Traces of bears found in royal palaces of Silla

GYEONGJU, South Korea, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Gyeongju National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage released news article series on the 30th about the lifestyles of Silla. In this episode, the article deals with the meaning of bear bones excavated in Wolseong.

In terms of domestic archaeological excavation, news coverages related to discovered relics have frequently been reported including excavation of earthenwares, ironwares, and stonewares.

However, relics such as animal bones easily decay, which are not usually left intact, although they once existed inside the relics. Hence, organic relics including animal bones were mainly discovered in special environment where bones can be safely protected such as swamps.

Also, after extensive amounts of animal bones were discovered inside the layers of sediments of Haeja, a pond surrounding Wolseong, it became possible to look through how people of Silla treated animals in the 5th century, about 1,600 years ago.

Most of animals found in Wolseong excavation site are mammals including wild pigs, cows, horses, dogs, bears, and deers. It is estimated that Silla people might have raised these animals as live stocks and used them for farming or meat. The investigation team especially focused on animals that are hard to live with humans such as bears, deers, and wild boars.

It is analyzed that people of Silla might have used bears in another purpose, other than eating them. Researchers of the Gyeongju National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage found evidence in "Samguk-Sagi (History of the Three Kingdoms)," which explains how people of Silla used bears.

According to "Samguk-Sagi (History of the Three Kingdoms)," there is a record which shows that people of Silla used bear skins to make decorations for army flag.

Another record of "Samguk-Sagi" tells that there was also a governmental office dealing with leather products in royal palace of Silla.

It is estimated that various animal leather products were made in Wolseong, where royal families of Silla lived. When tanning the leather, the method of using animals' brain water is handed down. It is also presumed that this is related to a number of cases in which skulls were found broken, among animal bones excavated in Haeja of Wolseong.

Likewise, animal bones excavated in Haeja of Wolseong are attracting a lot of attentions of historic academia, providing significant evidences which show the lifestyle of Silla royal families.