Dating the Bibong-ri Neolithic site in Korea: Excavating the oldest ancient boat

The remains of an ancient wooden boat were unearthed at the Bibong-ri shell mound site. The site was located at Bibong-ri, Bugog-myeon, Changnyeong-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do in South Korea. A substantial fragment of the vessel was discovered in the lowest layer of the site. We collected 17 samples of charcoal and wood from pebble, sand, and shell layers. Sample preparation extracted the carbon from each sample material and converted it into graphite for AMS radiocarbon dating. Radiocarbon dates of the samples indicate that they belong to the Neolithic period and that the boat dates from ca. 5700 BC. To this point, the oldest known boat in the world has been a wooden boat dating from ca. 5500 BC in China. Other ancient boats from around the world include a logboat dating from ca. 3600 BC in Japan and a fleet of wooden boats dating from ca. 3000 BC in Egypt. The Bibong-ri boat is the first boat from the Neolithic period ever found in South Korea and must represent one of the world’s oldest known boats.