Food Culture of Tomb of An-Ak No. 3 in Koguryo Dynasty

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate food culture represented by the grain yard, water well, kitchen, and meat storage space which were depicted in the mural painting of An-Ak tomb No. 3. The mural paintings of An-Ak tomb No. 3 were compared with those of ancient Chinese tombs before the 4th century in order to understand their characteristics. Above all, the tomb murals describe the form and function of the stove (buttumak) as well as the cuisine using the cauldron (sot) and steamer (siru) in a very interesting manner. The meat storage space of An-Ak tomb No. 3 shows whole carcasses of animals such as roe deer, dog, and pig. However, Chinese murals show that while small animals such as soft-shelled turtle, fish, chicken, duck, pheasant, rabbit, etc. were stored as whole carcasses without being cut into pieces, large animals such as cows and pigs were slaughtered and each piece of their carcasses such as the head, thigh, meat loaf, and cardiopulmonary part was separately depicted. These tomb murals vividly describe the food culture of Koguryo and China before the 4th century.