It is believed that Daegaya people lived on five grains and rice. In the case of the Daegaya region only millet was found in Jisan-dong. However, in the case of other Gaya regions diverse grains, such as paddy rice, foxtail millet, barley, bean, red-bean and wheat, were discovered. Although barley was found in only Buwon-dong in Gimhae, this was used as a foodstuff from early times.

In addition to grains, the bones of such birds as cock and pheasant, and the bones of such fish as cornet fish, herring and codfish, were exhumed from the Jisan-dong Mounded Tomb Group, the graves of Daegaya people.

Turban shells, oyster shells and clam shells were also discovered here. Given the fact that the Jisan-dong Mounded Tomb Group is the graves of the ruling class, it is not easy to conclude that the commoners used these food daily. However, these relics tell us the kind of food which Daegaya people ate.

It is of interest that sea fish and shells, as well as freshwater fish, were exhumed from the Goryeong region because this region is situated. This implies that there were some traffic means which facilitate the exchange between the seaside region and the inland region in the Gaya period.

It would appear that ships were used for fishing means as well as for traffic means linking the seaside to the inland. Owing to the production of salt, fish and shells were able to be stored for a long time and to be conveyed to the inland. The production of salt facilitated the specialization of fishing and furthered the trade activities stemming from it.

On the other hand, although their traces were not found from the data excavated, there is a possibility that vegetables were grown. Some historical records, including Samguksagi (Historical Record of the Three Kingdoms), show that wild plants, such as mugwort and garlic, were already used as food from the Gojoseon period, and vegetables were grown in the early Goguryeo period.

Considering that the articles relating to peach blossoms often appear in Samguksagi (Historical Record of the Three Kingdoms), peach was preferred as a fruit from old times.

Based upon the food remnents found from tumuli or shell mounds, Daegaya people like comtemporary people totally used natural resources, including flesh and meat, fish, shells, vegetables and grains.

The Food Recipe of Daegaya People

How did Daegaya people cook? Although we have no documentary record on their recipes, we can find it through the pottery buried in mounded tombs. Although the pottery buried was manufactured for the funerary objects, it reflects real food life. This is because the pottery has the most close relation to human life.

Small pots, jars and steamers were the kind of pottery which was basically used in ancient people’s lives. It is assumed that the pottery for salt manufacture was chiefly used in the seaside.

It seems that the basic food life of Daegaya people ― i.e. recipe and meal method ― was little different from that of ancient people. They took food through the following recipes,: to eat raw food, to roast, to steam, to boil and to ferment.

The method of eating raw food is found in the Article of Buyeo (an ancient state in Korea) of Wijidong-yi-jeon (an ancient Chinese history book). Given the article that raw and cooked food are used in a sacrificial rite, the raw food may be meat.

The steamed method is identified through the earthenware steamers found in many sites. Compared to the boiled or roasted methods, this method has an advantage to keep an original fragrance, taste and color.

However, this was an unwelcomed recipe method in the stage of low productivity because it needs more time and less swells food. The earthenware steamer from the Daegaya site reflects that the production of food was to a certain extent stable at that time.

It appears that the dipper, made of noctilucent shell, and was excavated in the Jisan-dong Tumulus No. 44, was used to cook or distribute food. No vessel for ferment was found in the Daegaya region. However, in the case of Japan, the rim-perforated pottery of the Jomon period may be a tool for brewing.

Given the fact that liquor was used for sacrificial rites on heaven in Buyeo, Dong-ye (an ancient state in Korea) and the Three Han States, it seems that the pottery for brewing existed in the Gaya region.

On the other hand, since no spoons were found in the Gaya region, there is a high possibility that Gaya people used their hands or tree branches as a mean for their meal.

There is also a lesser possibility that they used spoons made of wood or bone. In reference with the meal method, most of the Chinese people used their hands for meal until the Chunchu-Jeonguk period, Japanese people until the third century.