Some 15,000 archeological artifacts from the Upper Paleolithic Age (c. 40,000 B.C.-c. 10,000 B.C.) have been recently unearthed during excavation work around the Namhangang River in Danyang County, Chungcheongbuk-do (North Chungcheong Province).

The historical investigation has been specifically carried out at the Suyanggae Site, a limestone area where historical excavations often occur. Scientists discovered a wide range of stoneware, including a core, a micro-blade core, a blade core, a flake tool and a stone hammer. The charcoal from the second occupation layer, where the stoneware was found, tells us that the newly found relics were produced approximately 18,000 years ago.


Three different Upper Paleolithic occupation layers were found in the region. Each layer has slightly different kinds of stone hammers, in various shapes and sizes, and a matching set of cores, flake tools and stone pieces. Archeologists tell us that the production of stoneware was centered in this region.


The buried soil horizon associated with the third occupation layer, the lowest level, had one particularly intriguing piece of stoneware: an elongated stone with clearly man-made markings. It is 20.6 centimeters long, 8.1 centimeters wide and 4.2 centimeters thick, with 22 graduated markings along the side.

According to the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA), the government body leading the dig, these types of relics haven't been found anywhere else in East Asia and are considered to be important and epoch-marking artifacts that could lead to a new understanding of humanity's early prehistory.


The newly unearthed stoneware with scaled markings leads some researchers toward the theory that people of the Paleolithic Age had a concept of numerals, such as numbers and units. This theory still needs further in-depth study and research by archeologists and historians.

By Wi Tack-whan, Lee Seung-ah
Korea.net Staff Writers
slee27@korea.kr