This study is intended to furnish an explicability of hunter-gather's organizational model on the lithic technology. The fieldwork area is the Imjin-Hantan River Area (the IHRA) located at the midwestern part of the Korean Peninsula. The archaeological sites included in the fieldwork are Jangsanri (ca 0.2 Mya BP), Chongokni (ca 60 Kya BP), Juwolri, and Kawolri (younger than ca 50 Kya BP). In addition, a previously excavated Upper Palaeolithic assemblage of Janghungri (ca 23 Kya BP) is included in the quantitative analysis of lithic assemblages. / For the background of the research area, chapter II is devoted to demonstrating the general environment of East Asia and current Quaternary research of Korea. Chapter III furnishes the basic knowledge on the geomorphological environment of the IHRA and the research history in this area for the last three decades was elaborated. / Chapter IV is a description on the excavation fieldworks, introduction of the discovered lithic artifacts, and new age determination based on the K-Ar, IRSL, OSL, and AMS dating methods. Chapter V is the general characteristics on the IHRA lithic assemblage. Some descriptive details on the individual artifacts are presented and technological implications of lithic types are delineated. In addition, a general reduction sequence of the IHRA assemblage is proposed. / Chapter VI is a quantitative analysis based on the exploratory data analysis (EDA); some geometric variables of artifacts were operationally defined for the purpose of acquiring more implicative analytical units. As a result of the analysis, it is revealed that the distinct interassemblage variability of raw material composition and of the morphological features of small tools and blanks constrained by differential reduction intensity can be explained in the context of the long-term-based strategic changes executed by the IHRA hominins. / Chapter VII, based on the results from the fieldwork and lithic analysis, attempted to reconstruct the geological history of the IHRA in terms of hominid's land use patterns and relevant survival strategies. As a final remark, some unsolved issues were diagnosed and future research was expected for the continual research of the IHRA.

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xix, 331 p. : ill., maps. A print copy of this title is available through the UO Libraries under the call number: KNIGHT GN855.K6 K56 2002 / This dissertation explores the development of sociopolitical complexity in southwest Korea's Boseong River Valley. One of the main archaeological tasks currently being pursued in Korea is charting the emergence of complex society there. This dissertation comprehensively reviews the issues and history of research on the subject, then embarks on an analysis of the trajectory towards complexity in a selected region of southwest Korea. A large scale archaeological project in the Boseong River Valley during the 1980s rescued a huge corpus of data threatened by the construction of the Juam Dam project, which has remained undigested, never sufficiently organized or analyzed. I draw on this corpus, organizing and analyzing the data it yields on burial practices and settlement distribution, because these categories of information are particularly useful in examining key research issues. The burial excavations were of unprecedented scope, with 38 1 dolmen graves identified and investigated in 23 locations. Many dolmens have been observed and investigated in Korea, but an excavation sample of this size is unique and presents a rare analytical opportunity. A quantitative analysis of burial furnishings from these dolmens identifies five categories that reflect differing social statuses. Charting the distribution of such burials within the region allows the mapping of zones differentially occupied by persons of varying social status, and the places on the landscape where elite personages were situated. Comparing these patterns with the occurrence of large and small settlements strengthens a picture of a class-differentiated society within the region. Based on this analysis, I conclude that the dolmen period society of the Boseong River Valley had advanced to an intermediate level of sociopolitical complexity. In conclusion, the archaeological evidence is discussed with reference to historical events in the region, as these are known from ancient Chinese and Korean chronicles, to propose an interpretation of the growth of cultural development in the Boseong River Valley in relation to broader developments in southern Korea. / Committee in charge: Dr. C Melvin Aikens, Chair; Dr. Song Nai Rhee; Dr. William Ayres; Dr. Hao Wang