New Evidence, Methods, Theories, and Challenges to Understanding Prehistoric Economies in Korea

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "New Evidence, Methods, Theories, and Challenges to Understanding Prehistoric Economies in Korea," at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Increasing data from archaeological fieldwork coupled with interdisciplinary analytical and theoretical applications have opened new discourses on hunter-gatherers, agriculturalists, egalitarian and complex societies in prehistoric Korea. As both a receiving end of the agricultural dispersal and a possible center of some crop domestication, Korean archaeology can contribute to the global discussions of hunter-gatherers and farmers’ interactions leading to the emergence of state-level societies. The papers in this session broadly cover South Korea from the beginning of the Neolithic to early historical periods. Cross-disciplinary research applications present new data and perspectives on diet changes, human-environment interactions, labor cooperation, commodity exchange, and early agricultural development in prehistoric Korea. The goals of the present session are to synthesize recent understandings on diversity and dynamics of economic strategies among various prehistoric societies in Korea, and then discuss the new challenges and future direction of research.

Other Keywords
Subsistence and Foodways • Paleoethnobotany • Neolithic • Bronze Age • Environment and Climate  • Lithic Analysis • Political economy • Agriculture • Ceramic Analysis • Craft Production

Geographic Keywords
Kyrgyz Republic (Country) • Japan (Country) • Asia (Continent) • Mongolia (Country) • Republic of India (Country) • People's Republic of Bangladesh (Country) • Democratic People's Republic of Korea (Country) • Union of Myanmar (Country) • People's Republic of China (Country) • Republic of Korea (Country)

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  • Documents (8)
Documents
  • Assessing Agricultural Strategies in Prehistoric Korea through Climate and Landscape Models (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Rachel Lee. Martin Bale. Jade D'Alpoim Guedes.

    This is an abstract from the "New Evidence, Methods, Theories, and Challenges to Understanding Prehistoric Economies in Korea" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Relict fields and archaeobotanical remains from village sites in South Korea indicate intensive agriculture was practiced during the Mumun Period (ca. 1500-200 B.C.). In this paper, we discuss the effects of climate and landscape in the decision-making of Mumun farmers, particularly which...

  • Early-Middle Holocene resource use and niche construction in Jeju Island, Korea (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Hyunsoo Lee.

    This is an abstract from the "New Evidence, Methods, Theories, and Challenges to Understanding Prehistoric Economies in Korea" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Study of various human adaptations and human-environmental dynamics amid Early-Middle Holocene (ca. 11,500-5,000 BP) climate changes has been a noteworthy theme in archaeological research. One of the main questions in this discourse is how occupants in various environments and landscapes have...

  • Examining Recent Archaeological Findings at the Bronze Age Korean Settlement of Jungdo Using an Economic Perspective (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Ha Beom Kim. Sook-Chung Shin.

    This is an abstract from the "New Evidence, Methods, Theories, and Challenges to Understanding Prehistoric Economies in Korea" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Recent archaeological excavations at the Jungdo site, Chuncheon, Korea have revealed a rare ditch-enclosed Bronze Age settlement in which more than 1,000 pit houses and 100 dolmens were found. As a large-scale complex settlement with evidence of spatial demarcation that divides the site into...

  • Mahan Political Economy: Evidence from Ceramic Geochemistry (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Rory Walsh.

    This is an abstract from the "New Evidence, Methods, Theories, and Challenges to Understanding Prehistoric Economies in Korea" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Emerging data from the Mahan cultures of South Korea are fundamentally changing our understanding of this complex society and its relationship with Korea's early states. Using INAA data on ceramic geochemistry, patterns of production traditions and trade relationships reveal a political...

  • Subsistence Economy and Paleoenvironment of Neolithic Islanders in Jeju, Korea (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Geun Tae Park. Chang Hwa Kang. Jae Won Ko.

    This is an abstract from the "New Evidence, Methods, Theories, and Challenges to Understanding Prehistoric Economies in Korea" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The subsistence economy of the Neolithic Period in Korea mainly consisted of hunting, fishing, gathering, and farming. However, there are also regional and chronological variations, which can be understood through the detailed study of lithic and bone tools and the analysis of archaeological...

  • Subsistence Strategy, Pottery Use, and the Role of Animal Hunting on the Neolithic Korean Peninsula (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Seungki Kwak.

    This is an abstract from the "New Evidence, Methods, Theories, and Challenges to Understanding Prehistoric Economies in Korea" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. One of the main topics of Korean archaeology is understanding of prehistoric subsistence throughout the Neolithic. However, due to the high acidity of sediments that do not favor long-term preservation of organic remains, we still lack critical information related to the subsistence of the...

  • Sustained Farming in the Nam River Valley, South-central Korea, through the Mumun/Bronze to early historical periods (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Gyoung-Ah Lee.

    This is an abstract from the "New Evidence, Methods, Theories, and Challenges to Understanding Prehistoric Economies in Korea" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This research examines agricultural management, particularly raised field farming from the Mumun/Bronze to early historical periods (3400–1600 cal. BP) along the Nam River in south-central Korea. The study of settlements on alluvial flatlands provides crucial information on early agricultural...

  • Technological Transmission between Different Levels of Specialization in Proto-historic NE Asia (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Sungjoo Lee.

    This is an abstract from the "New Evidence, Methods, Theories, and Challenges to Understanding Prehistoric Economies in Korea" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Proto-historic period (300 B.C. - A.D. 300) in Northeast Asia was a critical time when technological innovations and the fundamental changes of craft-specialization in the ceramic production occurred. From the early 3rd century B.C., ancient Chinese states of Yan, Qin, and Han expanded...