Regionality and Cultural Character in Early Times of Dolmens in the Hoseo Region

The early times of dolmens in the Hoseo region were characterized by gradual clustering and centralization through Garakdong-type settlements in the late period in the eastern region of the Korean peninsula. This regional character was further strengthened during the Songguk-ri culture period. The main reason behind this was likely the need to display their identity or class stratification within the community. Dolmens appear to have been used as markers of the group's advancement to a certain social stage or as a way to show off to the outside world, spreading like a fashion within a relatively short period of time. In the Hoseo region, these conditions seem to have been proactively fulfilled in the latter half of the Garakdong-type village period, where cultural exchanges with the Liaodong and Northwest Korean regions played a significant role in various interactions and competitions with neighboring villages. This, in turn, is expected to have resulted in the Hoseo region's participation in a broader ritual ceremony system, based on the psycho-cultural networks already established in the Liaodong and Northwest Korean regions.