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The Review of Korean Studies

Techno-Chronological Reassessment of Palaeolithic Assemblages in the Imjin-Hantan River Area, Korea: New Data and New Considerations

The Review of Korean Studies / The Review of Korean Studies, (P)1229-0076; (E)2773-9351
2009, v.12 no.2, pp.11-27
https://doi.org/10.25024/review.2009.12.2.001

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Abstract

Recent excavations and research of the Imjin-Hantan River Area have furnished new data that presents a revised position on the age and technological characteristics of the palaeolithic industry. The initial date of hominid occupation is, if not earlier than, the later Middle Pleistocene. In addition, handaxes and associated small tools in the Imjin-Hantan River Area are predominantly bracketed into the OIS 5-3. Although several researchers suggest that the date of the Chongokni site falls in the later Middle Pleistocene, these new dates contradict the old notion that handaxe-based assemblages are chronologically equivalent to the Acheulian industry (or the Lower/Early palaeolithic technocomplexes). Rather, it is believed that the Imjin-Hantan River Area handaxe is not a direct output of either the hominid acculturation or technological transmission. The relatively simple and underdeveloped level of manufacturing technique suggests that this young handaxe might have been produced as a result of a provisional necessity in the demand for a reliable multi-purpose tool. This crude but instrumental tool-type persisted until new high-quality raw materials (obsidian and porphyry) began to be heavily exploited and the small-tool-dominant Upper Palaeolithic technology finally emerged during the terminal Pleistocene in this area.

keywords
Imjin-Hantan River Area, Palaeolithic, handaxe, OIS 5-3, lithic raw material

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The Review of Korean Studies