I INTRODUCTION

The Bronze Age of Korea, which is characterized by its bronze artifacts and mumun (plain) pottery, witnessed the emergence and eventual demise of various pottery types, such as notched-rim raised band pottery, top-shaped pottery, double-rimmed pottery decorated with short, slanted lines, rim-perforated pottery, and attached-rim pottery. It is commonly accepted that, of these, attached-rim pottery was the last in a series of pottery types which comprised the undecorated mumun pottery tradition of this period. Attached-rim pottery, which was made by attaching a clay band (round or triangular in cross-section) to the rim of the pottery vessel, is generally found in association with long-necked and black polished jars, mounted dishes, grooved stone adzes, triangular stone arrowheads and various types of bronze objects, notably the Korean-type bronze dagger. In earlier studies of this pottery type, much interest was focused on the Seoul and Gyeonggi region, as it had yielded many sites containing attached-rim pottery.1 The paucity of subsequent discoveries, however, acted to diminish the potential of this region in the study of attached-rim pottery. Fortunately, recent excavations in the Seoul and Gyeonggi region have led to the accumulation of new data on attached-rim pottery.2 Research is currently being undertaken on this newly acquired material, but as formal excavation reports have yet to be published for many of the sites, the study of the ceramic data has inevitably been limited. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to examine the chronological relationship of sites which have yielded attached-rim pottery by analyzing the artifacts found in association with it. In doing so, it will be possible to gain some insight into the attached-rim pottery culture of the Seoul and Gyeonggi region.

II THE EMERGENCE OF THE ATTACHED-RIM POTTERY CULTURE

01 BACKGROUND

The following views have been put forth regarding the emergence of the attached-rim pottery culture in the Korean peninsula.

1) The view that it emerged in the Han River region

Lee Baekgyu has suggested that the later phase of the Bronze Age witnessed the diffusion of plain pottery types from the northwestern and northeastern regions of the peninsula into the Han River region.3 The distinctive attached-rim pottery was seen to have come about through the combination of these respective pottery types. In addition, Lee established a typological scheme which proposed that vessels with ring-shaped handles developed into those with composite horn-shaped handles, and subsequently into those with simple horn-shaped handles. Based on this scheme, he maintained that the Suseok-ri site was earlier date than the Eungbong site.

Han Sangin has also argued that attached-rim pottery, which is characterized by its hard fabric (vis-à-vis the fabric of earlier mumun vessels), emerged through the development of previous ceramic types.4 According to Han, the preceding mumun pottery culture had been established in the central region of the Korean peninsula through the combination and development of cultural influences which had spread from the northwestern and northeastern regions of the peninsula in the Early Bronze Age. Subsequent cultural influences, such as the Liaoning-type bronze dagger culture (the diffusion of which occurred in many waves) and the Songguk-ri culture of central-western Korea, also reached this region. It was therefore suggested that attached-rim pottery came about though the combination of these various cultural elements.

2) The view that it emerged in the Daedonggang River region

Park Soonbal suggested that the double-rimmed pottery of the Liaodong region spread to the Daedonggang River region, where it developed into the distinctive attached-rim pottery type.5 However, as will be seen below, he soon modified his view.

3) The view that it appeared as the result of population movement

Park later changed his stance and maintained that, rather than being an indigenous development which occurred within the Korean peninsula, attached-rim pottery emerged as the result of communities migrating from the Liaoning (遼寧) region.6 This migration was seen to be the result of military conflicts that had taken place between Gojoseon and the state of Yan (燕), such as the eastern invasion by General Qin Kai (秦開) of Yan around the late fourth to early third century BCE. Based on his analysis of the Korean-style bronze dagger culture, Yi Kun-moo has suggested that the Korean-style bronze dagger culture and the attached-rim pottery culture were both introduced from the Liaoning region.7 Although the views of Park and Yi differ in terms of their specific understanding of the attached-rim pottery culture – such as its place of origin, as well as when it first emerged – both were generally accepted by the majority of archaeologists. The ‘migration theory’ therefore came to form the framework within which the study of the attached-rim pottery culture took place; and it was no longer held that the attached-rim pottery culture developed indigenously within the Korean peninsula.

