A Critical Review of Lab-based Geoarchaeological Research Focusing on Korean Peninsula Bronze Age

Abstract

Geoarchaeology, a field that investigates soils and sediments familiar to archaeologists, covers a wide spectrum of research implications and ramifications. Realizing such a spectrum and the reality that this field remains relatively underdeveloped in the South Korean context, this article reviews lab-based Bronze Age geoarchaeological research cases in South Korea and discusses its future directions. The cases are divided into four categories: (i) paleoenvironment and landform reconstruction, (ii) agricultural research, (iii) identifying ancient living patterns and (iv) artifact analysis. The accumulated paleoenvironmental reconstruction studies suggest that localized, diverse micro-landscapes developed in a generally reclaimed landscapes with corresponding variation in land use by settlement. Through agricultural soil research we can infer early modes of paddy rice cultivation and inquire into geoarchaeological approaches to agricultural productivity and persistence. Furthermore, the analytical investigation of domestic use of space has been utilized to reconstruct functional differentiation, secondary use and the formation of black colored deposits in both Early Bronze Age and Songguk-ri type dwellings. We summarize research achievements concerning the sourcing of lithic raw materials and potteries and identification of their production sites. To date, South Korean geoarchaeological research has achieved a modicum of success in reconstructing paleoenvironments and revealing the functional aspects of features and artifacts yet there still exist unresolved questions. In the future, epistemological endeavors should be undertaken to accrue functional and empirical knowledge, refine our comprehension of human-environmental interaction and produce advanced hypotheses on the characteristics of Bronze Age Korea embedded therein.