Enlivening warriors: Re-examining social rankings in the Silla Kingdom, Korea

IF 0.9 2区历史学 0 ARCHAEOLOGY

Archaeological Research in Asia Pub Date : 2025-05-30 DOI:10.1016/j.ara.2025.100636

Minkoo Kim

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This study examines 135 tombs (ca. 350–550 CE) in Gyeongju and the surrounding areas in Korea to elucidate social differentiation among the elites of the Silla Kingdom. Previous research has highlighted a vertical social stratification among the elites, assuming a correlation between social status and luxurious burial goods. By analyzing prestige items, tomb sizes, and locations, this study reveals that burial datasets support both vertical and horizontal differentiation within the elite hierarchy. Before 350 CE, emergent state leaders were signified by wooden-coffin tombs with iron weapons. These assemblages of burial goods persisted, but after 350 CE, the burial data indicate the emergence of two additional, distinctive elite identities: the highest-ranking individuals, evidenced by tumuli in central locations with lavish status symbols; and the mounted warrior group, characterized by burial goods that are modest yet represent direct enforcement power over broader regions. Notably, this study reveals some flexibility in the selection of luxury items in the highest-ranking tombs, challenging previous claims of strict regulation by sumptuary laws. These findings illustrate the social differentiation among the Silla elite, who wielded varying levels of economic, military, and ideological power essential for effective governance over an expanding territory.

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活跃的武士：重新审视新罗王国的社会等级

此次研究以庆州及周边地区的135座古墓（约公元350 ~ 550年）为对象，分析了新罗王朝精英阶层的社会分化。先前的研究强调了精英阶层之间的垂直社会分层，假设社会地位与奢华的陪葬品之间存在关联。通过分析声望物品、坟墓大小和位置，本研究表明，埋葬数据集支持精英阶层内部的垂直和水平分化。在公元350年以前，新兴国家的领导人用木制棺材和铁制武器来表示。这些陪葬品的组合一直存在，但在公元350年之后，陪葬品数据表明出现了另外两种独特的精英身份：最高等级的个人，在中心位置的古墓中可以看到奢华的地位象征；骑马的战士群体，其特点是陪葬品并不多，但代表着对更广泛地区的直接执法权力。值得注意的是，这项研究揭示了在最高等级的坟墓中选择奢侈品的一些灵活性，挑战了之前关于奢侈品法律严格管制的说法。这些发现说明了新罗精英阶层之间的社会分化，他们掌握着不同程度的经济、军事和意识形态力量，这是有效治理不断扩大的领土所必需的。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Archaeological Research in Asia ARCHAEOLOGY-

CiteScore

2.50

自引率

13.30%

发文量

期刊介绍： Archaeological Research in Asia presents high quality scholarly research conducted in between the Bosporus and the Pacific on a broad range of archaeological subjects of importance to audiences across Asia and around the world. The journal covers the traditional components of archaeology: placing events and patterns in time and space; analysis of past lifeways; and explanations for cultural processes and change. To this end, the publication will highlight theoretical and methodological advances in studying the past, present new data, and detail patterns that reshape our understanding of it. Archaeological Research in Asia publishes work on the full temporal range of archaeological inquiry from the earliest human presence in Asia with a special emphasis on time periods under-represented in other venues. Journal contributions are of three kinds: articles, case reports and short communications. Full length articles should present synthetic treatments, novel analyses, or theoretical approaches to unresolved issues. Case reports present basic data on subjects that are of broad interest because they represent key sites, sequences, and subjects that figure prominently, or should figure prominently, in how scholars both inside and outside Asia understand the archaeology of cultural and biological change through time. Short communications present new findings (e.g., radiocarbon dates) that are important to the extent that they reaffirm or change the way scholars in Asia and around the world think about Asian cultural or biological history.