흑요석과 후기 구석기 문화
Recent achievements of Paleolithic research in Korea and radiocarbon dates provide a basis on which we can assess the changes in lithic technology and raw material use during the Upper Paleolithic. The early Upper Paleolithic, characterized by blade technology and tanged points, started around 43,000-40,000 cal BP, while the microlithic tradition started around 30,000-29,000 cal BP. Quite a few Upper Paleolithic sites in the middle Korean Peninsula yielded obsidian artifacts, and the most favorable lithic raw material was used in making small formalized artifacts such as microblades, endscrapers and burins. Little difference in terms of assemblage composition can be detected between assemblages with significant number of obsidian artifacts and those with no or only a few of them. Nonetheless, the difference is notable between assemblages dominated by quartzite and vein quartz artifacts and those characterized by artifacts of obsidian and silicified tuff or shale. Many scientific analyses indicate the Mt. Baekdu area was the principal source, while a handful of artifacts from southern locations were made of obsidian originated from Kyushu. So far, the earliest evidence of true microblade technology as strictly defined as using pressure flaking comes from South Korea, as available radiocarbon dates suggest. Given the obsidian transfer from the Mt. Baekdu source to the south and earliest dates in southern Korean Peninsula, the current evidence may support the conflicting routes of obsidian transfers and microlithic dispersals. Rather than supposing unidirectional routes, however, we propose that large scale mobility and wide social network toward the LGM likely provide a most parsimonious explanation of the technological change.