Korean dolmens look quite different from those in other regions. Among these, dolmens at the World Heritage sites in Gochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa are in good condition, appropriately clustered and diverse in style, serving as important clues for studying the formation and evolution of prehistoric megalithic structures. Running into them while tilling the fields, oftentimes farmers inadvertently removed or smashed what they deemed to be “troublesome rocks.” A considerable number of dolmens in Korea have presumably been destroyed in this way.Ī great majority of dolmens in Korea are clustered along the west coast areas, particularly in Jeolla provinces where some 20,000 dolmens have been identified. Dolmens are seen everywhere around Korea they are so common that they can be mistaken for plain rocks sometimes. Megalithic culture fully blossomed on the Korean peninsula in view of the degree of concentration and diversity in the forms and scales of dolmens discovered in the country. Korea Has 40 Percent of All Dolmens Worldwide Some 30,000 dolmens have been found in South Korea and 10,000 to 15,000 in North Korea, which together account for over 40 percent of all dolmens identified around the world. Among these countries, Korea is veritably the “kingdom of dolmens,” with a far larger number of the stone cists distributed throughout North and South Korea. They are important archaeological remains from the early stage of civilization found in natural environments, not inside museums.ĭolmens are found all over the world, but are notably concentrated in the Northeast Asian countries of Korea, China and Japan. While interment of the dead may have been the primary intention of early humans in creating the dolmens, the various burial offerings like earthenware, stone tools and bronze ware provide modern people with a vital glimpse into their society. A widespread use of bronze implements yielded surplus farm products, which led to the emergence of power groups and social classes.īronze wares are most often excavated from megalithic barrows known as dolmens, or “goindol” in Korean, which literally means the “propped stone.” The dolmens are burial sites representative of the Bronze Age. As a result, tilling and livestock breeding developed into major means of livelihood. The increased use of bronze tools, made from an alloy of copper and tin or zinc, characterized this period. #DOLMEN KOREA FULL#With an early agricultural society taking shape, the Bronze Age was in full swing around 1,000 B.C. It is believed that humans began to inhabit the Korean peninsula around 700,000 years ago during the Paleolithic era. Key to Bronze Age Culture on the Korean Peninsula
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