Science and Technology in the Silla Heritage The course explores the scientific and technological aspects of the cultural heritage of Silla, an ancient dynasty in Korea, and its relationship with other ancient civilizations in the world. The lecture series will cover major cultural heritage of Silla: Bulguksa, Seokguram, Cheomseongdae, Poseokjeong, the Sacred Bell of Great King Seongdeok, and metallurgy. Modern development in science and technology occurred mostly in the West. But during ancient times,various developments were madein science and technology in many countries outside of the West. In that sense, this series of lectures aims to obtain better understanding of the development in science and technology in the Silla dynasty through scientific and technological analysis of Silla cultural properties.
Metalcrafts in Korea
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來自 Pohang University of Science and Technology 的課程
Science and Technology in the Silla Cultural Heritage
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Pohang University of Science and Technology
個評分
從本節課中
The Metalcrafts in Silla
與講師見面
YOUM, Young-ilProfessor
Head of Pohang Research Institute of AI, Robort, Science and Technology
Im, Gyeong SoonProfessor
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
Kim, Kang-TaeProfessor
Department of Mathematics
LEE, ChunghyoungProfessor
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
So far, we reviewed
how metalworking started in the world.
Next, we will look at
the development of metalworking in Korea.
In the Korean Peninsula,
various metals such as bronze and iron
had been utilized from the early times.
The Bronze Age in Korea
started in the 10th century BC.
Many bronze artifacts were excavated
in Daegok-ri, Hwasun
and are now housed in the Gwangju National Museum.
Shown on the slide are
the bronze artifacts from Daegok-ri, Hwasun.
Bronze artifacts from the Bronze Age
were weapons, mostly for rituals.
Bronze daggers in the Bipa shape
constitute a major type of bronze artifact in Korea.
The daggers were not really used as weapons
but for rituals or as a symbol of power.
Numerous Bipa-shaped daggers
were found in the regions of Gojoseon.
Here, you can see
the Bipa-shaped daggers on the slide.
These bronze artifacts were excavated in vast areas
that extend from around the Liao River to Pyeongyang,
and from this
we can project the territories of Gojoseon.
Another major category of Korean Bronze Age artifacts
is that of bronze mirrors with fine linear patterns.
This bronze mirror is housed
in the museum at Soongsil University
and is estimated to date back to the 4th century BC.
The pattern on this mirror
is roughly 20 centimeters
and is made up of about 13,000 fine lines
which show amazing craftsmanship
of the Bronze Age.
From old times,
the Koreans were known
to be good with iron.
According to Chinese mythology,
the Koreans were the descendants of Chiwoo,
the god of war.
It is told that Chiwoo had a cooper head
and an iron forehead.
The Iron Age in Korea
started around the 4th century BC.
Iron artifacts have been found extensively
in the midstream and the northwest regions
of the Amnokgang River.
The major artifacts of the Iron Age
are ironware relics
found in Yongyeon-dong, Wiwon-gun, Pyeonganbuk-do.
In this region,
various iron weapons
such as axes, arrowheads, and spears were found
as well as iron farming tools
like sickles, semilunar knives,
hoes, and plowshares.
The picture on my left shows the iron artifacts
housed in the National Museum of Korea.
These iron artifacts
constitute important archaeological evidence
that shows how iron spread in Korea.
The ruling class of Baekje,
one of the three ancient kingdoms of Korea,
strengthened on the foundation of iron.
At Isonokami Shrine
in Nara, Japan,
there is a seven-branched sword called Chiljido.
The sword is 74.9 centimeters long
and is made of wrought iron
in the image of tree branches
and was probably used for rituals.
According to the 61-character inscription on the sword,
it was made by the Baekje people
at noon on May 16, 369
for the King of Japan
to pass down to future generations.
Chiljido is a valuable artifact
that shows how advanced Baekje metallurgy was.
The Gilt-bronze Incense Burner
made in the 6th or 7th century
is also a major bronze artifact of Baekje.
The bronze incense burner of Baekje
is shown on the slide.
Carved on the surface of the burner,
which was probably used for rituals, are
natural objects
and various animals
such as tigers, crocodiles, and elephants,
and images that show
the lives at the time.
Note that crocodiles and elephants
did not exist in Korea at that time.
This tells us
that the Baekje people had interactions with
people of many different far away regions.
In the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula,
a confederacy called Gaya had developed.
Gaya was also an iron kingdom.
According to ancient history texts of China.
Gaya made great profits using iron in trades
with places such as Mahan, Ye, and Japan.
The original meaning of Geumgwan Gaya
is “iron kingdom.”
From tombs of early Gaya,
bronze and iron artifacts in the Wiman Joseon style
were excavated and are now housed
in the Gimhae National Museum.
The helmet and the armor you see on the slide
are the artifacts in the Gimhae National Museum.
In Gaya regions,
diverse iron weapons were found
such as axes, spears,
arrowheads, swords, and helmets.
Moreover, the people of Gaya also made
iron farming equipment and tools
that significantly improved agricultural productivity.
From many historical sites of Gaya,
various agricultural equipment and cast iron tools
such as chisels, hammers,
hand knife, sickle,
flat axes, and iron cast axes
were excavated.
Farming equipment shown in the picture
are the relics in the Gimhae National Museum.
In Gaya,
there was an iron production site
for the full-scale production of ironware.
Excavated in Daho-ri, Changwon, Gyeongnam
were numerous flat iron axes
along with iron hammers
which was a blacksmithing tool.
By these artifacts,
we can tell that
this was an iron production site
that produced ironware in large quantities.
Another iron production site was discovered
near the Shell Mound in Seongsan, Changwon.
This also was a hub of iron production in Gaya.
And then,
the advanced metallurgy of Gaya
continued in Silla
after Gaya was annexed by Silla.