In sum, the generally accepted view regarding the attached-rim pottery culture is that it originated in the Liaoning region, and that it was introduced into the Korean peninsula by migrating populations. According to studies on how the migration of populations may be identified within the archaeological record, as highlighted by Kim Jangsuk,8 the following phenomena should be observed: (1) the sudden appearance of non-indigenous elements in areas where there is a continuation of the preceding material culture; (2) the material culture of the migrating group, upon settling down in the region, clearly consisting of both traditional elements of the migrating group’s material culture and new elements adopted from the material culture of the indigenous population; (3) a temporal continuity which can be established between the migrating group’s homeland and the region to which that group has migrated.

With regard to the attached-rim pottery culture of the Korean peninsula, the following features have been observed: the sudden appearance of a new pottery culture consisting of attached-rim pottery and mounted dishes in a region which witnessed the continuation of the preceding perforated-rim pottery culture; the presence of the grooved adze which was a cultural element borrowed from the indigenous population; the co-existence of perforated-rim pottery; the continuity that can be observed between the attached-rim pottery culture of the Korean peninsula and the Liaoning pottery culture of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. This evidence may therefore be taken to suggest that the emergence of the attached-rim culture in the Seoul and Gyeonggi region – an alien culture appearing suddenly and with no connections to the indigenous cultural tradition – was an event triggered by the migration of populations.

Indeed, Park notes that “the types of archaeological material which may be regarded as representing migration are those closely related to both residence and subsistence, such as cooking equipments (e.g. caldrons), which are a necessity of daily life, and the structural characteristics of hearths.”9

02 THE Date ofATE OF THE APPEARANCE OF THE ATTACHED-RIM POTTERY CULTURE

Following the research of Park and other scholar, the fourth or third century BCE was the widely accepted date for the appearance of the attached-rim pottery culture.10 More recently, however, a consensus has gradually emerged which regards the fifth century BCE or an even earlier date as being more likely for the appearance of this culture.

Lee Cheonggyu has argued, based on analysis of artifacts from Shangbao-cun (上堡村) in Benxi County (本溪县), Liaoning Province, that the attached-rim pottery of this region was introduced into the Korean peninsula prior to the establishment of the Korean-type dagger culture. Lee argued that the date for the diffusion of this pottery type should be set at sometime before the fourth century BCE, since the distinctive regional nature of the Korean-type dagger culture was thought to have emerged around that time, and to have become fully established by the early third century BCE, following the invasion by Yan.11 In addition, recent excavations have led to an accumulation of radiocarbon dates which have been used to steadily argue that the attached-rim pottery culture was introduced into the Korean peninsula around the fifth century BCE or earlier, rather than the fourth or third century BCE.12 It should be noted that these radiocarbon dates are not wholly unproblematic; as well as conflicting with the earlier understanding of the emergence and diffusion of the attached-rim pottery culture, some of the sites and features yielded dates which differ greatly. Accordingly, the radiocarbon dates must be approached with caution, but the fact that these absolute dates are concentrated within a certain time bracket must also be acknowledged. Therefore, the aim of this paper will be to consider the dates for the appearance of the attached-rim pottery culture by examining artifacts from the Liaoning region, which is regarded as the homeland of the communities responsible for transmitting this culture into the Korean peninsula.

The absolute dates for the sites which have yielded attached-rim pottery in the Seoul and Gyeonggi region are presented in Table 1.

As can be seen from the above, most of the radiocarbon dates are earlier than the fourth century BCE and are concentrated around the eighth to fifth centuries BCE. Given that these absolute dates have yet to be compared with relative dates obtained through the typological study of artifacts, we should be wary of establishing a chronology of the attached-rim pottery period based solely on the former. Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that the absolute dates are concentrated within a certain time bracket. If the attached-rim pottery culture was indeed introduced into the Korean peninsula sometime prior to the fourth century BCE, it is possible that the Korean attached-rim pottery culture may have originated in present-day Liaoning Province at around the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. With regard to this, we may focus on the state of Yan’s expansion into the Liaoxi (遼西) region around the later part of the Spring and Autumn period or the early part of the Warring States period, an event which has been discussed by Song Hojung as follows: 13

