• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.208-241
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• 2010

This study was conducted to examine the chronology of Taesil Seokham(Taesil Stone Boxes) stored in Taesil of the Joseon Palace and classify the styles to discuss how these boxes have developed. By doing so, this study defined the archaeological styles of taesil seokhams in the chronological order. Although taesil seokhams are placed when taesil are first created, they do not have any texts engraved on them and it is difficult to gain information only from examining taesil seokham. However, Taejiseok(memorial stones buried in Taesil) and Agibi(gravestones buried in Taesil) were created along with taesil. These resources were examined and compared with literature records to find when each taesil seokhams was created. The critical elements to consider for the chronological arrangement were both the cover and container of the boxes and the transition of their style could be classified into four major stages. In detail, the Joseon Dynasty's taesil seokhams initially inherited the style of the Goryeo Dynasty to be formed into rectangular boxes. Through the transition of the mid and late 15th Century, the semi-circular cover with cylindrical container became the popular style in the late 15th Century. In the late 16th Century, the style of the previous period was further developed to add some decorative elements, such as projecting ornaments, but the ornaments were added for functional purposes rather than artistic purposes. However, the style went back to the semi-circular cover with cylindrical container in the early 17th Century. From the mid 17th Century, various styles appeared with ornaments only on the cover, cone-shaped cover with no ornament, or mortar-like container. However, a new style of cone-shaped cover with ornament emerged between the early and mid 18th Century and continued to stay until the mid 18th Century. In the mid 18th Century, the cover remained unchanged, but the container became a keyhole-shaped space with one side forming a "ㄷ" shape. However, in the late 18th Century, the most typical style of the semi-circular cover with cylindrical container reappeared to show that this is the most universal style. Last, in the mid 19th Century, the cover changed from semi-circular to rectangular with flat top. After this, the taesil seokhams began to disappear. In terms of style, it can be classified into four stages. In the early Joseon Dynasty, the taesil seokhams were underdeveloped and inherited the style of the Goryeo Dynasty (Stage I; 1401~mid-15C), but Joseon's unique style began to develop from the late 15th Century (Stage II; 1477~1641). After that, partial ornaments were added for adornment (Stage III; 1660~1754), but the typical style reappeared in the late 18th Century to finally degrade in the late Joseon Dynasty of the mid 19th Century (Stage IV; 1790~1874). This arrangement of style and chronology would greatly help archaeologists anticipate the time and owner of taesil seokhams even if only taesil seokhams are discovered without any records. * Tae(胎) : Placenta and umbilical cord * Taesil(胎室) : A facility(chamber) of burying Tae(胎) in rite when royal descendants are born.