Round Table Discussion on Sep 10, 2010

Dr. In Uk Kang (Pukyong National University) is an assistant professor of department of history, Pukyong National University since 2006. After graduated in the dept. of archaeology and art history in Seoul National University(B.A. & M.A). From 1996 until 2001 he worked as researcher in the Institution of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, and got Ph.D in history supervised by the famous russian archaeologist V.I. Molodin(Academician of Russian Academy of Sciences). From 1996 up to now, he carries out archaeological excavations and surveys in Siberia, Far Eastern area of Russia and Northern part of China. Research interests include bronze age and early medieval age of Northern part of East Asia and its corelation with Korean Peninsula. Recently he excavates Kraskino fortress of Bohai empire in Russia, and conducts international multidiciplinary project "The Xiongnu(huns) in the context of Ancient history of East Asia". From 1996 to now he have published more than 60 articles and 10 monographs(included collaborative works).

Abstract of the Lecture


Tungus and the Paleoasiatic peoples
-New perspectives on the old-fashioned theory about the ethnic history of ancient East Asia.

Since the beginning of archaeology in East Asia, the problems of the Tungus and Paleoasiatic peoples have been one of the most important research task not only for archaeology, but for linguistic, ethnography, history and genetics because of being connected with the origin of Korean people.

However, this theory was criticized for the abstract evidences and the insufficient ethnographic materials. The biggest problem of previous Tungus theory is that the replacement or migrations of inhabitants cannot be testified based on the change of archaeological cultures. At present, the evidence about Tungus people's migration from west is difficult to be proved. Anyway, recent researches on the Far Easter Asia show up that there were dual-cultural stratums from neolithic age to iron age. For example, the people of Wuju(沃沮) and Ilou(挹婁) neighboured, but had different way of life. Wuju lived on cereal agricultures and Ilou on hunting and stockbreeding. These two ethnic race will be corresponded as Poltse cultural sphere(Ilou) and Krounovka culture(Wuju). And this division could replace the ambiguous division of Tungus and Paleoasiatic peoples in the archaeological cultures. If paleoanthropological studies will be joined on this matter, the unsloved "Tungus and Paleoasiatic peoples theory" will be figured out and take shed light on the ancient history of East Asia.