호남지역의 철기문화 : 호남지역의 철기시대 - 연구현황과 과제 - = The Iron Age Culture in the Honam Region - retrospect of researches and subjects for the future investigation -

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The study of the Iron Age Culture in Honam region has not yet been done enough, because sites have not been excavated enough until now, and we have not analyzed the archaeological materials except tombs, and also we have some confusion about the concept of the Iron Age. Therefore, I will consider the concept of the Iron Age and have some retrospect of researches and give some subjects for the future investgation. The Iron Age has been divided into the early Iron Age and the Proto-Three Kingdoms Age in Korean archaeology. Recently some historians criticized the concept of the Proto-Three Kingdoms Age. Instead of this Age, some scholars call the Three-Han Age(三韓時代) or the Iron Age(鐵器時代). According to Three Age System initiated by Thomsen, the Iron Age in Europe was existed between the Bronze Age and the historical Age. I think that the Iron Age is more useful in Korea until the new Age system used in the future. Recently some sites of the Iron Age in Honam region were excavated, there are features such as dwelling sites, shell mounds, pit graves, jar burials, and artifacts such as pottery, iron wares, horn implements, wooden implements, oracle bones. Dwelling patterns of the Iron Age have many differences from those of the Bronze Age. For example, the plan of dwelling has various types. The hearths also have various types, some of them developed cooking stove or cooking fireplace. Pit graves were appeared from the late Bronze Age. They have a ditch around it. The plan of ditches was changed from square to circle or ladder type. Jar burials were made of two large jars with their mouth together. After the late third century A.D., the large jar-coffins appeared in Yongsan River valley. From shell mounds, many different kinds of artifacts have been discovered, most of which are tools for fishing, hunting, and farming. Iron weapons are, however, rarely found in this region. The Iron Age culture which continued from 2nd century B.C. to the late of 3rd century A.D. can be divided into four cultural phases(table 1). <Table 1> Chronology of the Iron Culture in Honam Region ◁표 삽입▷(원문을 참조하세요) During the Iron Age, I believe that the coastal route, which connected from China to Korea and eventually to Japan, played an important role. The Iron Age culture in Honam region started around the founding of Wiman Chosun(衛滿朝鮮:194-108 B.C.), preceding the establishment of Lelang(樂浪). Because there are no remains that could be related to the Lelang culture among archaeological evidence from the early phase of the Iron Age culture in southern Korea. And recent studies suggest that the Iron Age had already entered the period of the complex society which there were social strata. Next, I will suggest some subjects to investigate in the future. Firstly, we have to analyze all of the archaeological material to reconstruct the Iron Age culture, and we will have concern about ecofacts as well as artifacts. Secondly, we will investigate the formation of the Iron Age culture and large jar-coffin tomb. We do not know exactly how to get the raw material of iron, how to make iron implements, and how to form the large jar-coffin tombs. Thirdly, we have to study the society and culture of the Iron Age. It is impossible to reconstruct past culture through the individual feature or artifact. We have to collect together results of individual analysis, and try to recover past culture through the archaeological theory. Fourthly, we have to study the relationship between the Iron Age and its historical background, this is, three Han(三韓) or Three Kingdom(三國). We, archaeologist should cooperate with ancient historian to study historical aspects of the Iron Age. In addition to above subjects, we try to preserve archaeological sites from destruction, because these sites are also important cultural heritage to us.