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

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

Dolmen The distribution of dolmen in Korea and Manchuria has been worked out by Professor Mikami.

4 On top of that, more examples of dolmens in Korea were noted by the archaeologist in Korea which outnumber many thounsands. However no existence of dolmen to the north ot Southern Manchuria and Liao-ning province. In other words northern limit of dolmen existence is southern Machuria in Asia. Dolmens in Korea are densely distributed in the western part of the peninsula particularly along the rivers or streams. In some place like Cholla province, S. W. part, it is alleged by a local researcher that there are classified into many types; the legged type with a capstone supported by 2 to 4 slab stones, the footed type with a capstone placed on many small block of stones. In the legged types the slab stones supporting the capstone are assumed to have formed a rectangular chamber above ground and in the footed type the block stones underneath the capstone are forming a rectangular or a round chamber. Another type of dolmen in Korea is the capstone with cist type that is a capstone placed on the ground with a stone cist for coffin consisting of many block stones for walls and a floor, under the ground. The dolmen in Japan appeared during the latest stage of the Jomon period in Kyushu and it is populary constructed through out the Yayoi period. The structure of dolmens in Japan is of mono type that is a cap stone is placed on the ground and stone cist is made underneath the cap stone. In some cases the stone cist is replaced with urn coffin. On the dolmens in Taiwan, professor Ling, Shun-sheng described that many dolmens, of the prehistoric and historic age had been surveyed. To the present archaeological knowledge only the legged type of delmens exist in the island. A new examples of dolmens have been surveyed along the coastal region of China - in such places as Shan-tung and Che-kiang province. The one in Shan-tung is legged type and the one in Cha-kiang is footed type. Not a single example of dolmen in Chung-yuan region in mainland China has been observed. Yet in the Tibetan-Szechwun region, as Cheng, Te-kun mentioned, several examples of dolmens were observed along the upper stream of the River Yang-tzu.

5 In the islands in Southeast Asia many dolmens have been excavated or observed. Examples of the legged type Southern Sumatra were reported by Van der Hoop in 1932 and even a footed type of dolmen was reported by the author.

6 There are more variations of megalithic monuments in Indonesia other than the dolmen, the stone cist of the menhir such as stone enclosures (Batu Kantang) and stone chairs. But as far as the distribution of the dolmen is concerned the eastern limit of the dolmen existence in Indonesia is, so far, up to Java. However, good examples of the menhir and cup marks, which are important elements of megalithic culture, are found in Sulawesi (or Celebes). Therefore megalith worship seems to have been actively practised by the inhabitants of this island. As Sarkar mentioned, India, belongs to the megalithic cultural zone. Dolmens of various types and the funerary objects found from the dolmen were illustrated by Sir Mortimer Whealer. As to the dolmen in India on a wall of a stone cist underneath the capstone of a dolmen there 4 Mikami, T., 1961, The study of dolmen and stone eist in Machuria and Korea, Tokyo (Japanese with English abstraet) 5 Cheng T. K., 1963, op. cit. PP. 181-182. 6 Kim, B. M., 1980, „Megaliths Java", JKAS, No. 8. (Korean with English abstract) 147