Too many Sacrifices? Remarks on Retainer Burials on the Korean Peninsula

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Sunjang or retainer burial is a peculiar characteristic of Silla and the Gaya polities in an early stage of the Three Kingdoms period on the Korean Peninsula. The existence of this practice is attested by an entry in the Samguk sagi and by the occurrence of multiple graves in the archaeological record. There is a general tendency to interpret all graves that have more than one interment as representative of the sunjang practice, as long as the synchronicity of the burial appears to be plausible. Other reasons that may lead to the formation of multiple graves are often not systematically excluded or considered at all.
The present article argues that too many multiple burials are uniformly interpreted to include human sacrifices. Although the existence of the practice of sunjang is not questioned at all, it is pointed out that the available evidence is often ambiguous and may be interpreted in different ways. Based on general considerations and insights of recent research, the central concept of synchronicity for the identification of retainer burials is contested. This is because the preparation time for the construction of a monumental or big grave may affect the number of interred individuals aside from the possibility of disease and frequent violent conflict. Matrilineal family ties of the interred individuals, as ascertained for burials with sufficient bone material, can be plausibly explained as a result of reusing the grave, which was possible due to the construction as a chamber tomb. Besides it is being argued that the mounded graves were not static structures, they were frequently altered, renovated and merged, which was due to their function as reference points for the identity construction of the community.

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