1. Life and Culture in the Prehistoric Age

(1) Origin of the Nation

Since the prehistoric age, the ancestors of the Korean people lived widely dispersed on the Korean peninsula throughout Manchuria, and the Gulf of Bohai in East Asia. People lived in these areas from the Paleolithic age, but they had little direct bearing on the formation of the Korean nation. The basis of the Korean nation is believed to have formed from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age.

Ethnologically, the Korean people belong to the Mongoloid family and the language is derived from the Altaic language family. The Yemaek and Han tribes recorded in early China formed the main ethnic background of the nation as they developed the Bronze culture.

(2) Paleolithic and Neolithic Cultures

The Paleothic culture in Korea began 600,000 years ago. The most famous relics have been unearthed in: Sokjang-ni, Kongju county; Kulp'o-ri, Unggi county; and Chongok-ni, Yonch'on county. The Paleolithic people lived in caves. They used bones and horns to catch wild beasts and fish and plucked fruits from trees for their sustenance.

The Neolithic culture began about 8,000 years ago. Relics from this age are largely found along the seacoasts and river basins. The Neolithic people used ground stone implements and earthenware with comb-shaped figures. In earlier stages, they caught fish and beasts, but in the later stages they began to engage in primitive forms of agriculture. They gathered in clans, and as such, formed clan societies.

(3) Bronze Culture and Social Change

Around the 10th century B.C., people who used figureless earthenware appeared. Thus, beginning the formation of the Bronze culture. This culture began to develop along the Liaoning of Manchuria and in the northwestern areas of the Korean peninsula, and it later gradually spread throughout the entire country.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dolman on the island of Kanghwado, circa 20th century B.C.

 

 

 

 

 

Prehistoric remains in chongok-ni, Yonch`on district Kyonggi province

 

 

 

 

Comb-pattern ware dating from 3,000~2,000 B.C., excavated from prehistoric remains in Amsa-dong, Seoul.

 

 

 

 

Paledithic age remains in Sokjang-ni, Kongju district, South Ch'ungch'ong province

In the early Bronze Age, the northern Bronze culture introduced a type of bronze sword known as the Pip'a. However, the Pip'a-type bronze sword eventually evolved into a slender type of the bronze sword, and bronzeware also began to be made in Korea. Thus, developing a unique bronze culture.

The people of the Bronze Age lived in hilly areas, engaging chiefly in agriculture and even began rice farming. They began to build dolmens and stone-coffin tombs. At this stage, the power of the patriarchs strenghtened, and they made their advent as rulers, thus forming the early tribal states in the patriarchal society.