• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.56-73
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• 2019

This paper aims to establish the technical style of roof tiles by analyzing East Asian roof tile making techniques. It will examine the existing main research data, such as excavation results and the subsequent analysis of the roof tiles' production traces, as well as references and transmitted techniques. Regions are grouped according to technical similarity, then grouped again by artistic styles of pattern and shape and by the technical styles of tools, procedures, and manpower plans. Accordingly, intends to find out whether an understanding of technical style can facilitate an understanding of not only cultural aspects, but also the causality of techniques. Korean, Chinese and Japanese tools were examined, and procedures for making roof tiles were classified into 4 groups. In a superficial way, China, Okinawa, Korea, and Honshu share similar technical traits. Research of procedural details and manpower plans revealed characteristics of each region. As a result, comparisons were made between each region's technical characteristics attempting to investigate their causes. The groups were classified according to their possessing techniques, but it was revealed that East Asia's shared production techniques were based on architectural methodss. The skill of "Pyeon Jeol(Clay Cutting)" classified according to its possessing techniques, turned out to be one such technique. Also, the procedure of technical localization based on the skill of "Ta-nal(Tapping)" showed that the condition of this technique was the power to localize in response to a transfer of techniques. Previous comparison parameters of artifacts would have been a similarity of style originated from exchanges between regions and stylistic characteristics of regions decided by the demander's taste of beauty. This methodology enlarges cultural perception and affords a positive basis of historical facts. However, it suggests the possibility of finding cultural aspects' origins by understanding the technical style and seeing same result in view of "technology culture."