Chronology and Significance of Early Neolithic Pottery in the Central-Eastern Region

In this study, I established the chronology of the pottery of the early Neolithic Age in the central-eastern region of the Korean Peninsula, and attempted a wide-area chronology through cross-chronology between the northeastern region of the Korean Peninsula, the Russian Maritime Province, and the southern region of the Korean Peninsula. The purpose of this study is to examine the temporal and spatial location and significance of the pottery of the early Neolithic Age in the central-eastern region of the Korean Peninsula. The Jukbyeon-ri type pottery and the Osan-ri type pottery are established in the early Neolithic Age in the central-eastern part of the Korean Peninsula. The Jukbyeon-ri type pottery consists mainly of unpatterned deep bowl and a small amount of red-glazed pottery with a slab-pressed pattern, and it changed into the ancient, middle, and new stages. The Osan-ri type pottery, which consists of deep bowl, pot and jar, is also divided into three stages: the ancient, middle, and new stages. Through a comparative review of the pottery excavation patterns at the site, it was suggested that it generally changed from the Jukbyeon-ri type pottery to the Osan-ri type pottery. Through cross-chronology, this study revealed that the new stage of Osan-ri pottery in the central-eastern region of the Korean Peninsula and the 1st and 2nd stages of Boisman culture in the northeastern region of the Korean Peninsula and the Russian Maritime Province existed at the same time. It was difficult to cross-chronologically study the Jukbyeon-ri pottery period because it had little in common with the flat-bottom pottery of the Far East Asia. On the other hand, the same Jukbyeon-ri type pottery of the old stage was distributed in the southern region of the Korean Peninsula. Afterwards, the Osan-ri type pottery mainly composed of stamp patterns was established in the central-eastern region of the Korean Peninsula, strengthening the relationship with the northeastern and Maritime Province regions, while the raised-pattern pottery spread in the southern region and strengthened the relationship with the Kyushu region of Japan. There was a continuous exchange relationship between the Osan-ri type pottery in the centraleastern region of the Korean Peninsula and the raised-pattern pottery in the south. The deep bowl(cooking pottery) of the Jukbyeon-ri type and Osan-ri type has a narrow bottom and wide mouth that is connected to the raised-pattern pottery and Yeongseon-dong type pottery of the southern region. It is not a direct influence from the cylinder shaped flat-bottom pottery of the Far East, but was independently formed in the central-eastern and southern regions of the Korean Peninsula. The pottery of the early Neolithic Age in the central-eastern region clearly shows the process of development in which it developed in relation to the northeastern Korean Peninsula, the Russian Maritime Province, and the southern regions without being absorbed or merged into the culture of the Far East despite being in close proximity.