Ancient Korea Initiative: ecology, archaeology and language

In collaboration with the MacMillan Center at Yale University, our group takes part in co-organizing the Ancient Korea Initiative, which aims to create an interdisciplinary platform for examining Korean history from the Neolithic period onward.  This joint project is dedicated to advancing interdisciplinary and transregional research on ancient Korea, exploring its historical, cultural, and global connections and to exchanging methodologies across a wide range of disciplines, such as historical ecology, archaeology and linguistics. The project aims to shine a critical spotlight on the prehistoric and ancient history of the Korean Peninsula and to position  Korea as an integral part of the Eurasian historical landscapes.

Among the interests that connect our group to this initiative are the prehistoric origins of the Korean language, the spread of farming together with language to the Korean peninsula, substrates of ancient Pacific Rim people, their subsistence systems and languages in Korean people and culture, traces of  ancient matriliny in Korea and its connections to Japan and the regeneration of the early Japanese state (Kofun and Nara periods) through migration from the Korean peninsula. Contributing these topics to the platform may deepen our understanding of Korea’s historical significance.

Select Publications