Early Korea: Re-thinking Boundaries and Identities

Abstract

THE LAST TEN YEARS HAVE BEEN PRODUCTIVE FOR KOREAN archaeology and early Korean historical studies. A mature practice of field archaeology in Korea is producing more excellent data every year. There has been a flurry of new scholarship both within and outside Korea, with many studies rethinking and re-evaluating commonly held assumptions and beliefs regarding the interpretation of material culture, and significantly, much more of these data and associated research are available in English than ever before. Of particular note here are the Early Korea volumes produced by the Early Korea Project at Harvard University and the 2015 (vol. 54, no. 1) special issue of Asian Perspectives. These sources have provided excellent introductions and surveys of major periods and issues within early Korean archaeology and history.