가야고분군 아카이브

초록(영문)

Kaya or Yuk Kaya (the Six Kaya), also known as Karak was situated to the west of the Nakdong River, South Korea, during the period between 42 A.D. and 562 A.D. The remains unearthed from the Kaya tombs were mainly earthenwares featuring grayish hard mounted dishes, longnecked jars, stands for jars, special shaped pottery, etc. Personal ornaments like a gilt bronze crown, bracelets, earrings and necklaces and weapons like armors, helmets, swords and arrowheads were also found. Such findings increased recently were very unique enough to say Kaya's role in the ancient Korean culture. These remains constitute an important basis from which to infer the excellence of Kaya culture and its contacts with neighboring areas. As we know, heads ornaments are the representative symbol of the prestige and the wealth of the ancient kingdoms. Head ornament pieces are generally considered in two main parts; crown and inner cap. The former is made of metal; gold, gilt bronze or silver, the latter is made of metal or birch-bark. An outer circlet of the crown consists of five or three uprights whose religious significance seems to be the tree of life. The seperate cap is a pointed shape with T-shaped designs in open-work and generally has two horn-like branches rising from it. The branches seem to be a gold version of bird feathers which were the symbol of a mysterious power of flight in the spiritual world, messenger of the soul to the heaven. It is also possible that crowns were only for ritual or funerary use wishing for the eternal life. I can summerize here the main symbols reflected on the Kaya's head ornament under two ideas, through the classificantion of crown and cap types, the worship of the bird and the worship of the tree of life, their basic idea was closely related with 'the fertilty and the glory' and which is a derivation from the Siberian Steppe. Kaya crown types are more realistic compared with the conventionalized crowns of Silla, so we can see the prototype of the Silla-typical-crown type in Kaya area. Kaya culture took part in the transition from the Packche style which is more realistic forms of the three to Silla. The earrings from Kaya tombs consist of the three parts; main ring, medial pendant, and final. Their prevailed forms are the leaves of fruits-shaped final and the medial-pendant which is placed between the main ring and the final simply made with gold chain first and later made of small gold rings fused together to make a round open-work decoration. Necklaces were usually composed with the various kinds of beads in several ways. And the most popular type of beads was a tiny glass bead in dark blue color. Despite its cultural uniqueness and excellence, Kaya failed to develop into a unified kingdom and absorbed into silla. But, there must have been direct contact with Western Asia which did not pass through Packche or Koguryo. Kaya took the excellent role of the entrance position in the formation and development of the ancient culture based upon the iron trade with the neighboring contries.

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