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Dolmen and the Bronze Age

Dolmen and the Bronze Age

Bronze Age
‘The Bronze Age refers to ‘the era when major tools such as weapons and
production tools were made of bronze’ and began globally between 4000 B.C. and 1000 B.C.
It was also the era when Gojoseon, the first state on the Korean Peninsula, was created.

Bronze Age technology

As the community grew, those who had surplus naturally became the ruling class, and those who did not have had no choice but to become the ruled class. In this era, wars were waged with surplus production, and slaves were created. It is the time when cities, civilizations, and states arose. Bronze wares were harder to make than stone wares and were more valuable. So, bronze ware was a privilege only for the ruling class. Bronze ware was not used in real life, but was mainly used as ritual tools such as mirrors, bells, and swords, or became ornaments and weapons of the ruling class. In other words, it can be said that bronze ware was a tool to show the authority of the ruling class rather than being used practically.



This class society of the Bronze Age can also be known through the well-known remains, 'Dolmen'. In this era, various artifacts were discovered, as well as Dolmens made of large and heavy ‘megaliths’, which were structures that could not be made by one person alone, and many people had to be mobilized. So, it can be assumed that Dolmens were the tombs of the ruling class.



Dolmen, a representative relic of the Bronze Age, was also the tomb of the ruling class and was also used for worship and ancestral rites.