Establishment and Development of the Yeongsangang River Basin Jar Coffins

This paper aims to archaeologically identify the establishment and developmental process of jar coffins, which are the traditional tombs of the Yeongsangang River basin during the Three Kingdoms period. The establishment of the jar coffin was judged to have occurred in the Miho River basin in the 3rd century. The Miho River basin and Seosanarea acted as a transportation hub connecting the Asan Bay area and Byeon·Jinhan, and functioned as thus until the Baekje Hanseong period. During this process, large jars from the Byeon·Jinhan area were introduced into the Asan Bay area, and the influence of this led tothe creation of the earliest Type I jar coffin of the Miho River basin. This type spread to the Yeongsangang River basin and developed into the typical TypeI jar coffin in the Gochang Asan-myeon area in the late 3rd century. The development of the jar coffin is characterized by changes in form and a shrinking distribution range. By the fourth quarter of the 4th century, the stage of the ⅠType jar coffin, it was widely distributed in the Mahan·Baekje region. In the first quarter of the 5th century, the ⅡB type jar coffin appeared, its distribution limited to the Yeongsangang River basin and developed into the jar coffin tomb. In the second quarter of the 5th century, the Ⅲ Type jar coffin appeared, the distribution of which was limited to the middle Yeongsangang River basin. In the fourth quarter of the 5thcentury, the process of social integration resulted in the standardization of the form of the ⅢType jar coffin, but the distribution of this type was reduced even further, before disappearing around the first half of the second quarter of the 6th century. The Naju Dasi-myeon and Bannam-myeon indigenous groups, the centers of jar coffin production, differed in political orientation. The Dasi-myeon group was more receptive to foreign cultures, while the Bannam-myeon adhered strongly to the tradition of jar coffins. This was a result of the geographical importance of the Dasi-myeon region overlapping with Baekje’s desire to subjugate the Yeongsangang River basin.