Songguk-ri Style Pottery

[Tourist]
This vessel has a very narrow base. Wouldn't it have fallen over with such a small base?

[Doctor]
Yes. The body of the vessel is blown up like an egg and the mouth is wide. This unique type of vessel was discovered for the first time on the Korean Peninsula here in Buyeo.

[Tourist]
Do you think such vessels were designed to transport water and that people carried them on their heads? That could explain why the bases were made this way.

[Doctor]
We really don't know the reason why the vessels were shaped in this way. However, the people of the Bronze Age who lived in Buyeo had a unique aesthetic sensibility. These types of earthenware vessels, which were first produced in this region, made their way all over the southwest region of the peninsula and even across to Japan. There is even an academic term for this particular type of vessel. The vessel also had a unique and rather surprising purpose… They were also used as coffins.

[Tourist]
What? Are you saying that they put corpses into these vessels? You’re kidding, right?

[Doctor]
Ha-ha! No, I am not. It’s true. Each country has its own unique burial rituals. One of the ancient burial rituals observed on the Korean peninsula consisted in burying the corpse inside one of these special vessels. In some regions this type of burial was even used up until the modern times. After placing the corpse inside the vessel, they buried it diagonally in the ground and covered it with a stone slab. Very large vessels have been discovered. Do you think the next piece of earthenware was also used for this purpose?