Late Quaternary Paleo-environments of Archaeological Sites in Japan and East Asia. Locations of Agrarian Communities in Korean Prehistory.

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  • 東アジアと日本の遺跡をめぐる古環境　朝鮮半島原始時代農耕集落の立地
  • チョウセン ハントウ ゲンシ ジダイ ノウコウ シュウラク ノ リッチ

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This paper explores the possible impact of the choice of the location of agricultural land on the development of agriculture in Korean prehistory. Dry field agriculture in the Korean Peninsula started in the middle Neolithic Period (ca. 4, 000-3, 000 B.C.) as a result of diffusion from the northeastern part of China. In the following Bronze and Iron Age (first millenium B.C.) when wet rice agriculture was adopted, agrarian communities appeared. While dry field agriculture was dominant to the north of Han River, both the dry field agriculture and wet rice agriculture were practiced to the south of Han River. Further to the south, wet rice agriculture was more and more dominant.<br>Whichever type of agriculture being practiced, it has become clear that early agrarian communities in the Korean Peninsula were located in five different ecological zones: 1) on narrow river terraces in mountaneous areas; 2) on river terraces in plains; 3) hilly areas facing small plains and plains in valleys; 4) on the top of mountains; and 5) on the coast. In the first case, the expansion of agricultural fields were difficult because of the narrowness of the land, and consequently the increase in the productivity was limitted. In the second and third cases, the expansion of agricultural fields were possible for both wet rice and dry field agriculture. It was in these areas where the growth of agricultural communities took place. Moreover, many burials associated with bronze objects which were located in these areas may be good evidence for the high productivity in agriculture. The significance of the fourth case is difficult to assess because of very few data. In the fifth case, it is unlikely that people located on the sea coast practiced agriculture extensively, and their major source of subsistence was fishing. Accordingly, wealth as evident in bronze and iron at these coastal communities may be a result of active trade with agricultural communities inland.

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