Subsistence Change at Konam-RI: Implications for the Advent of Rice Agriculture in Korea

Abstract

Attempts at reconstructing subsistence strategies in prehistoric Korea, particularly during the Neolithic and Bronze Age, are few. Research directed towards explaining change in subsistence patterns in this part of East Asia are even fewer. This article addresses the latter question through analysis of vertebrate faunal remains from Konam-ri, a Neolithic/Bronze Age shell midden site located off the central west coast of Korea. Significant distinctions in subsistence strategies are evident between the Neolithic and Bronze Age deposits at Konam-ri: Neolithic Koreans relied heavily on wild game and fish resources, but by the advent of the Bronze Age, subsistence shifted towards a heavier dependence on agricultural products, particularly rice and millet. It is argued here that increasing population pressure during the Neolithic may have been the causal factor leading to intensified procurement of the Konam-ri inhabitants' primary resource: fish. This intensification, in turn, could have caused overexploitation and a subsequent heavier dependence on previously secondary and tertiary resources (i.e., rice and millet agriculture). This evidence may have further implications for other regions of Korea.