• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.77-82
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• 2013

In this study, growth-line analysis was carried out on the hard clam (Meretrix petechialis) recovered from the Neolithic Age Daejuk-ri Shell Middens, Seosan, Korea, with aim to determine the seasonality of shellfish collection and site occupation. Growth increments of 206 specimens of the clam were examined. The marginal index (MI) of the archaeological specimens was calculated and was compared to the monthly marginal index of modern specimens under the assumption that the growth pattern was the same as it is today. MI of the archaeological specimens ranged from 0.13 to 1.29 and was divided into four categories: < 0.63, spring; 0.63-0.76, summer; 0.76-0.89, fall; $$\geq_-$$ 0.89, winter collection. As a result, of 206 specimens, 170 specimens (82.5%) represented spring, 18 (8.7%) summer, 10 (4.9%) fall and 8 (3.9%) winter collection. The results suggest year-round shellfish collection at the sites, with an emphasis on spring. Considering these results it can be inferred that the sites were occupied throughout the year.

• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.18 no.1 s.22
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• pp.1-20
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• 2004

A geoscientific research was performed on 12 samples of comb-pattern potteries which were excavated at Daecheonri neolithic site, Korea. The texture and compositions of 12 potteries and surrounding metrix of soil and rocks were compared with the help of petrographic microscope, XRD and REE data. As to the manufacturing techniques thick potteries are caused by the amount and number of coarse grains which are assumed to be added shards when their distributional pattern are considered. DC1, DC3, DC 7 and DC11 samples have clearly oriented textures, and the orientation of vesicles in DC3 and DC11 samples arranged in the same direction with those on the pottery surface. This indicates the use potter's wheel technique in manufacturing potteries. Burning temperature is assumed over $800^{/circ}C$, particularly under reduction environment. As to the source, raw materials of pottery matrix are derived from the bottom of excavation site, or in an extracted outcrop of the northwestern foothill from site, while the shard materials are very similar with those extracted from sandy loams near sites. Finally any use pattern of pottery may control the pottery thickness, shard addition, and matrix selection.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.83-100
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• 2019

The purposes of this study are to identify the meaning of the geometrical patterns preferred by ancient Korean peoples and to classify them into some groups by their similarity. We investigated various patterns found on clothing and relics from GoJoseon to Goguryeo period, and utilized secondary sources such as history articles, Internet materials and photo and analyzed the associations of the varied patterns found in pottery, handicrafts, and clothing with the ancient cultures. We found the letters (ㅇ, ㅁ, and ㅅ of Korean alphabet, Hangul) preferred by ancestors who worshipped nature to identify the significations attached by them to particular patterns. The results confirm the following: first, the circle pattern indicated the sun, moon, stars in the sky, a bronze mirror, and a man's face. Circles and ovals were also observed to represent the individual souls of the clan or community. Second, square patterns symbolized the land and the patterns that signified the wellbeing of family and the country. Oblique rectangles were more frequently used as they represented a double use of the triangle, a shape that implied mystic power. Third, triangle symbolized regeneration, power, and humanity. While the Neolithic Age jade remnants of hair combs appear not to be irrelevant to the process of comb-shaped pottery production of the time, many fine comb-like lines may be found on bronze mirrors. Through its review of the glorious designs inherited from and established by ancient ancestors, the present research endeavor may help in identifying the spirits and traditions of Korean history.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.48-60
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• 2023

Although foxtail and broomcorn millet have been cultivated since the Neolithic Age on the Korean Peninsula, there have been few studies on how the importance of millet cultivation changed over time. The discovery of millet has been rare in the Mahan-Baekje villages in the Jeonnam region, and archaeological discussions on ancient farming have centered around rice farming. However, a large amount of millet was found at the Osan site in Bongrim-ri, Jangheung, showing that the tradition of millet cultivation continued during the AD 3-4 centuries. In contrast to rice farming, which requires low-lying wetlands, hot and humid summers, and a large labor force, millet cultivation has few restrictions in terms of growing environment and labor mobilization. Regarding harvesting seasons, the crops at the Osan site can be divided into fall harvesting (rice, legumes, millet) and summer harvesting (wheat). Regarding field locations, the crops are divided into wetland crops (rice) and dryland crops (wheat, legumes, millet). The operation of the dual agricultural system contributed to subsistence resilience and agricultural production, making it possible to effectively manage social and climatic crises.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.22-44
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• 2023

The subsistence economics of the early Bronze Age has focused on explaining the intensity of agricultural practices without sufficiently taking into account the diversity of production methods that may arise from cultural types or environmental factors. The problem appears to stem from paying insufficient attention to the question whether we should understand the transition from the Neolithic Age to the Bronze Age as continuous or discrete. This has hitherto blocked an avenue to investigate the gradual changes in subsistence resource production methods. Taking as its premise that changes in the production methods of subsistence resources in the Bronze Age have been continuous and gradual, this paper seeks to restore the production patterns of subsistence resources according to the variety of factors that may have influenced the early Bronze Age production method. With diverse cultural patterns and ecological spaces of the early Bronze Age being confirmed, the work of restoring the production methods of subsistence resources in a specific period is difficult to achieve with one or two stand-alone analyses. A more appropriate method would involve separating a number of different aspects related to the production of subsistence resources, analyzing and interpreting each, and in the final stage, synthesizing the analyses. The specific research method employed in this paper checked for compositional differences in stone production tools, functionally categorized according to a variety of factors that have a close relationship with the production of subsistence resources: cultural-environmental factors and cultural patterns, geographical and topographical factors, soil productivity, and size of settlement. The results of the analysis are as follows: for the early Bronze Age production pattern of subsistence resources in the Seoul and Gyeonggi regions, while no substantive differences were observed with respect to cultural type, geographical and topographical location, the results show statistically significant differences in the composition of production tools according to settlement size and soil productivity. Also, with an increasing ratio of settlement size and total production soil, increases in hunting and armoring tools, woodworking tools, and harvesting tools were observed; on the other hand, when it came to the ratio of fishing tools, the opposite relationship was observed. While a correlation between settlement size or crop cultivation productivity and dependence on hunting or farming was expected, the results of the regression analysis show that settlement size and soil productivity ratios do not have mutually significant relationships. The results thus illustrate that patterns of production differ according to a variety of factors, and no single factor is decisive in the adoption of subsistence resource production methods by a specific settlement. Therefore, the paper emphasizes the need to investigate the production patterns of subsistence resources according to the variety of cultural and environmental factors that make up settlements in early Bronze Age society.