An, D; (1992) The shell middens at Konam-ri, Anmyon Island, Korea and the broader significance. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

This thesis is concerned with the four Konam-ri shell middens dating from the Neolithic and Bronze Age on AnmyOn Island, Korea. Various methods are used to interpret the middens. Following a summary of Korean geology and natural environment, the present state of knowledge of Korean prehistory is reviewed, and the excavations on Anmy8n Island are described. The artefacts and structures found in the middens are studied in order to locate the sites in the chronologocal and cultural context of Korean archaeology. The animal and plant remains are analyzed to reconstruct the past local environment, subsistence economy, technology and strategy of food preparation and to identify the function of the middens. Finally, C-14 dates are given to provide absolute date to the sites. The subsistence economy of the Neolithic midden (A-2) could not be reconstructed due to extensive disturbance by farmers, however it is concluded that the subsistence economy represented by the Bronze Age middens (A-1, B-1 and 2) depended on farming with occasional exploitation of wild resources such as molluscs, mammals, fish, birds and wild plants. Despite the abundance of marine shells in the sites it is estimated that the role of shellfish in the total diet of people who formed the middens was not significantly important. The analyses of archaeological evidence and animal and plant remains recovered from the sites suggested that the Bronze Age middens were home-base sites occupied year-round. The Neolithic midden was dated to about the 15th century BC and the Bronze Age middens somewhere around the 8th-5th centuries BC. Evidence from animal and plant remains indicated that the prehistoric local environment was generally similar to that of today.

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