An agricultural revolution in prehistoric Korea
The Songguk-ri archaeological site presents a clear picture of a major shift in agriculture on the Korean Peninsula during the Bronze Age. Excavations have uncovered large quantities of carbonized rice, specifically short-grained Japonica rice, providing direct evidence of intensive wet-rice cultivation. Radiocarbon dating of materials found alongside the grains, such as charred wood, places these farming activities between 870 and 585 BCE. At one location within the site, Structure 54-1, excavators recovered approximately 400 grams of these ancient rice grains from the floor of a rectangular dwelling.
This discovery is significant because rice was not the first crop cultivated in the region; grains like millet and barnyard millet appeared earlier. The appearance of rice, and the infrastructure for farming it, indicates a move toward more complex and organized agricultural society. While direct evidence of rice paddies has not been found at the Songguk-ri settlement itself, irrigated paddy systems from the same period have been discovered just 25 kilometers away, showing the technological capability for wet-rice farming was present in the area. The society that developed this agricultural system is now referred to as the "Songguk-ri Culture" and is considered an important Bronze Age cultural type in Korea.