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YeJin Jun

GCU114

Professor White

January 17, 2018

Settlement & Patterns Essay

To understand deeply about a country and its history, it is important to understand the

country’s earliest settlement patterns. Although the country of Korea is currently divided into

two, North and South Korea share a common history, from its earliest inhabitants to its different

dynasties and kingdoms. Starting from the earliest evidence of civilization from different

artifacts to every major event that occurred provides Korea its unique history and background.

By being knowledgeable and reflecting on its ancient history and ancestry, it will become easier

to understand more about the present South Korea and its lifestyle/culture.

The prehistory of Korea lacks written records, but has series of record exists from

paintings, rocks/stones, grave markers, and carvings. It is said that the prehistory of Korea covers

the longest from the Korean Peninsula “as early as 40,000 B.C.E until 300 B.C.E. [and]

Archaeology, geology, and Paleontology serve as the avenues for learning about Korean

prehistory” (New World Encyclopedia, n.d.). It can be said that the earliest inhabitants were

known as “caveman” since they were found in the peninsula was to be as old as 700,000 years

ago, and they were mostly hunters and gatherers that lived in areas like caves or rivers nearby.

They often moved from place to place in search for food. According to W Culture, “depending

on the progress of human evolution and the development of tools, the Paleolithic Age can be

divided into three different periods—the early, middle, and late Paleolithic”.
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In the early Paleolithic period, people used large stones for tools like stone choppers and

hand axes. In the middle period, they used more wider range of tools for different functions. In

the later period, people were known as the “anatomically modern humans (AMH)”, and during

this time period was when the “first stone blade appeared, and the efficacy of stone tools and

their manufacturing processes continued to develop” (W Culture, 2017). The Neolithic period

came after the Paleolithic Period, around 8000 B.C.E. to 1400 B.C.E, and around this time,

people began to adapt to the nature changing environment after the Ice Age.

This period created the foundation of the first settlements, by creating different ground

stone tools. Through this era, people lived around the seashores, rivers, and ate seafood, with

“[fish] providing a regular way hunting as well as arrows for hunting mammals” (New World

Encyclopedia, n.d.). In addition, Neolithic people used their tools and weapons, which enhanced

their ability to gather resources. During this time period, people wore simple clothing made from

animal skins, and “decorated themselves with jade, animal bones, horns, and shells” (W Culture,

2017). Furthermore, this period was when society begin to form, and construct clans by blood

line. When the period advanced, some of the clans would gain power by intermarriage.

Next was the introduction to the Bronze Age, which was the “same period with the metal

culture brought from Manchuria” (Cartwright, 2016). This was when the presence of bronze

came into being, bringing goods including swords, mirrors, and bells, daggers, axes, and belt

buckles. From this period, agriculture was continuing to develop, and people began to start rice

farming, which led to “the formation of larger settlements that resembled the rural villages of

today” (W Culture, 2017). Once the Iron Age began in the 3rd Century B.C.E, the first

nation/state Gojoseon was formed.

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Later on, Gojoseon territories will become Goguryeo, and people would refer to this

period as the Three Kingdom Period. Baekje, Gaya, and Silla would eventually benefit from the

“sophisticated cultures brought by refugees from the collapsed Gojoseon” (Cartwright, 2016).

South Korea is built from the dynasties and rulers that brought succession. There were constant

rivalry and conflicts with close neighbors with dominant powers from China and Japan, that

caused the kingdoms to fight fiercely and sometimes unsuccessfully. However, these conflicts

allowed for Korea to establish their standard for living, creating their own class-structure and

politics that would become a core for present day Korea.

When comparing the history of South Korea to Guns, Germs, and Steel, Korean people

shared similarities. They settled in areas where there were plenty of resources that would

eventually lead to farming, like those who lived in the Fertile Crescent. Another similarity is that

as time passed, people began to realize that they could use their resource such as animal furs for

their clothing and shelter for warmth. Settlers would move and migrate downwards when they

realize that the resources in the land is becoming scarce, or if the population is becoming to grow

too much. The settlement patterns of Koreans are following the theory, which is shown through

their migration and movement for their lifestyle, such as moving from a poor geographical area

to an area with plentiful resources, allowing for their crops to grow successfully.
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Works Cited

Cartwright, Mark. (October 21, 2016). Ancient Korea. Retrieved January 16, 2018

https://www.ancient.eu/Korea/

New World Encyclopedia. (n.d). Prehistoric Korea. Retrieved January 16, 2018 from

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Prehistoric_Korea

W Culture. Prehistory and Ancient History. (2017, December 22). Retrieved January 16, 2018

from https://wsimag.com/culture/34385-prehistory-and-ancient-history