A Herman Ottó Múzeum Évkönyve 32. Kunt Ernő emlékére. (1994)

TANULMÁNYOK - BYONG-MO KIM: Megalitikus kultúrák Koreában (magyar és angol nyelven)

port tájolása kelet-nyugati, bár sok esetben nincs egyöntetű tájolás. A dolmenek tájolásával kapcsolatban egy koreai régész, Lee, Yung-jo, a Tae-chong-folyó menti dolmenek ásatása során felfedezte, hogy ezen a vidéken a dolmenek hossztengelyének tájolása megegyezik a folyó irányával. így hát a dolmenek tájolása lehet akár K-Ny-i, akár É-D-i - a folyó irányának megfelelően. Ha ezt a jelenséget a jövőben többször is megfigyelik majd, feltételezhetjük, hogy a dolmenállítók számára a víz, a folyó volt a legfontosabb tényező, főleg a rizstermelőknek, hiszen gazdálkodásukban a hosszú életet és a prosperitást csak a víz biztosíthatta. MEGALITHIC CULTURES IN KOREA 1. Introduction In this paper the author attempts to bring out other questions regarding to the megalithic cultures. The discussion is, thus, focussed on; (1) Significance of the distribution of the dolmens in Asia; (2) Economy and the society of the megaliths builders; (3) Relationship of oviparous myth and the megaliths builders in Asia. 2. Distribution of megalithic monuments in Asia Menhir One of the megalithic monuments in Korea is the menhir. The Menhir is largely distributed in the world and it has been erected from the prehistoric age to quite recently. The construction of a menhir is rather simple - erecting a natural or roughly masoned stone up right with somé block stones underneath supporting the up right stone. The size of a menhir in Korea is something liké 50 cm at the smallest and 35 m at the largest. In Korea they are normally found one or two in a place and no example of menhir groups such as stone alignments has yet been observed. Menhirs are normally sited on the low plains all over the Koreán peninsula and one menhir at Namsann. Yong pyon kun in North Pyongan province in N. Korea has somé inscriptions on it, which saying testimonies that it was made sometime during the historic age. The study of the menhir in Korea is still on a beginning stage. No nationwide research, nor typology has been researched. All one can quote a number of the menhir, presumably many hundreds of them have been observed; that the menhir is still an object of worship or a sacred object by the locals; that the menhir is in somé places regarded to be the grandfather or grandmother stone when two of them are standing nearby. Menhir are commonly distributed in Asia except the central part of China. They are observed in Mongólia to the north, Hokaido, Tohoku to Chubu region, in Japán, Taiwan, Indonesian islands, along the upper stream of the River Min in Tibetan region.

1 In other words the distribution of the menhir nearly overlaps the distribution of stone cists and dolmens which will be discussed later. As to characteristics of the menhir or the interpretation of the menhir one has to wait until more materials and academic research will be done in the future. 1 Cheng, T. K., 1963, Chou China, The archaeology of China, Ser. 3. Cambridge (Heffer) 145