Intragroup social differentiation and household inequality in prehistoric Mumun settlements of Korea

Abstract

This study examines intra-settlement social inequality across 73 Mumun settlements (ca. 1500–1 BCE) on the southern Korean Peninsula using the Gini index and Lorenz curve. House size and pottery density are employed as proxies for socioeconomic power and the capacity for food storage and sharing, respectively. The analysis reveals a nuanced understanding of Mumun social complexity. Variations in house sizes show low Gini scores, suggesting a degree of egalitarian intragroup relationships. However, communal infrastructures, such as paddy field systems, defensive structures, and dolmens, indicate community-wide collaboration and the presence of managerial leadership. Furthermore, the significantly high Gini scores for pottery density demonstrate greater inter-household economic inequality, driven by factors such as craftsmanship. These observations collectively suggest that Mumun intra-settlement relationships were founded on principles of equality, with people collaborating to achieve common goals and benefits while seeking to accumulate wealth on a household basis. Overall, the settlement datasets indicate that Mumun social relations contained elements of both egalitarianism and increasing complexity, although the data do not indicate that intra-settlement social inequality intensified over time.