Peach (Prunus persica) cultivation in ancient Korea: an archaeobotanical examination

Abstract

Archaeobotanical research has traditionally prioritized seed-propagated annual crops, with comparatively limited attention given to the cultivation of woody perennial plants. To address this gap, this study examines peach endocarps recovered from Korean archaeological sites to explore the social context of peach cultivation. While peach endocarps are occasionally found at prehistoric sites, evidence for their cultivation in the region before 100 BC remains limited. Although the social conditions necessary for arboriculture—long-term land investment and territoriality—were established at many prehistoric sites, fruit tree cultivation did not emerge until after 100 BC. Peach endocarps from Sinchang-dong (ca. 14 BC–AD 243) exhibit traits indicative of incomplete domestication—elongated and compressed, yet relatively small—suggesting an early cultivation stage or the harvesting of feral forms. In contrast, later peach endocarps are significantly larger, elongated, and compressed, resembling modern cultivars. The inclusion of peaches as burial goods after approximately 100 BC highlights their symbolic values, which potentially facilitated the expansion of peach cultivation across the Korean Peninsula during the first millennium AD.