• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2015

Neulgeori prehistoric site is located at Joong-ri Kwanin-myon Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, where lots of stone artefacts were excavated. We investigated the petrological features of the artefacts through petrographical observation and modal analysis. In addition we estimated the provenance of the artefacts by means of the geological survey. The twelve stone artefacts used in this study are identified as ash tuff, lapilli tuff, granite porphyry, andesite and diorite porphyry. Various rocks were used for making flakes, whereas blades and debris were from the tuffaceous rocks. Lapilli tuff is considered to have been delivered from the Dongmakgol tuff in the Cheolwon basin, granite porphyry from the Cretaceous granite porphyry stocks cropped out at the southeastern Oksan-ri and eastern Yeoncheon areas. Andesite artefact would have been originated from the outcrops located at the northern part of the site, and diorite porphyry artefact from the southern part of the site. The stone artefacts investigated are estimated to have been transported from the area within 15 kilometers from the site.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.38
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• pp.129-156
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• 2005

Increasing discovery cases of underground storage facilities made of earth, wood, or stone are being reported from the recent excavation survey of the Baekje relics. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to examine the structure and function of the underground storage facilities of Baekje following a classification made by the type and building method as follows: plask shape, wooden box shape, and stone box shape. The plask shape storage is the most representative underground storage of Baekje that has been found in numerous relics more than 600 sets around Hangang(Han River) and Geumgang(Geum River) from the Hansung period to Sabi period in Baekje Dynasty. It is a historical artefact as a part of the unique storage culture of Baekje around Hangang and Geumgang from the 3rd to 7th Century. Considering its structure and the example of Chinese one, it might had been used for a long-term storage of grains and various other items including earth wares. The storage facility in wooden box shape and stone box shape are found mostly in the relics Of Sabi period. Thus it might had taken some functions of the storage in traditional pouch shape which had decreased after the 6th Century. In particular, the wooden box shape and stone box shape storage required enormous labor force to build owing to their structure and building method. Thus, they were considered to had been used for official purposes in province fortress and citadel artefact. The wooden box shape storage facility is classified into flat rectangular type and square type based on the structure, and into Gagu type(架構式) and Juheol type(柱穴式) based on the building method. It might had been decided according to the geography and geological feature of the place where the storage was to be built. Considering the examples of Gwanbuk-ri relics and Weolpyong-dong relics, the wooden box shape storage facility might had been used for various items depending on the needs, including foods such as fruits and essential provisions at the military base. Considering the long-term food storage, the examples in Japan, and the functional characteristics of the underground storage facility, there is a possibility that the wooden and stone box shape storage facilities had been built so as to safely store important items in case of fire. This study is only a rudimentary examination for the storage facility in Baekje. Thus further studies are to be made specifically and comprehensively on the comparison with other regions, distribution pattern, discovered relics and artefacts, and functions.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.4-21
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• 2012

Jade ornaments, which include slit earrings, scoop-shaped objects and tubular beads have been extensively identified in Northeast Asia, such as Korea, China, Japan and the Maritime Province of Siberia. Among them slit earrings are distributed in the whole area of Northeast Asia. Although this object shows the typological differences in accordance with the excavated region in detail, all of them are characterised by the slit on the centre of jade ring. The buried context and the shape of this object suggest that this artefact was the earring; thus it is named to 'slit earring'. Most of slit earrings of the Neolithic Age concentrate in Northeast China and the areas south of the Yangtze River, and the Japanese Archipelago. However, unfortunately, Slit earrings, which were produced in the tradition of the incipient and early phases of the Neolithic Age in Northeast Asia, have not been excavated in the Korean Peninsula. The number of slit earrings reported so far is eight, and especially until the 20th century, almost none was reported with its exact excavation location and only three of them are known as excavated through surface surveys and preliminary excavations. However, from the beginning of the 21st century onwards, the number of discovered slit earrings is increasing. Particularly, five pieces of this object uncovered in the 21st century are discovered in the official excavation; thus the exact archaeological context such as buried locations and chronologies could be estimated. By considering the buried context, slit earrings are associated with stone axes, which were produced in the incipient and early phase of the Neolithic Age in the Korean Peninsula. In addition, considering the number of unearthed objects is a few, it could be postulate that slit earring was the artefact that only a few persons, who had a special role in the society, could possess. However, slit jade earrings that have been excavated in the Korean Peninsula are extremely low in their number compared to the cases of its neighbouring countries such as China and Japan, and the researches on this subject have not been much conducted in Korea. Therefore, it is my supposition that slit earrings, which have been discovered in the Korean Peninsula, might be the imported item from the nearby areas. Particularly, the Southern Coast was closely connected with Japanese Islands and the Eastern Coast was interchanged with Northeast China or the Maritime Province of Siberia. Considering that excavations and researches on the Neolithic remains in the Korean Peninsula have not been sufficiently and actively conducted, it could be expected that the further investigations and researches will reveal the sufficient quantities of slit earrings in near future.