Study of material circulation system is a key to systematically understanding the cultural/historical dynamics of Hanseong Baekje. The topic of an ancient state's intra- and inter-societal material circulation system is not a simple but is a very comp ...
Study of material circulation system is a key to systematically understanding the cultural/historical dynamics of Hanseong Baekje. The topic of an ancient state's intra- and inter-societal material circulation system is not a simple but is a very complex process, and thus requires systematic research strategies.
For a relevant study, not only investigations of production locales of various goods but also scientific analysis of artifacts' provenances are critical. To do so, the number of sites for research must be large enough to reconstruct the material flow network and a chronological scheme must also be well established to ensure the contemporaneity of the sites.
Analysis of ceramics from Danghari site, a pottery production locale of Hanseong Baekje, found some clusters of ceramics, providing archaeologically important clues to understanding production, circulation and consumption of Hanseong Baekje pottery. Detailed interpretation of the results through further mineralogical, petrographic and chemical analyses isunder way, and it will answer how production and consumption of ceramics were operated. This preliminary result is expected to test the existing assumptions regarding change in pottery technology, distinction between utilitarian and prestige pottery, local production and distribution systems, all of which have been not been scientifically accessed but speculated. Moreover, establishment of reference groups of Danghari kiln, subsequent assessment of pottery distribution at Danghari, Mahari, and Misari, and comparison of various pottery types will provide important answers.
Sequence and distribution of Baekje pottery suggests its close connection with the Youngsan River Valley and northern Kyushu, Japan. From trade centers dated between the 3rd and 4th centuries, Baekje pottery appeared. In contrast, until typical Baekje pottery appeared in Japan after the late 5th century, it is difficult to find evidence for connection between the Han River Valley and Osaka and Nara, two major cities of Yamato Dynasty. This suggests that Hanseong Baekje had relationships with Youngsan River Valley and northern Kyushu between the 3rd and 5th centuries, whereas its relationship with Yamato Dynasty was not strong. A closer look at the polities of northern Kyushu, however, leads us to a more complex picture. It is a well-known fact that northern Kyushu, a window through which Chinese and Korean cultures had been imported since the Paleolithic, had long kept relationships with southern Korea. Thus, Baekje (and Mahan) pottery in this area may have appeared in this context.
Polities of northernKyushu were able to have direct interaction those in the Korean Peninsula and independently accept foreign cultures, as shown by the fact that they were the first importer of the stone chamber tomb with side entrance from Korean Peninsula. However, during this period, evidence for the developmentof new relationships with Yamato Dynasty, such as introduction of key-hole tombs and Yamato style pottery into this area, also increased in this area. This suggests that polities of northern Kyushu adopted dual strategies for intersocietal interaction they maintained relationships with various polities in the Korean Peninsula independently, while, at the same time, they had to keep some degree of relationship with Yamato Dynasty. Under these circumstances, not only their own interestsbut also Yamato Dynasty's interests would have been involved in northern Kyushu polities' interaction with polities in the Korean Peninsula.