How to study on the Potteries of the Iron?

Abstract

The potteries of the proto-Three Kingdoms Age or the Iron Age were studied much during the 1990s. The argues about them still exist, but there is no agreement which one is the typical type of the pottery in this Age. This problem is related with the Age chronology, but until now many opinions about the Iron Age potteries have been suggested From the result of the analysis on the recent studies of the Iron Age potteries, I think that opinions are divided into two sides. One supports the Wazil-pottery assumption, the other opposes this assumption. So in most cases they are confronted with each other. But some scholars suggested the compromised opinions or the new directions of pottery' s researches. The problems of these studies are the confusion on the name of potteries, the chronology of potteries, the different opinions about the origin of potteries, and the lack of the objection on the pottery' s researches. The Iron Age potteries are divided into two groups, that is, the plain potteries and the beating patterned potteries. The plain potteries are consisted of hard-plain pottery and hard brushed pottery, and the beating patterned potteries are consisted of reddish brown soft pottery, greyish white soft pottery(Wajil pottery), greyish soft pottery, and hard greyish blue pottery. Even though some differences existed among regions, the soft potteries(reddish brown soft pottery, greyish white soft pottery, greyish soft pottery) were made after the hard plain potteries were used, and than they developed to the hard greyish blue potteries. The problems of the studies on potteries and directions in the future are the objective classification and the selection of pottery's name, the need of the scientific analysis on the potteries, the establishment of the pottery's chronology and the regional chronology, and the research of the methodology for the potteries. But it is restricted to study the past culture only through the potteries. To reconstruct past culture and to understand the process of past culture, all kinds of archaeological materials including potteries have to be analyzed and the theoretical system to interpretate them is needed.