The Mountain Rong (山戎) or Xianyun people who had been living in the Liaoxi region during the Spring and Autumn period gained power in the eighth to seventh centuries BCE.14 This growth of the Mountain Rong was regarded, in particular, as a great threat by its neighboring country, the kingdom of Yan. Therefore Yan requested assistance from the kingdom of Qi (齊), which was then the hegemonic power in the region. Qi accordingly routed the Mountain Rong and conquered the Liaoxi region. After this first defeat, the Mountain Rong again attempted to invade Yan; Yan again called upon Qi which, once more, routed the Mountain Rong. This event, in which Qi further established its hegemony by subjugating the Mountain Rong of the northern region, took place during the early fifth century BCE. In annihilating the Mountain Rong who then occupied the present northeast region of china, Qi was able to remove the longstanding threat from the north. As a result, Yan was able to expand into the Liaoning region where it maintained a relatively stable presence and subjugated the various local communities. Some scholars believe that the Mountain Rong was a designation of the Donghu people (東胡族); at the time, the term ‘Donghu (東胡)’ was used to refer, collectively, to the barbarian communities living in the area west of Liaoning Province during the fifth to third centuries BCE (i.e. the Warring States period).

In sum, it can be seen that the Chinese kingdoms of Qi and Yan conquered the Mountain Rong or the Donghu people in the seventh to fifth centuries BCE and expanded into the Liaoxi region. In contrast to this, Bok Gi-dae has argued that it was the Joseon or Yemaek (濊貊) communities, rather than the Mountain Rong or the Donghu, that maintained a cultural presence in the Liaoxi region during the Spring and Autumn period. However, both Song and Bok have identified the sudden appearance of Yan cultural elements in the Liaoxi region around the fifth century BCE, and agree that, regardless of the identity of the cultural presence in the region, Yan culture had spread into the Liaoxi region by at least the fifth century BCE. It was as part of this process that the attached-rim pottery culture groups migrated into the Korean peninsula. Based on the nature of the dwellings from the Houshan (后山) site in Xinmin-xian (新民縣), Gongzhu-tun (公主屯),15 and the burials from the Zhengjiawazi (鄭家窪子) site in Shenyang (沈陽),16 it appears that the homeland of these migrating groups was located in the Liaozhong (遼中) region. The archaeological culture which corresponds to this is the Liangquan (凉泉) culture which was prevalent in the Liaozhong and Liaobei (遼北) regions from approximately 600 to 300 BCE.17 The culture is comprised of elements such as attached-rim pottery, black burnished jars with long necks, mounted dishes, and vessels with ring-shaped handles. Given that this artifact composition is similar to that of the attached-rim culture at the time of its appearance in the Korean peninsula, a strong link between the two may be established (Figure 1).

( Figure 1 ) The Attached-rim pottery culture of the Liaodong region (From Park, 2004)

As examined above, the appearance of the attached-rim pottery culture in the Korean peninsula seems to have taken place sometime earlier than the fourth or third century BCE. Although the specific date cannot be set, the fifth century BCE may be tentatively regarded as the period in which this culture spread into the peninsula, based on recorded historic events, absolute dates and the artifact assemblage of the Liaoning region. Of course, it must be stressed that this period witnessed only the introduction of the attached-rim pottery culture into Korea, an event which should be regarded separately, as noted by Lee Cheonggyu,18 from the development of the Korean-style bronze dagger culture, with which there exists a slight time gap.

III THE CHRONOLOGY AND ABSOLUTE DATES OF KEY SITES

01 BURIAL SITES

Burial sites from the Seoul and Gyeonggi region which can be attributed to the attached-rim pottery period, with the exception of the dolmen from Sangjapo-ri, Yangpyeong,19 which is an indigenous type of burial, are as presented in Table 2.

An artifact which can be attributed to the earliest period is the long-necked jar with ring-shaped handles from Baekryeongdo, Ongjin. Although we cannot be certain since the specific context of its discovery is unknown, it is likely that this jar was a grave good deposited within a burial, given its polished surface and the fact that it was found in a complete state. As is generally known, the ring-shaped handle is the type of handle found on the attached-rim pottery of the earliest phase. Therefore, the Baekryeongdo site, which yielded a long-necked jar with ring-shaped handles, can be regarded as the earliest burial site of the attached-rim pottery culture in the Seoul and Gyeonggi region.

