Comparative studies in the presentation of archaeological sites.

Comparative studies in the presentation of archaeological sites. International prehistory prehistory,period of human evolution before writing was invented and records kept. The term was coined by Daniel Wilson in 1851. It is followed by protohistory, the period for which we have some records but must still rely largely on archaeological evidence to symposium in celebration of the declarationof the Osan-ni National Historic Monument: using Osan-ni Neolithic siteas a historical site park.The Osan-ni site has yielded the earliest Neolithic evidence fromKorea. To mark the declaration of the site as a National HistoricMonument and to assess options for presenting it to the visiting public,archaeologists from Korea, China, Japan and England met in Yangyang(South Korea) on 9-11 September 1997.The Neolithic in Korea is distinguished by the establishment ofsettlements probably occupied permanently. The inhabitants depended onwild plant resources, on fish and, possibly from the beginning of theperiod, on gardening. Storage pits, ground stone implements and potteryhave been recovered as well as post-built houses (Nelson 1993: chapter4). Hitherto, the earliest of this evidence was from the west coast,where the best-known site is Amsadong, occupied 5000 years ago; but, atOsan-ni, beside a former lagoon on the east coast, Im Hyo-Jai (SeoulNational University) has obtained a sequence of dates from 8000 to 3000b.p. Buried beneath a dune, the floors of 16 houses and associated burntmounds were found in a sample of about 2 or 3% of the site. The culturebears affinities with northeastern Korea; and, by implication from thissimilarity and the chronology, a historical distinction must be drawnbetween the east and west coasts of Korea.Prof. Im opened the symposium with a summary of his discoveries and alively review of site presentations in Japan, China and the USA. HahYoung-Hee (National Museum of Korea) then assessed the state of the artin studies of the Korean Neolithic. In regard to site preservation andwith special reference to Amsadong, where one of the excavation trencheshas been preserved and eight houses and a store reconstructed - andwhich is in the suburbs of Seoul - he argued that professional visitormanagers are needed.Fang Dian-Chun (Liaoning Provincial Archaeological ResearchInstitute) described the Neolithic settlement at Chahai, in Manchuria.As at Amsadong, part of the site has been preserved, roofed, and openedfor visitors; and, also like Amsadong, the insides of the walls havebeen painted with reconstructions of the surrounding scenery of the timeof occupation (a technique recently used in England too, in the'Preservation Hall' at Flag Fen Flag Fen near Peterborough, England is a Bronze Age site, probably religious. It comprises a large number of poles arranged in five very long rows (around 1 km) connecting Whittlesey Island with Peterborough across the wet fenland. - see below).Prof. Nishitani Tadashi (Kyushu University Despite the incorporation which has led to increased financial independence and autonomy, Kyushu University is still partly controlled by the Japanese Ministry of Education (Monbukagakusho, or Monkasho). ) reviewed presentation forvisitors at 16 sites in Japan but, for the purpose of the symposium,concentrated on the Neolithic ones. He explained that provision hasdeveloped as the effect of general economic growth since 1965.Reconstruction is a notable feature of presentation in Japan; but Prof.Im opined that some of it is designed at least as much for entertainmentas for instruction.The other two contributions reviewed provision in Europe. Prof. ChoiMuh-Jang (Konkuk University) considered prehistoric sites in France. Inparticular, he dwelt dwelt?v.A past tense and a past participle of dwell. on the presentation of Palaeolithic sites, wheredeep stratigraphic stra��tig��ra��phy?n.The study of rock strata, especially the distribution, deposition, and age of sedimentary rocks.strat sections reveal the passage of time so clearly; andhe remarked on the didactic efficacy of the guided tours that areprovided. The present writer assessed techniques of presentation at sitemuseums in England Museums in England is a link page for any museum in England by ceremonial county. The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council is the national development agency for museums in England, and is a sponsored body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. . With case studies of Avebury, Flag Fen andCoppergate (York, the Jorvik Centre), the diversity of approaches thathe illustrated was probably striking to the audience; but he warned thatmany presentations are difficult to adapt to changes in eitherarchaeological interpretation and/or visitors' expectations.Later, on site, Prof. Im discussed his ideas for presenting Osan-ni.As at Amsadong, no original material remains above ground (other thanpot-sherds disturbed by the dig); but, with examples in mind from thesymposium, Im hopes to reconstruct part of the settlement. He alsoconsiders that it is important to provide a museum in order to keep thefinds where they were discovered. With the same sense of the integrityof the place, he hopes to commission further research on the ecology ofthe former lagoon; and - encouraged, perhaps, by the example of Flag Fen- he sees scope for reconstructing a sample of the Neolithicenvironment.Like many other parts of South Korea, the surrounding district isundergoing rapid development. It is all the more appropriate, then, toencourage awareness of the local physical and cultural environment andits history. The site has been bought by the local authority, and thearchaeology seems secure enough beneath its dune to withstandvisitors' attention; but it will become difficult to imagine theformer scenery as the area is further drained and paved. In view ofKorea's turbulent history, it is no wonder that academics, museumstaff and politicians alike are committed to preserving and displayingthe cultural heritage. They are setting high standards of presentation;and they are alive to the value of learning from practice elsewhere.The meeting was convened by Prof. Im under the auspices of theYangyang Cultural Center and the Korean Neolithic Study Association. Itwas opened by Prof. Gina Barnes (Durham University) on behalf of theSociety for East Asian Archaeology, and the discussants were fromuniversities and museums in Korea and Japan. Sponsorship was provided bythe national committee for the Year of Cultural Heritage (1997),Yangyang County, the Kangwan provincial newspaper, and the broadcastersKBS (KiloBits per Second) Could also be KBs for kilobytes. See Kbps and kilo. KBS - Knowledge-Based System and MBC (Multimedia Benchmark Committee) A graphics benchmark that provides MPEG-2 and other tests. See GPC. . Their generosity was impressive and certainly inspired thecontributors. The Yangyang Cultural Center plans to publish theproceedings (in Korean).Acknowledgements. I am grateful to Dr Leo Leo, in astronomyLeo[Lat.,=the lion], northern constellation lying S of Ursa Major and on the ecliptic (apparent path of the sun through the heavens) between Cancer and Virgo; it is one of the constellations of the zodiac. In-sook and Prof. Barnesfor translating parts of the papers and for discussing aspects of boththe archaeology and the presentations at the respective sites.ReferenceNELSON, S.M. 1993. The archaeology of Korea. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press Cambridge University Press (known colloquially as CUP) is a publisher given a Royal Charter by Henry VIII in 1534, and one of the two privileged presses (the other being Oxford University Press). .