List of archaeological periods (Korea)

The chronology of the Korean peninsula is divided into the following archaeological periods:

Palaeolithic

The earliest radiocarbon dates for this period indicate the antiquity of occupation on the Korean peninsula is between 40,000 and 30,000 B.P. (Bae 2002). This matter remains an open question, however, because it is commonly thought by Korean archaeologists that the antiquity of Hominid occupation Korea extends back as far as the Lower Palaeolithic (Nelson 1993). This would seem to imply that "Homo erectus" could have been present in the Korean peninsula.

Jeulmun Pottery Period

The origin of this period is defined by the best estimate for the emergence of the earliest pottery, known as "Yunggimun" (ko: 융기문 토기) ware. The earliest pottery dates to about 8,000 B.C.This period is also called the 'Neolithic period' by some. However, archaeological evidence clearly demonstrates that the technology, social organization, and scale of the Jeulmun is substantially different from that of a 'Neolithic Period', and thus such a label is inaccurate at best.

Mumun Pottery Period

The origins of this period date to about 1500 B.C., when the archaeological record indicates that groups of semi-sedentary small-scale agriculturalists with "Mumun" (without patterns or decorations) pottery occupied most of the Korean peninsula. Bronze objects obtained from long-distance exchange appeared in Korea in the 8th century B.C. and bronze production followed soon after.

Protohistoric

The Mumun ends and the Protohistoric begins at approximately 300 B.C. when iron tools appear in the archaeological record and bronze artifacts become more common as mortuary offerings. The Protohistoric ends when a critical mass of archaeological correlates of state-level society can be seen around AD 300/400. This period is alternatively known as the Samhan period, the Early and Late Iron Ages, and Proto-Three Kingdoms Period.

Korean Three Kingdoms

Historical texts such as the Samguk yusa and Samguk Sagi indicate that states form after 100 B.C., and so the discipline of history sometimes claims that, for example, Goguryeo was 'founded' in 57 B.C. Yet mountains of rich archaeological evidence suggests that states actually emerged after A.D. 300 (Barnes 1993; Lee 1998). The early historic period drew to a close when Silla eventually unified the peninsula in A.D. 668.

References

*Bae, Kidong:2002. Radiocarbon Dates from Palaeolithic Sites in Korea, "Radiocarbon" 44(2):473-476.

*Bale, Martin T. and Ko, Min-jung:2006. Craft Production and Social Change in Mumun Pottery Period Korea, "Asian Perspectives" 24(2):159-187.

*Barnes, Gina L:1993. "China, Korea, and Japan: The Rise of Civilization in East Asia". Thames and Hudson, London.

*Choe, C.P. and Martin T. Bale:2002. Current Perspectives on Settlement, Subsistence, and Cultivation in Prehistoric Korea. "Arctic Anthropology" 39(1-2):95-121.

*Lee, Sung-joo:1998. "Silla-Gaya Sahoe-eui Giwon-gwa Seongjang" (The Rise and Growth of Society in Silla and Gaya). Hakyeon Munhwasa, Seoul.

*Nelson, Sarah M.:1993 "The Archaeology of Korea". Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

ee also

*List of archaeological periods - parent page