A burial which can be attributed to the last phase is the wooden coffin burial from Manjeong-ri, Anseong. Iron arrowheads and iron hand knife fragments were found in Location 2. The iron hand knife, the production of which seems to have been influenced by the bronze hand knife, begins to appear in the Hoseo region in association with the Chinese iron age culture of the Warring States period. In addition, a wooden coffin made of a carved-out wooden log was identified at Location 6 of the Manjeong-ri site; it yielded a small attached-rim pottery vessel with a simplified rim. If we take into account the fact that the full-scale use of wooden coffin burials took place in the Hoseo and Honam regions in conjunction with the appearance of iron objects,20 it can be estimated that the date for the use of this type of wooden coffin burial cannot not be earlier than the second century BCE, which is when the iron objects first came into use in the Hoseo region. The two wooden coffin burials from Balan-ri both yielded flat based long-necked jars with attached rims that are round in cross-section; stylistic analysis indicates that these jars are clearly of an earlier date than the attached-rim vessel from Manjeong-ri Location 6. In addition, as the wooden coffin burials of Balan-ri were made using wooden logs,21 they can also be dated to later than the appearance of iron objects in this region.

A total of three stone cist burials were identified at the Banjae-ri, Anseong site, of which burials No. 1 and No. 2 yielded attached-rim pottery and black polished long-necked jars. Burial structures reported as Togwangweiseok-myo (earth cut burials lined with stone) may be understood as stone cist burials without wooden coffins; they are thought to be an earlier type of burial vis-à-vis wooden coffin burials. Therefore, it is possible to attribute the burials of Banjae-ri to an earlier period than burials No. 1 and No. 2 of Balan-ri and the wooden coffin burial from Manjeong-ri.

The chronological sequence of the burial sites examined thus far can be set out as follows: Baekryeongdo → Banjae-ri → Balan-ri → Manjeong-ri. Of course, in the case of sites yielding more than two burials, temporal variation may be expected among the burial structures. However, it can be argued that such fine chronological subdivisions are not that important within the current context of research. As for the burial from Yuljeon-dong, while the absence of artifacts makes it difficult establish a specific date, the discovery of a composite horn-shaped handle from Pit No. 2, which is believed to be a burial, suggests that this site belongs to a later date than the Baekryeongdo site, which yielded a ring-shaped handle (Figure 2).22

( Figure 2 ) Chronological scheme of burials of the attached-rim pottery period from the Seoul and Gyeonggi region

02 DAILY ACTIVITY SITES (DWELLING SITES, ARTIFACT SCATTERS, SHELL MIDDENS)

Sites – excluding those burial sites previously mentioned in Table 2 – which can be attributed to the attached-rim pottery phase are as follows:

As can be seen from the above, attached-rim pottery is usually found in association with long-necked jars with handles, grooved stone adzes, and mounted dishes. The chronological sequence of each artifact type is as follows:

According to these diachronic changes, daily activity sites can be categorized into the following four types of cultural assemblages:

Assemblage Type A does not contain any indigenous artifacts, such as the grooved stone adze, and therefore may be regarded as representing the attached-rim pottery culture at its incipient stage. The representative site of this assemblage is Suseok-ri, Namyangju, where attached-rim vessels with round (in cross section) clay bands and long-necked jars with ring-shaped handles were found together. While mounted dishes were not found at this site, it may be assumed, based on the outline of diachronic change which has been identified for this pottery type, that Type 1 mounted dishes would have been used at this site. It should be noted that this site is similar to the Houshan site, in Xinmin-xian, Gongzhu-tun, in terms of its location within the landscape, hearth layout, and artifact assemblage (Figure 3).

( Figure 3 ) Assemblage Type A (1-5: House No. 3 from Suseok-ri, Namyangju; 6-8: House No. 6 from Suseok-ri)

Assemblage Type B is found in association with Assemblage Type A and contains composite horn-shaped handles in addition to the earlier ring-shaped handles. Sites which may be regarded as belong to this assemblage are Mangi Mountain Fortress, Banjae-ri and the Geomdan Area in Incheon. In contrast to other settlement sites of this period, such as Suseok-ri, in Namyangju, and Gyoseong-ri, in Boryeong, the Banjae-ri site is of considerable scale, yielding 74 houses. Some of these houses were found to have been rebuilt over earlier houses, thereby indicating that communities may have settled at the site for a considerable period of time. Type 1 and 2 mounted dishes are found together at sites belonging to this assemblage (Figure 4).

