A Warm-hearted Table of the Neolithic Age

The exhibits in this glass case offer an explanation of the eating habits of the Neolithic people. The quern, which is shaped like an ironing board, and the baguette-shaped pestle were particularly significant tools of the Neolithic Age. They were used to shell or grind nuts such as acorns. Acorn cookies and jelly were staple foods of the Neolithic people who inhabited the Korean Peninsula.

Following the invention of ground stone tools, the diet of Neolithic people diversified. Since ground tools were more effective than the chipped stone tools of the Paleolithic Age, Neolithic people could accomplish more complex tasks. Various kinds of earthenware were produced in order to cook and store food.

These sudden changes were the result of a transition from a nomadic to a sedentary lifestyle. The population increased dramatically around 6,000 years B.C and Neolithic people began to settle down in groups. During the early period of the Neolithic Age, agriculture was non-existent, and so people still lived by hunting and gathering. As the groups of people developed into villages and communities, they were collectively able to gather large quantities of fruits and grains.