PREHISTORIC AND PROTOHISTORIC SOCIOCULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE NORTH HAN RIVER REGION OF KOREA by HYUKJIN RO A DISSERTATION Presented to the Department of Anthropology and the Graduate School ofthe University of Oregon in partial fu lfillment of the requirements · fo r the degree of Doctor of Philosophy March 1997 11 "Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sociocultural Development in the North Han River Region of Korea", a dissertation prepared by Hyuk J. Ro in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in the Department of Anthropology. This dissertation has been approved and accepted by: Date Committeefncha rge: Dr. C. Melvin Aikens, Chair Dr. Song Nai Rhee Dr. William S. Ayres Dr. William G. Loy Dr. Philip Young L 111 An Abstract of the Dissertation of Hyuk Jin Ro fo r the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Anthropology to be taken March 1997 Title: PREHISTORICAND PROTOHISTORIC SOCIOCULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE NORTH HAN RIVER REGION OF KOREA Approved: Dr: COMelvin Aikens The primary purpose of this dissertation is to reconstruct sociocultural development in the North Han River Valley in Korea during the prehistoric and protohistoric periods ( ca 6000 B.C.-A.D. 300). Based on theoretical ideas about the close relationship between cultural behavior and the natural environment as well as synthetical observation of archaeological data in the North Han River Valley, I have proposed the fo llowing testable hypothesis in regard to 'sociocultural development in the North Han River Valley: that its unique ecosystem brought about a subsistence pattern unique to the region. The North Han River Valley's specificgeographical fo rmation, connected with l lV the Lower Han River Basin by way of the river system, brought it under the crucial influence of the latter's more advanced cultural elements. The circumscribed environment derived from the distinctively developed geomophological formation of the North Han River Valley influenced autochthonous sociocultural development in the region. Enumerating the most basic factors, the affluentriverine resources of the Valley enabled Chiilmun period inhabitants be heavily dependent on riverine fishingsupplem ented by the hunting and gathering of wild vegetation. Riverine fishingas well as hunting and gathering richly supplemented the agrarian economy which became dominant in the Valley afterthe appearance ofMumun people in later prehistoric times. Due to population saturation of limited arable lands, Mumun agrarian people became increasingly circumscribed and could not evolve into a state-level society. In association with this factor, the geographical proximity of the Valley to the Lower Han River inevitably brought it under the influence of advanced cultures emerging in the Lower Han River Basin. This process, which began in the later Mumun period, actually has continued to the present, passing through the protohistoric State Formation period and Paekche kingdom. / v CURRICULUM VITA NAME OF AUTHOR: Hyuk Jin Ro GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon Seoul National University, Graduate School, Korea Seoul National University, Korea DEGREES A WARDED: Doctor ofPhilosophy in Anthropology, 1997, University of Oregon Master of Arts in Archaeology, 1981, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea Bachelor of Arts in Archaeology, 1978, Seoul National University, Seoul Korea AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: Human Origin, Korean Prehistory PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Professor, Department of History, Hallym University, Ch'unch'on, Korea, 1996 - Associate Professor, Department of History, Hallym University, Ch'unch'on, Korea, 199 1-1996 Assistant Professor, Department of History, Hallym University, Ch'unch'on, Korea, 1985-199 1 Full-time Lecturer, Department of History, Hallym University, Ch'unch'on, Korea, 1983-85 Vl Part-time Lecturer, Department of Archaeology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea, 1982-1983 Full-time Assistant, Department of Archaeology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea, 19 81-1983 PUBLICATIONS: Ro, H. J. 1994 The Bronze Age, In Th e Origin of Korean Culture and People. pp. 119-183. Hallym Science Center, Ch'unch'on,(in Korean) 1994 The Diffusionary Network of the Pierced Rim Pottery, In The Festschrift of Korean Historical Studies fo r Lee Ki Baik s 70th Birthday, Ilchogak, pp. 20-34. Seoul. (in Korean) 1994 A Periodization fo r the Formation of Korean Prehistoric Cultures. Hanguk Sanggosa Ha kbo [The Jo urnal of Korean Ancient Hi storical Society] 15: 7-36. (in Korean) 1992. A Revised Framework fo r Korean Prehistory. In Pacific Northwest Asian Prehistory: Hunter-Fisher-Gatherers, Farmers, and Sociocultural Elites, edited by C.M. Aikens, and S.N. Rhee, pp. 209-213, Washington State University Press, Pullman. 