The purpose of this study is to examine the crop assemblage and agricultural aspects in the Bronze Age through carbonized cereals recovered from the sites of the Bronze Age. For this purpose, this study developed a discussion about characteristics of ...
The purpose of this study is to examine the crop assemblage and agricultural aspects in the Bronze Age through carbonized cereals recovered from the sites of the Bronze Age. For this purpose, this study developed a discussion about characteristics of the crop assemblage and agricultural aspects in the Bronze Age while inspecting carbonized cereals recovered from the sites of the Bronze Age researched so far and analyzing comparatively rate of the crop assemblage and ubiquity. Generally, there is an existing opinion that social characteristics of the Bronze Age had a marked change before and after appearance of the Songgukri assemblage. So, this thesis reviewed the Bronze Age dividing it into the early and the late phase based on appearance of the Songgukri assemblage. Research sites are 17 sites in the early phase and 24 sites in the late phase.
As the result of examining crop remains recovered from the sites of the Bronze Age, both in the early and the late phase, it shows that crops were utilized including rice, barley, wheat, soy bean, adzuki bean, foxtail millet, broomcorn millet. For in-depth review about crop remains in the Bronze Age, after dividing it into the early and the late phase, comparison on the absolute counts of carbonized cereals, comparison on the number of features · sites crop remains were recovered and ubiquity analysis were conducted. As the result of the analysis, both in the early and the late phase, it reveals that crop assemblage was done centered on rice and foxtail millet. However, more detailed study shows that there was a slight difference in the transition from the early to the late phase. Firstly as for the crop assemblage, with decrease of rice and foxtail millet and increase of other crops, it reveals an aspect that deviation among each crop's percentage decreased and ubiquity increased on the whole. Such an aspect may be regarded as utilization of various crops rather than intensification of certain crop in the late Bronze Age compared with the early phase. In addition, an increase of ubiquity may be interpreted as increasing dependence on crops and also connected to improvement of the agricultural production.
In the mean time, as for the aspect of crop remains during the early and the late Bronze Age, there was a slight difference in the rate of crops but there is was no difference in the crop assemblage as rice, barley and wheat, beans and millet were utilized together. Therefore, it is assumed that both periods had similar agricultural aspects. An epoch-making change mentioned generally for the transition from the early to the late phase, may be regarded as having no connection with the crop assemblage.
For the sites carbonized cereals were recovered in the Bronze Age, there are relatively many sites showing the crop assemblage of rice+barley wheat+beans+millet. Also on the contrary to the existing opinion exceedingly emphasizing the agricultural economy centered on irrigated paddy rice cultivation, sites of the Bronze Age analyzed through plenty of samples show the crop assemblage of rice+barley wheat+beans+millet generally. Furthermore, as the result of review on data of 14 sites having higher reliability, ubiquity of most crops was higher so it shows that such a crop assemblage was utilized generally. Accordingly, it is assumed that Bronze Age's agriculture was intensively concentrated on 'rice, barley, wheat, soy bean, adzuki bean, foxtail millet, broomcorn millet'.
In conclusion, it is regarded that crop assemblage of rice+barley wheat+beans+millet was established from the early Bronze Age. So, in general, as for the agriculture of the Bronze Age, it is presumed that rice cultivation was done at the lowlands and dry-field cultivation with rotation of sorts of barley at the hill slopes. In addition, as for the agricultural intensification examined in regard to expansion of land, input of labor force and technical development, it was done continually within the society in the Bronze Age. As shown from evidence from everywhere of the Bronze Age, it may be thought that intensification was done in the Bronze Age.