The Trade of Carnelian Beads during the Early Iron Age and Proto-Three Kingdoms Period

The purpose of this study is to analyze the trade networks of carnelian beads during the Early Iron Age and Proto-Three Kingdoms period. In the paper, the types of carnelian beads were classified, the distribution patterns of each period and region were reviewed, and it was confirmed that there were differences in the origin and distribution by type. The carnelian beads excavated in Korea were assumed to be imported from the northern region(Mongolia/Russian Far East/Northeast China) and the southern region(South Asia/Southeast Asia) based on the geological sources, production sites, regional shapes, manufacturing techniques, distribution patterns, and historical records. And the multi-faceted beads in the southeastern region of the Korean peninsula seems to be reprocessed products of the spherical beads from South Asia/Southeast Asia. The distribution of carnelian beads in the Korean Peninsula reflects the historical situation of the time. In the Early Iron Age, northern carnelian beads flowed from northeastern China, mainly to the southwestern region. But after the establishment of Lelang(樂浪) by Han(漢), a large amount of southern carnelian beads began to flow through the trade network of China. In the late Proto-Three Kingdoms period, Lelang had been weakened, and Three Han(三韓) grew to become major consumers of the southern carnelian beads. On the other hand, in the central region of the Korean Peninsula, it seems that there was the northern carnelian bead network.