1992 Prehistoric Art of Korea, In Current Studies of Korean Art History, pp. 9-30. Hallym Science Center, Ch'unch'on, Republic of Korea. (in Korean) 1986 The Formation and the Distribution of Dolmens with Stone Mound. The Ha llym UniversityJo urnal 4: 109-160. (in Korean) 1982 Characteristics of the Sites Containing a Grooved Adze, Th e Ha llym UniversityJo urnal!: 47-86. (in Korean) 198 1 A Review on the Grooved Adze, Y6ksa Hakbo [The Korean Hi storical Review] 89: 1-72. (in Korean) l Vll ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express sincere appreciation to the members of my doctoral committee, Professors C. Melvin Aikens, Song Nai Rhee, William S. Ayres, William G. Loy, andPhilip D. Young. Their theoretical and methodological suggestions will help me improve my future practice of archaeology. Reflecting on the years I have spent in completion of the doctoral course, I am sure that finishingmy doctoral degree would have been hardly possible without the constant help and friendly concern of Professors Aikens and Rhee. This will last as an invaluable experience and grateful memory in my career as an archaeologist. I thank Mr. Gyong Taek Kim who gave me much practical help in my finalwork in Eugene, which was necessary fo r the completion of the degree. A lot of years and concerns were devoted to my doctoral degree, all of which were shared with my family. I think that coming years will not be enough to exempt me frommy fe eling of indebtedness to them, even though some of it has been relieved by the fu lfillment of the degree. Vlll TABLES OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION . 1 Purpose and Methodology . 1 Th eoretical Framework ................................... 3 Working Hypothesis . 4 Research Methods . 5 IL AN OUTLINE OF KOREAN PREHISTORY ..... .... ........ .. 7 Introduction . 7 The Period of the Chiilinun Hunter-Fisher-Gatherers (6000-1500 B.C.) .................................... 10 The Period of the Mumun Agrarian andthe Liaoning Bronze Cultures (1500-300 B.C.) ........................ 44 Korean-Style Agrarian Bronze Culture ...... ............ .... 97 Th e State Formation Period (ca. 20 0 B.C.-A.D. 300) .......... 121 III. ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE NORTH HAN RIVER VALLEY .... 136 Natural Environment and Its Cultural Ramifications .......... 136 Archaeological Research in the North Han River Valley ....... 151 lX Chapter Page IV. SYNTHETIC RECONSTRUCTION OF THE DEVELOPMENTAL PROCESS OF PREHISTORIC AND PROTOHISTORIC CULTURES IN THENORTH HAN RIVER VALLEY ................................ 276 ChiilmunCulture in the North Han River Valley ............. 277 Mumun Culture in the North Han River Valley .............. 291 Bronze Cultures in the North Han River Valley .............. 311 Societal Development During the State Formation Period in the North Han River Valley (ca. 200 B.C.-A.D. 300) ..... 313 Disappearance of Dolmen Construction and the Appearance ofthe Stone Mound Tomb(Choksokch'ong) .............. 318 V. CONCLUSION ... ............ .......................... 320 BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................... 331 l. X LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Chronology ofPrehistoric and Ancient Korea .......... ........ .. 8 2. Radiocarbon Dates fr om Chiilmun Sites . 15 3. List of Discoveries of Liaoning Bronze Traits in the Mumun Sites ... 91 4. Summary of Korean-Style Agrarian Bronze Culture Sites Discovered to Date . 1 06 l Xl LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Map of Korean Peninsula . 2 2. Typical ChiilmunPo ttery from Amsadong, Seoul ............... 13 3. \The Map of Korean Mountains . 18 4. Examples of Eastern-Type ChiilmunPottery ................... 20 5. Shanks of the Composite Fishhook and a Stone Net-Sinker Excavated from Osan-ni .............. ................... 26 6. Illustration of the Composite Fishhook ..........: ............. 28 7. Grinding Stone Sets ................................... ... 31 8. A Chiilmun Settlement at Amsadong, Seoul ................... 40 9. Examples of Mumun Pottery ............................... 45 10. Various Types of Semi-lunar Reaping Knives .................. 50 11. Various Polished Stone Axes and Adzes ...................... 53 12. Various Polished Stone Tools ......... ..................... 54 13. Distribution of Regional Types in the Mumun Culture ... ...... 59 14. Examples of Transformed Top-Shaped Pottery and Top-Shaped Pottery ..... .................. ........................ 60 15. Examples of Pierced Rim Pottery ............................ 62 Xll Figure Page 16. Examples of Red Pottery ............. .... ... ............. .. 63 17. Examples of Songguk-ni Type Pottery ... ... ................. 65 18. The Songguk-ni Stone Cist .................................. 68 19. Examples of Mandolin-Shaped Bronze Dagger ............. ..... 78 20. Example of Typical Bronze