• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.100-119
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• 2021

This paper has been written to verify the existing theory that districts occurred independently in various parts of the world, including the Korean Peninsula. Song Giho (2006) claims that the origin of the Gudle, is an example of polygenism that occurred in various areas in the world, including the Korean peninsula. This argument has been corroborated by a large number of researchers. However, it is difficult to understand the lineage of Gudle and its process of development, if a theory of polygenism is continued to be taken into account. The place which is targetet by this theory is the North-West area of the Korean peninsula, south of Primorsky Krai, and in the northern area of Zabaikal-Mongolia. This means that these areas developed independently because they were far from each other and had no direct cultural relationship. However, the structure of Gudle, shape, and assemblages of earthenware it cannot be explained by polygenism, as they are the same in every place. Furthermore, it is also questionable as to the timing and region of emergence of the culture in East Asia over a limited time frame of 3-2 BC. Gudle are formed by furnaces with roofs and walls, Gorae, which saves heat, and it has smoke ventilation that draws smoke out. Therefore, the Gudle is not a structure that anyone can make without advanced technical understanding. So far, the only facility with furnaces and smoke ventilation that appear before the Gudle is Buttumak. Thus, the Gudle is likely to have been invented in the place where Buttumak were used. The area as known for the origin of Gudle was observed to verify the existence of the Buttumak's structure, but none of these facilities were found. The Gudle suddenly appeared within a new culture that had never existed before. That means that none of the three places had the conditions under which the Gudle could be invented, so it must have been introduced from outside. In conclusion, the three places that I mentioned above are not the origin of Gudle. So, the origin of Gudle has to be found elsewhere.