Traces of Ancestors from Thousands of Years Ago Systematically Managed

Professor Kim Jaehyun of Dong-A University Donates Over 400 Items Including Human Bones to the Cultural Heritage Administration

Professor Kim Jaehyun of the Department of Archaeology and Art History at Dong-A University donated over 400 ancient human bones and animal bone specimens excavated from archaeological sites to the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage. On the 16th, the Cultural Heritage Administration held a donation ceremony at the Institute's Analytical Science Hall and presented a plaque of appreciation. The donated materials include well-preserved ancient human bones excavated from Joseon Dynasty hoegwakmyo (tombs with lime plaster interiors), cremated bones, and animal bones. They are expected to be actively used for research and education related to DNA and isotope analysis.

Professor Kim is a renowned domestic authority on ancient human bones and a co-author of the Nature research paper titled "The Origin of the Korean Language Traces Back 9,000 Years to the Northeast China Liao River (Liaohe) Farming Communities." He joined the joint research team analyzing carbon dating results of crops excavated from 255 Neolithic sites. The study confirmed that a group of farmers cultivating millet around 9,000 years ago in the Liaohe area of China spread toward the Korean Peninsula about 5,500 years ago.

Since 2000, Professor Kim has collected excavated organic materials such as human bones, mummies, wood, and seeds. These serve as fundamental data to clarify the genetic and biological characteristics of Koreans and provide clues to reconstruct lifestyle and natural environments, including diet, diseases, and population structure. Until last year, there was virtually no legal or institutional system to support the storage and management of these materials. Due to cumbersome management, there was no way to prevent their disposal. In fact, many cases were reported where excavated materials were merely mentioned in reports and then neglected. This was because human bones and excavated organic materials were not included as subjects for legal and institutional preservation and research.

Last December, the situation greatly improved when the amendment to the "Act on the Protection and Investigation of Buried Cultural Heritage" (Buried Cultural Heritage Act), proposed by Assemblyman Cho Seungrae of the Democratic Party of Korea, passed the National Assembly plenary session. Excavated organic materials were legally defined as important excavation materials, establishing a legal basis for state support. Kim Taegu, an officer at the Conservation Science Research Office of the Cultural Heritage Research Institute, stated, "We plan to systematically store and manage the donated ancient human and animal bone materials to discover new values contained in these important excavation materials."

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