( Figure 4 ) Assemblage Type B (1-9: Mangi Mountain Fortress, Anseong; 10-16: Geomdan Area, Incheon)

Contact between the two assemblage types that have been presented above resulted in the formation of Assemblage Type C. This assemblage consists of attached-rim pottery with round (in cross section) clay bands, grooved stone adzes, and composite horn-shaped handles, and may be regarded as the most typical artifact assemblage of this period. The majority of attached-rim pottery sites of the Seoul and Gyeonggi region may be attributed to this assemblage; the most representative of these sites are Eungbong and Acha-san, in Seoul, and Myeokgok-ri, in Yeoju, as well as a large number of the sites reported by Yokoyama.24 Sites such as Donghak-san, in Hwaseong, and Yuljeon-dong, in Suwon, also belong to this assemblage. Type 1 and 2 mounted dishes continue to be found together at sites of this assemblage (Figure 5).

( Figure 5 ) Assemblage Type C (1-8: Eungbong, Seoul; 9-16: Acha-san, Seoul)

Assemblage Type D has been observed at sites such as Oido, in Siheung, Gawa Area, in Pyeongtaek, and Bansong-ri, in Hwaseong, all of which are located along the coastline. The attached-rim pottery culture of this region, characterized by vessels with triangular (in cross-section) clay bands attached to the rim, is seen to similar to that of the southern region, based on the presence of artifacts such as the bronze arrowhead with iron tang and rod-shaped handle. Both Type 1 and 2 mounted dishes are found together at sites of this assemblage (Figure 6).

( Figure 6 ) Assemblage Type D (1-9: Gawa Area, Pyeongtaek; 10-13: peat layer from Gawa Area; 14-17: Oido, Siheung)

03 CHRONOLOGICAL PHASES AND ABSOLUTE DATES

The burial and daily activity sites of the Seoul and Gyeonggi region examined above can be categorized into the following four phases.

Firstly, attached-rim vessels with round clay bands were introduced into the Seoul and Gyeonggi region in Phase I. Interaction with indigenous communities did not take place during this time and the material culture of this phase is characterized by artifacts of Assemblage Type A, such as attached-rim vessels with round clay bands and ring-shaped handles. Phase I has an absolute chronology of around the fifth century BCE, and the limited number of sites which belong to this phase indicates that that it was relatively short-lived. The Baekryeongdo site can be attributed to this phase. It can also be noted that the stone cist burial was the main type of burial used in Phase I.

The merging of the newly introduced round attached-rim pottery culture with the indigenous culture of the Seoul and Gyeonggi region took place in Phase II. The material culture of this phase is characterized by artifacts of Assemblage Type B, such as attached-rim vessels with round clay bands, ring-shaped handles, composite horn-shaped handles, Type 1 and 2 mounted dishes, and grooved adzes. Phase II also has an absolute chronology of around the fifth century BCE, and the limited number of sites which belong to this phase indicates that that it was also relatively short-lived. The stone cist burials of Banjae-ri can be attributed to this phase.

It is in Phase III that the archetypal form of the attached-rim pottery culture of the Seoul and Gyeonggi region came to be established. The material culture of this phase is characterized by artifacts of Assemblage Type C, such as attached-rim vessels with round clay bands, composite horn-shaped handles, Type 1 and 2 mounted dishes, and grooved adzes. Although some uncertainty exists regarding this issue, the beginning date for Phase III can be set at around the fifth or fourth century BCE. The end date for this phase can be set at around the third century BCE, after which attached-rim vessels with triangular clay bands made their appearance. The burials of Yuljeon-dong, in Suwon, may be attributed to this phase. It is also possible that the stone cist burials of Banjae-ri may belong to Phase III.

Phase IV witnessed the co-existence of the triangular attached-rim pottery culture with the round attached-rim pottery culture of the previous phase. The material culture of this phase is characterized by artifacts of both Assemblage Type C and Assemblage Type D, such as attached-rim vessels with triangular clay bands, composite horn-shaped handles, rod-shaped handle, Type 2 and 3 mounted dishes, and grooved adzes. Burials which can be attributed to this phase include the wooden coffin burials from Manjeon-ri and Balan-ri. The beginning date for Phase IV can be set at around the second century BCE, while the end date for this phase can be set, as will be discussed below, at around the beginning of the first century CE.

The diachronic change observed in the attached-rim culture of the Seoul and Gyeonggi region which was examined above is presented, schematically in Table 4.

