Remains of agricultural tools used in the Neolithic period as well as a farming site, which are presumed to be East Asia’s oldest, have been found in Goseong, Gangwon Province, according to the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage.

According to the institute, the discovery of the archaeological traces, which mostly consist of pieces of earthenware, proves people living on the Korean Peninsula started cultivating crops during the Neolithic period. Along with the stoneware pieces, the institute discovered a site which is presumed to have been an agricultural field during the Neolithic Age.

Even before the latest discovery, researchers had presumed that farming existed on the Korean Peninsula during the Neolithic period as carbonized grain and stone-made farming tools of the period had previously been found. This is the first time that the institute has discovered a site of Neolithic agricultural fields that proves their theory, they said.

The institute plans to continue researching the site and the remains of the tools, and eventually discover what kinds of crops were grown in the field.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)