Constructing Bronze Age lives : social reproduction and the construction and use of dolmen burials from the Yongdam complex in Jinan, southern Korea
The Korean Bronze Age is regarded as a time of great economic and social transformation, witnessing the emergence of social complexity in the peninsula. The dolmen burials of the region have been used to investigate, and indeed represent, this social change. This thesis looks beyond the typology and grave goods of the Korean dolmens to emphasise the actual practises of burial construction and use which were structured by the emergent material conditions of the dolmen architecture. The dolmen burials from seven Bronze Age cemeteries located in the Yongdam complex of Jinan, southern Korea, are analysed. The changing nature of burial practices is examined in order to consider the ways in which these dolmen burials actively contributed to the reproduction of life in the changing social and economic conditions of the late Early Bronze Age to Middle Bronze Age. It is proposed that, through these practices, a commitment to the 'settlement community' was maintained in the late EBA, a 'Songuggni way of life' was reproduced in the early MBA, and social differentiation was expressed and performed in the late MBA. This thesis presents an alternative interpretative approach which addresses the issue of how societies are
Ko, Ilhong
Constructing Bronze Age lives : social reproduction and the construction and use of dolmen burials from the Yongdam complex in Jinan, southern Korea. The Korean Bronze Age is regarded as a time of great economic and social transformation, witnessing the emergence of social complexity in the peninsula. The dolmen burials of the region have been used to investigate, and indeed represent, this social change. This thesis looks beyond the typology and grave goods of the Korean dolmens to emphasise the actual practises of burial construction and use which were structured by the emergent material conditions of the dolmen architecture. The dolmen burials from seven Bronze Age cemeteries located in the Yongdam complex of Jinan, southern Korea, are analysed. The changing nature of burial practices is examined in order to consider the ways in which these dolmen burials actively contributed to the reproduction of life in the changing social and economic conditions of the late Early Bronze Age to Middle Bronze Age. It is proposed that, through these practices, a commitment to the 'settlement community' was maintained in the late EBA, a 'Songuggni way of life' was reproduced in the early MBA, and social differentiation was expressed and performed in the late MBA. This thesis presents an alternative interpretative approach which addresses the issue of how societies are
constructing bronze_age live social_reproduction construction use burial complex southern korea korean bronze_age regard time great economic_social transformation witness emergence social_complexity peninsula burial region use_investigate indeed represent social_change look_beyond typology grave_good korean emphasise actual practises burial construction use structure emergent material condition architecture burial bronze_age cemetery locate complex southern korea analyse change_nature burial_practice examine order_consider way burial actively contribute reproduction life change social_economic condition late early_bronze_age middle_bronze_age propose practice commitment settlement community maintain late eba way_life reproduce early mba social_differentiation express perform late mba present_alternative interpretative address_issue society