kofun period, a highly aristocratic society with militaristic rulers developed . The cavalry wore iron armor, carried swords and other weapons, and used advanced military methods like those of northeast Asia . Many of them are represented in haniwa figurines for funerary purposes . </P> <P> The most important of the haniwa were found in southern Honshū--especially the Kinai region around Nara--and northern Kyūshū . Haniwa grave offerings were made in many forms, such as horses, chickens, birds, fans, fish, houses, weapons, shields, sunshades, pillows, and humans . Besides decorative and spiritual reasons of protecting the deceased in his afterlife, these figures served as a sort of retaining wall for the burial mound . </P> <P> Because these haniwa display the contemporary clothing, hairstyle, farming tools, and architecture, these sculptures are important as a historical archive of the Kofun Period . </P>

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