Precious and semi-precious stones in the archaeology of the Korean peninsula (Neolithic age - middle ages)

Purpose. Our goal was to understand the current state of knowledge concerning precious and semi-precious stones from Korean archaeological sites. Results. The Korean Peninsula, unlike China, is not so rich in objects made of jade and similar stones, and the range of stones is not so diverse. Items made of precious and semi-precious stones are relatively rare until the period of Goryeo rule, except for magatamas (kogoks in Korean). Historical sources reveal little information about the use of precious and semi-precious stones in Korea, and the information is mostly fragmentary. A lack of materials for research resulted in few studies devoted to the use of jade and similar precious and semi-precious stones in the Korean historiography. Various items made of the stones under study and found during recent excavations of burial grounds, housing and shell mounds testify that these stones were used as jewelry in the Korean Peninsula as early as in the Early Neolithic, about 5.5 thousand years B.C. Such items are found mostly at Neolithic sites in the south. Originally, it was amazonite that was spread during the Bronze Age and found at the sites of the Korean Peninsula. At the same time, it was used for a new type of magatama, which was not found in the Neolithic. Violin-shaped daggers, as well as a new type of magatama, appeared in the early Iron Age in the Korean Peninsula and have been found at the sites in the Geum River basin. Magatamas are usually found with these violin-shaped daggers and bronze mirrors in the graves with stone walls. Jade was a very rare stone in Korea until the Unified Silla period, so in Korea they mostly used agate, amber, rock crystal or synthetic materials such as glass. Jade is mainly known to be used for jewelry from Silla burial mounds (until Goryeo). The jewelry included magatamas (generally curved C-shaped beads with a hole at one end), elongated cylindrical beads (teronok in Korean) and spherical beads. Korean researchers used to have an opinion that due to the geological conditions of the Korean Peninsula, there were no mines on its territory for mining minerals such as jadeite. The first mines for minerals such as jade were discovered in the Korean Peninsula during the Japanese occupation in the early 20th century. Due to a lack of raw materials, Korea does not appear to have had such an advanced technology of processing jade as China. As a result, Korean rules and regulations on owing and carrying items made of jade are much stricter than those in China. The most famous mines of jade, jadeite and other stones are known to be located in the neighboring countries. However, some mines exist in Korea as well, which is proved by historical sources. Conclusion. The Korean historiography of semi-precious stones studies exists, but the studies are few. It is necessary to be especially attentive to the data related to jade and other stones contained in the historical sources. We should actively involve natural-scientific methods to analyze the findings. In addition, it is necessary to consider Korean material on the background of the data on the use of precious and semi-precious stones in China’s North-East, Japan, Mongolia and Siberia.