Burial Customs and Social Aspects of the Neolithic Period in Far East Asia Adjacent to the East Sea

Tombs, the resting places of the dead, are significant sites that reflect the wealth, power, religious beliefs, ideas, and events of the people related to life and death at the time. From this perspective, this study examined Neolithic burial remains in the Maritime Territory(Primorsky Kray), Sanjiang Plain (Lake Xingkai; Khanka), and the east coast area of the Korean Peninsula, and then inferred social aspects for each site and region. First, it is estimated that in the remains of Maritime Territory and the Lake Xingkai basin, an afterlife worldview that was more faithful to human or group norms than nature was established, whereas, in the Korean Peninsula, a notion that valued nature, especially the sea, was formed. In addition, the burial remains generally fulfilled functions such as marking territory, creating a sanctuary, and maintaining the unity and identity of the community, but it is considered that in the northeastern region, they were focused on remembrance and worship for ancestors, whereas in the Korean peninsula, an emphasis was put on worship for or praying for good luck to the living base (the sea). It is likely that each group had evolved a similar but different aspect depending on the situation and adaptation process they were in. Next, in the society at that time, it seems that roles were divided between men and women or between members, and a group or community was led by a person or people who had the upper hand in a specific ability or blood relationship, in a relatively equal structure without a hierarchy. Finally, the burial remains from the early phase to the first phase in the Neolithic period in Far East Asia adjacent to the East Sea are judged to be the outcome of the acceptance and change of the burial customs of the previous period according to the circumstances of each group, with the establishment of the tradition of Northeast Asian flat-bottomed pottery with pressed patterns and raised patterns.