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( Table 4 ) Schematic diagram of diachronic change in artifact association

04 THE END DATE FOR THE ATTACHED-RIM POTTERY CULTURE

With regard to the end date for the attached-rim pottery culture, we must focus on the Han mirror fragments collected from Dokseo-ri A, in Paju,25 which was one of the sites reported by Yokoyama (Figure 7). The two fragments were recorded as “讀書里 A 九.七.十四.” They are very small in size, measuring approximately 2cm in length; the back edge of the mirror was found to have a width of 1.6cm and a thickness of 0.3-0.4cm. The absence of decorative patterns on the remaining fragments makes it difficult to know for certain, but the shape of the back edge of the mirror suggests that the mirror may have been decorated with a band of characters (異體字銘帶鏡) or with a dragon motif (虺龍文鏡) – it is highly likely that it was the latter. Found in association with the mirror fragments were artifacts typical of Assemblage Type C, such as round attached-rim pottery, rim fragments of long-necked jars, Type 2 mounted dish sherds, pieces of composite horn-shaped handles, grooved adzes, pommel fittings, and triangular stone arrowheads. While we cannot know for certain if the Han mirror fragments and the round attached-rim pottery were retrieved from the same context, it is indeed possible to associate round attached-rim pottery with the mirror fragments found at the same site. In addressing this association between attached-rim pottery and Han mirrors, we should take into account the fragments of a Han mirror decorated with a dragon motif found in the Hwaehyun-ri shell midden in Gimhae, and dated to the beginning of the first century CE.26 Since the Han mirror fragments from Dokseo-ri A may also be dated to the beginning of the first century CE, this indicates that the attached-rim pottery culture of the Seoul and Gyeonggi region continued into the first century BCE.

( Figure 7 ) Artifacts from Dokseo-ri A

IV THE NATURE OF THE ATTACHED-RIM POTTERY CULTURE OF THE SEOUL AND GYEONGGI REGION

As discussed above, the sites which have yielded the earliest examples of attached-rim pottery in the Seoul and Gyeonggi region are Baekryeongdo and Suseok-ri. While long-necked jars have been identified at these sites, grooved adzes – which may be taken to represent contact with the indigenous communities of this region – are absent. This artifact assemblage may therefore be regarded as representing the situation of attached-rim pottery communities upon arriving and settling down in the Seoul and Gyeonggi region. Given that this type of artifact assemblage has not been observed elsewhere in Korea, it is highly likely that the Han River region was the location where the attached-rim pottery culture first gained its foothold in the peninsula.

As the result of contact with indigenous communities, the artifact assemblage of round attached-rim pottery and ring-shaped handles came to be transformed into the typical artifact assemblage of this region (i.e. Assemblage Type C), consisting of round attached-rim pottery, jars with composite horn-shaped handles, and grooved adzes.27 A large number of the attached-rim pottery sites which have been identified so far may be categorized into this assemblage. Therefore, it is believed that further, detailed analysis of sites yielding artifacts of Assemblage Type C will help shed light on the nature of the attached-rim pottery culture of the Seoul and Gyeonggi region. It should also be noted that contact between migrant (i.e. attached-rim culture) and indigenous communities would have resulted in the exchange of cultural influences in both directions. With regard to this matter, Lee Hyeongwon has presented a model which assumes that that contact between communities of the Songguk-ri culture and attached-rim pottery culture led to the formation of two different settlement types: Gwanchang-ri type settlements which were formed through the adoption of foreign cultural elements (represented by artifacts) by indigenous communities (represented by houses and artifacts), and Gyoseong-ri type settlements which were formed through the adoption of indigenous elements (by artifacts) by migrant communities (represented by houses and artifacts).28 In other words, it has been suggested that, through the exchange of cultural influences, the pre-existing and newly-settled communities of the region came to merge with one another. In the Seoul and Gyeonggi region, rim-perforated pottery and attached-rim pottery have been found in association at Gogang-dong, in Bucheon (Figure 8). Of course, it must be acknowledged that this type of association has only been identified at a limited number of sites. In addition, such an association has only been observed at site level, rather than within a single feature. Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that such an archaeological context may be interpreted as resulting from contact between indigenous and attached-rim pottery communities. These sites have all been attributed to the Yeoksam-dong assemblage. Kim Hansik has argued that, by the time that the attached-rim pottery culture had made its appearance in the Seoul and Gyeonggi region, sites of the Heunam-ri assemblage had disappeared and only sites of the Yeoksam-dong assemblage remained.29 Given that end date for the Yeoksam-dong assemblage has been set at approximately the fifth century BCE based on radiocarbon dates, we may assume that the Yeoksam-dong assemblage and Attached-rim pottery culture would had co-existed during at least the fifth century BCE.30

