섬진강 본류역 청동기시대 취락의 분포와 특징

Abstract

The Seomjingang River is characterized by a mainstream that runs across rugged mountainous areas and winds around alluvial plains extending along valleys. The geographical conditions surrounding the river have resulted in the development of incised meanders and stretches of alluvial land of different sizes. There have been, however, few archaeological studies on the areas around the river’s mainstream, and consequently there is little information about their cultural aspects. The purpose of this study is to determine the characteristic features of the Bronze Age settlements that formed along the mainstream of the Seomjingang River, a subject that has attracted scant attention from researchers compared with the area around the Boseonggang River, one of the Seomjingang’s main tributaries. The study is expected to increase knowledge about the distribution and density of the prehistoric settlements that sprang up along the mainstream area of the Seomjingang River. The study shows that the areas along the mainstream of the Seomjingang River were populated with settlements from the initial to the last period of the Korean Bronze Age, although clearer evidence about the cultures formed during the last period of the Bronze Age, represented by round-rimmed earthenware, has yet to be discovered. In sum, these settlements are characterized by Misa-ri type in the initial period, Garak-dong, Yeoksam- dong and Heunam-ri type in the early period, and by Songguk-ri type in the middle and last period. Songguk-ri type is distributed evenly from the upper to the lower reaches of the river, and is more frequently discovered than other types. The Bronze Age cultures around the Seomjingang River are characterized by the extensive use and mutual influence of Yeoksam-dong type, which is exemplified by rim-perforated jars, and Songguk-ri type. It appears to have been during the middle period that the traditional elements were briskly combined with the new Songguk-ri type and that the settlements began to adopt a more advanced spatial layout. There is no clear evidence of the relationship between the settlements and burial practices, but it is highly probable that the dolmen was the main burial form.