양산 부부총의 매장 프로세스와 성격 재검토

Abstract

The ancient tombs in Bukjeong-dong, Yangsan are representative of the Three Kingdoms Period in the Yeongnam Region, and are valuable for understanding the development of the ancient tomb culture of the Silla Dynasty which spread to the lower reaches of the Nakdong River. Notably, Yangsan Bubuchong has side-entrance-type stone chamber tombs, a type of tomb that first appeared in the late fifth century and whose unique form distinguished it from preceding types of tombs. They were viewed as rare cases of ancient tombs associated with the custom of adding bodies to an existing tomb and the practice of sacrificial burial, with five individuals buried in one tomb and grave goods including gilt-bronze crowns, earthenware, and ironware, reflecting the high social status of the buried. Such view, however, was established without a basic examination of the burial structures or an in-depth research on the buried, i.e. whether they were buried together in one tomb, and which period the artifacts date from. A comparative analysis of these materials with materials from other parts of the Yeongnam Region will shed light on the structures of the Yangsan Bubuchong tombs and the social status of their occupants. An erroneous analysis of the soil strata of the tombs led some researchers to interpret the human remains as additional burials of the wives, instead of as sacrifices. The misinterpretation also implied that the custom of sacrificial burial was maintained until the first quarter of the sixth century, whereas the custom was officially prohibited by the Silla Dynasty by then. Thus, the idea that the continued custom of sacrificial burial reflects Silla’s direct control over the region needs to be reconsidered. Burial studies show that the inhabitants of present-day Yangsan were culturally pro-Silla but that they stuck to their traditional customs and accepted their traditional rulers’ authority - as shown by the burial process associated with the Yangsan Bubuchong tombs. This suggests that the local rulers still clung to their independence and that Silla had yet to exercise complete control over the Yangsan region. The traditional rulers of Yangsan were reduced to a provincial faction under Silla’s control and that the tomb site in Bukjeong-dong, Yangsan ceased to function as a cemetery for the local rulers from around the second quarter of the sixth century, given that no tombs dating from the era following the period in which the Yangsan Bubuchong tombs were built have been found at the site.