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Food Ingredients Traded in the Markets of Late Joseon Hanseong: A Study from the Perspective of Stable Isotope Analysis

  • Anatomy & Biological Anthropology
  • Abbr : Anat Biol Anthropol
  • 2026, 39(2), pp.157~165
  • DOI : 10.11637/aba.2026.39.2.157
  • Publisher : 대한체질인류학회
  • Research Area : Medicine and Pharmacy > Anatomy
  • Received : May 24, 2026
  • Accepted : June 18, 2026
  • Published : June 30, 2026

Shin, Dong Hoon ORD ID 1,  Jong Ha Hong 2,  Shin, Eun-Kyoung 3

1서울대학교 의과대학 해부학교실
2경희대학교 한국 고대사·고고학연구소
3단국대학교 공공인재대학 사회복지학과

Accredited

ABSTRACT

Stable isotope analysis is frequently conducted on human remains recovered from archaeological sites. However, while the results can broadly estimate the types of foods consumed by the deceased during their lifetime, they rarely provide detailed information regarding specific food ingredients. Therefore, in order to interpret stable isotope analysis results more precisely, it is important to investigate historical records from the same period in which the deceased lived so as to identify in greater detail the food materials consumed by people at that time. In this study, we analyzed six literary works that described various food ingredients traded in the markets of Hanseong, the capital of the Joseon Dynasty, between the late eighteenth and the mid-nineteenth century. These works consisted of five poems from Seongsijeondosi and one text titled Hanyanga. Through this analysis, we aimed to obtain data regarding temporal changes in the food ingredients consumed during the Joseon period. Each literary work contained references to a wide range of food materials sold in the markets, including seafood, grains, and meat. These items were classified according to stable isotope analytical criteria into categories such as C3 and C4 plants, as well as terrestrial, freshwater, and marine food resources. Although Seongsijeondosi and Hanyanga were written at different times, the food ingredients described in the markets showed broadly similar patterns, except for several special cases. It is likely that the food ingredients appearing in Seongsijeondosi and Hanyanga were similar to the products that people of that time purchased and consumed in the marketplace during their lifetime. Therefore, the present study is expected to contribute to the future interpretation of stable isotope analysis results obtained from human skeletal remains excavated from Joseonperiod archaeological sites.

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