Red elderberry is considered one of highly used plants in the Jomon period resulting from frequent discoveries of the stones at many sites. The fruits and stones contain cyanide-producing glycosides rendering them toxic. Red elderberry brewing has been argued from the excavations at Sannaimaruyama and Ikenai site where huge layers of red elderberry stones and masses of seeds mainly consisting of red elderberry covered by stem-like plant remains were discovered,
North American and European ethnographic sources, red elderberry fruits may also have been used by the Jomon people for medicinal purposes or stored food as a rich source of vitamins by cooking. At least, it can be assumed that red elderberry in the Jomon period had multiple uses aside from alcohol.
