Niche Construction of Ban-nong ban-eoh in Southwestern Korea: Archaeobotanical Data from the Early Iron to Three Kingdoms Periods

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper examines the traditional ecological knowledge that existed for generations along the southern coast in Korea with an example from the site of Gungokri. Traditional subsistence along the Korean coast and islands is known as half-farming and half-fishing, Ban-nong ban-eoh in Korean, and we argue that this strategy applies to over 500 years of history at the site. Our data from 150 b.c.–a.d. 400 focuses on archaeobotanical remains recovered from floated sediments, 25 radiocarbon dates, and starch granules extracted from vessels. Our research indicates that Gungokri residents practiced a rotation of crops in both wetlands and uplands to prevent the loss of soil nutrition and erosion from seawater. Furthermore, they diversified food resources by fishing, shellfishing, hunting, and harvesting wild plants from forest edges and wetlands. This type of long-term resilience and ecological flexibility in coastal adaptation was achieved through niche construction of complex seasonal resource management and inheritance of traditional ecological knowledge.