The Significance and Burial Meaning of Long-body Stone Arrowheads(長身形石鏃) in the Gyeongnam Region

This study focuses on stone arrowheads with exceptionally elongated bodies, which were buried in tombs during the Late Bronze Age, and explores their significance. First both elongated body length and overall body length were measured to define ‘long-body stone arrowheads (長身形石鏃)’. Next, the features of this type of arrowhead were reviewed and their meanings explored. In many cases, long-body stone arrowheads were placed on the floor, in proximity to the center of the long wall of the burial chamber. Also, they were generally clustered and placed parallel to the long wall. At the end of the Late Bronze Age, the mass deposition of long-body stone arrowheads occurred, primarily in the Gyeongnam region. All tombs with a large quantity of stone arrowheads are distinguished by the presence of additional burial goods. In northern Kyushu, Japan, similarities in the types, placement, and combination of burial goods can be confirmed. However, the custom of mass deposition of long-body stone arrowheads is not observed in Kyushu, indicating that it is a unique burial custom centered in the Gyeongnam region. Bronze Age people’s veneration of weapons can be inferred from the use of stone daggers and stone arrowheads as grave goods and their depiction in petroglyphs. At the end of the Late Bronze Age, long-body stone arrowheads were deposited in burials in conjunction with stone swords that exhibited exaggerated and ritualized handles. In the context of the ritualization of weapons, long-body stone arrowheads can also be considered as ritualized objects, exhibiting a marked elongation of the body. In addition, they were used for both building rituals and burial rituals. They may have served as ritual artifacts intended to protect the deceased from evil and uncleanliness, or as burial goods ensuring the well-being of the deceased in the afterlife.