Characteristics of Mahan Society in Iksan Viewed from Dwelling Site Data

Abstract

The distribution of Mahan dwelling sites in the Iksan area is divided into the Geum River watershed area (Nonsancheon Stream and lower stream of Geum River) and the Mangyeong River watershed area (middle and lower stream of Mangyeong River). In the Geum River watershed area, small settlements are mostly identified, while large settlements have not yet been identified. Large settlements such as Sadeok and Jangsin-ri are identified in the Mangyeong River watershed area, and small- and medium-sized settlements appear to have been distributed around the large settlement. In terms of time, Mahan's dwelling sites in Iksan may be divided into the periods of establishment and development. The period of establishment corresponds to before the 2nd century B.C., but there is a limit to examining the social aspects of the time since not many residential areas have been investigated yet. The period of development started from the 2nd century AD onward, and large settlements were formed mostly around the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. Although the Iksan area during the 4th century AD was politically integrated into Baekje but, culturally, the tradition of Mahan was still maintained and continued, and cultural traces of Mahan remained in some areas until the 6th century AD. This indicates that even though the Jeonbuk region including Iksan was politically integrated into the territory of Baekje, the cultural identity of Baekje was not transplanted culturally due to the strong tradition of the then local power group. It seems that Mahan's acceptance of Baekje did not take place in a short period of time, but the change to Baekje culture first appeared in relics as material evidences, and then Baekje culture was gradually transplanted into the scopes of dwellings and tombs. It can thus be seen that the speed of political and cultural integration is different from each other.