( Figure 8 ) Artifacts from Gogang-dong

Although evidence of contact exists, it appears that communities of the attached-rim pottery culture in the Seoul and Gyeonggi region were not as successful as their counterparts who had settled down in the Hoseo and Honam regions in adopting to their new home and integrating with the indigenous social groups. The discovery of bronze artifacts at sites such as Gwaejeong-dong, in Daejeon, Dongseo-ri, in Yesan, and Namseong-ri, in Asan, and iron artifacts at sites such as Namyang-ri, in Jangsu, Habsong-ri, in Buyeo, and Soso-ri, in Dangjin, indicates that the attached-rim pottery culture communities of the Hoseo and Honam regions had successfully integrated with the local society to the extent that, by the fourth to second century BCE, they were able to appropriate impressive bronze and iron objects as grave goods. On the other hand, sites in the Seoul and Gyeonggi region have only yielded a small number of bronze artifacts consisting of a limited number of types, such as bronze daggers, bronze hand knives, and bronze spearheads.

The subsequent emergence of triangular attached-rim pottery is represented by sites such as Oido, in Siheung, Gawaji, in Ilsan, Wonjeong-ri in Pyeongtaek, and Haengjang-gol Bansong-ri, in Hwaseong. A common characteristic feature of sites yielding triangular attached rim pottery is their location – the sites are located around the western coastline of the region. Of the artifacts found in association with attached-rim pottery, the rod-shaped handle from the Gawaji site is of interest. This style of handle is found attached to ‘Myeongsa-ri type’ jars and, in the southern region of the peninsula, occurs in association with triangular attached-rim pottery.31 The presence of Type 3 mounted dishes (Gawaji) and bronze arrowhead with iron tang (Oido) may also regarded as clear indication that a triangular attached-rim pottery culture similar to that of the southern parts of the peninsula was in existence in the Seoul and Gyeonggi region. However, it appears that, unlike the triangular attached-rim pottery culture of the Yeongnam region, which spread inland, the triangular attached-rim pottery culture of the Seoul and Gyeonggi region was constrained to the western coastline area.

It is also interesting to note that the attached-rim pottery culture of the Seoul and Gyeonggi region does not occur in association with Jungdo-type pottery or paddled (tanalmun) pottery. Although a consensus has yet to be established regarding the emergence of the Jungdo-type pottery culture, it is generally agreed that this pottery culture came about through the influences of a foreign pottery culture. However, the relationship between this foreign pottery culture and the attached-rim pottery culture in the Seoul and Gyeonggi region is different to the situation observed in the southern regions of the peninsula. In the Yeongnam region, the gradual transformation of the attached-rim pottery culture into the Wajil pottery culture can be observed in pottery types such as pouch-shaped vessels, pottery with composite horn-shaped handles, and mounted bowls. In contrast, paddled pottery and attached-rim pottery are not found in association, and vessels of the attached-rim pottery phase which contain Wajil pottery elements have not been found in the Seoul and Gyeonggi region. Although it is the Seoul and Gyeonggi region, rather than the Yeongnam region, that has yielded the clearest case of association between a paddled short necked jar and a flower pot shaped pot, as evidenced at the Daljeon-ri site, in Gapyeong,32 these pottery types have yet to be found in association with attached-rim pottery in this region. In contrast to this, paddled pottery and Jungdo-type pottery are often found in association in the Seoul and Gyeonggi region. This can be taken to illustrate the fact that attached-rim pottery was not able to gain a leading position in the Seoul and Gyeonggi region.

V CONCLUSION

This paper examined the attached-rim pottery culture of the Seoul and Gyeonggi region. While this culture was in existence for at least five centuries, only a very limited number of artifacts have been found for this period. In addition, rather than having been found through excavation, most of these artifacts come from surface surveys; what material exists is rarely found in an intact state or in clear association with other artifacts types. Thus, any discussions taking place on attached-rim pottery culture at the present time must be regarded as being speculative. However, the southern part of the Gyeonggi region has recent yielded a number of sites, such as Banjae-ri and Manjeong-ri, in Anseong, and Donghak-san, in Hwaseong. It is therefore hoped that, once the excavation reports of these sites are published, the study of the attached-rim pottery culture of the Seoul and Gyeonggi region will be met with further progress.