Beyond rice farming: Evidence from central Korea reveals wide resource utilization in the Songgukri culture during the late-Holocene

Seungki Kwak, Gyeongtaek Kim, Gyoung Ah Lee

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17 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study investigates prehistoric subsistence of the middle Bronze (Mumun) period in the central part of the Korean Peninsula during the late-Holocene. Rice farming has often been regarded as a harbinger of complex society with an economic foundation based on rice yields. We test this common hypothesis on intensive rice farming as a primary means of subsistence and political economy through an integrative approach with archaeobotanical and isotopic data. We focus on the sites from the Songgukri culture (2900–2400 cal. BP) which are scattered along the middle and lower reaches of the Geum River. Our study indicates settlers along the Geum River utilized a wide range of crops and wild animals, a picture far removed from the popular view of a rice-dominated diet in the Songgukri culture.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1092-1102
Number of pages11
JournalHolocene
Volume27
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Aug 2017

Keywords

  • archaeobotany
  • diet
  • isotope
  • Korean peninsula
  • Mumun or Bronze period
  • rice farming
  • social complexity
  • subsistence

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