Distributions and Characteristics of the Cave Sites on Jeju Island during Late Pleistocene to Middle Holocene

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Social and Environmental Interactions on Coasts and Islands in Korea" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This study examines several cave sites on Jeju Island during the Late Pleistocene to Middle Holocene. Subsistence economy, occupation patterns, and cave usage durations are studied and compared. From 1.8 mya, the Jeju Island began to be formed through hydro volcanic activities. Since then, the continuous activities created the Hallasan Mountain and about 360 volcanic craters (oreum). The Seongsan Ilchulbong tuff cone, Biyangdo Island, and Songaksan Mountain are representative features from the continued activities during the Holocene and these volcanic events are documented in historical texts. Similar volcanic activities resulted in the natural caves on Jeju Island, which is known to have 178 lava caves. Some of these caves are registered as natural monuments, and some of the cave entrances or rockshelter sites have been used as dwellings or temporary camps throughout prehistoric to historic periods. In this presentation, the authors discuss the occupation patterns and site characteristic changes at the Billemot, Saengsugwe, Gwenaegi, Kimnyungri, and Bookchon cave sites.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Social and Environmental Interactions on Coasts and Islands in Korea   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37075.0