The influence of Holocene environmental change on human activities in the Daegu basin, Korea, during prehistoric and ancient times

Abstract

The strong influence of nature on human life during ancient times requires that people must have chosen their habitats based on the limits of their technology, especially of farming technology, and an understanding of natural conditions. To verify this assumption, the correlation between natural environment and habitat placement in the Daegu basin in Korea over the recent Holocene has been investigated. In this paper, we attempt to correlate various changes in the natural environment of the Daegu basin with the location of burial sites, cultivated fields, and residential areas during the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, and the proto-Three Kingdoms Age. We also compared the changes in location and extent of inhabited areas to the development of tools, soil characteristics, and to the climatic changes based on the sea level changes during the Holocene. We conclude that people probably did limit their habitats according to their understanding of their environment and their technology.