Instrumental neutron activation analysis can be successfully applied to archaeological artifacts because of its ability of rapid and simultaneous multielement analysis. In this study instrumental neutron activation analysis has been used for determining 14 elements: aluminum, sodium, potassium, titanium, magnesium, manganese, iron, vanadium, cobalt, scandium, lanthanum, europium, ytterbium and thorium. The data were treated statistically according to Euclidean distance and factor analysis. To classify earthenware samples by chemical composition, iron, magnesium, and cobalt are found to be most useful. Based on the contents of these elements, early Jomon earthenwares (Kayama Type) were probably made using a local clay bed different from others. From the profile analysis, it was suggested that a representative sample should be taken from the centerlayer of an earthenware to avoid alteration and weathering effects. -- AATA