• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.98-119
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• 2021

This thesis aims to examine when the petroglyphs of Cheonjeon-ri, Ulju were carved and their nature. To achieve this, the relations between rituals and rock carving motifs are examined besides the nature of the archaeological monuments with carved petroglyphs. The investigation revealed that the figurative motifs on the petroglyphs of Cheonjeon-ri, Ulju, may have been carved during the Korean Bronze Age considering other examples of figurative petroglyphs from that period. It is reasonable to assume that the figurative animal motifs on the petroglyphs of Cheonjeon-ri, Ulju were used for rituals of fertility and rebirth as a subsistence ritual during the Korean Bronze Age. The Geomdan-ri Archaeological Culture Type is a strong candidate, having used both petroglyphs of Cheonjeon-ri and those of Bangudae, Ulju, since the Geomdan-ri Archaeological Culture Type has a higher proportion of hunting and fishing and lower proportion of rice cultivation in its subsistence than in the subsistence of the Songguk-ri Archaeological Culture Type. In contrast to the figurative motifs, the abstractive motifs, including the geometric designs on the petroglyphs of Cheonjeon-ri, Ulju, are generally accepted to have been carved during the Bronze Age. Although there have been some disputes over the symbolic meanings of concentric motifs, lozenge motifs, and other geometric motifs, they may be related to rituals for sun worship, ancestor worship, and fertility cults. Their meanings have been continuously reinterpreted.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.110-130
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• 2023

New years' rites serve a religious function to wish for well-being during the year by bidding farewell to the previous year and welcoming the next. In Japan, in mid-December, to welcome Toshigami, kadomatsu, and shimenawagazari are prepared, as well as osechi ryori to be eaten at the beginning of the year. On New Year's Day, people go to shrines and bow to the gods while saying Hatsumode (初詣). On the fifteenth day of the first month, in the course of a rite called Dondoyaki, all the decorations used in the first month and the amulet used in the previous year are burned. In Korea, when the Lunar New Year approaches, people prepare for their ancestral rites and clean their houses. On the first day of the new year, people hold ancestral rites for their ancestors. There are many different seasonal rites, taking place from the beginning of the year to the full moon. In China, Danwonban (團圓飯), in which the whole family sits together and eats on New Year's Eve, is important. Lights are brightly lit up all night, and the sound of firecrackers outside rings out loudly. On the door, the word chun-ryun is attached to wish for prosperity in the new year. According to the cycle of the four seasons, the first lunar month contains a high proportion of the seasonal rites that are repeated every year. The first month represents the beginning of a year, and various rituals are performed in order to wish for good health and abundance during the coming year. In addition, the "folk religious world view" is integral to annual new years' rites, so it is not difficult to understand the religious character and structure of the Korean, Chinese, and Japanese annual ceremonies. This study examines the current status of annual new years' rites in Korea, China, and Japan, and how the rites are structured according to the inflection points in the year. In addition, religious characteristics are reviewed in terms of gods, predictions, and fertility prayers, exorcisms, health, and restoration. In this way, it can be seen that various religious elements such as shamanism, agricultural faith, ancestor worship, Shintoism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism can be witnessed in the annual new years' rites of Korea, China, and Japan. In addition, differences in the presence or absence of these are shown to depend on the country.