PETROGRAPHY AND PROVENANCE INTERPRETATION OF THE STONE MOULDS FOR BRONZE DAGGERS FROM THE GALDONG PREHISTORIC SITE, REPUBLIC OF KOREA*

This paper presents material characteristics and raw material provenance of the stone moulds for bronze slender daggers from Galdong. This type of bronze dagger is uniquely distributed in the Korean Peninsula and these stone moulds were the first to be found by excavation. The stone moulds were made of igneous hornblendite with course-grained holocrystalline textures. Based on petrological, mineralogical and geochemical characteristics, the original rock materials of the moulds were inferred to be derived from the Jangsu or Namwon areas which are about 50 km away from the excavation site. It is a notable achievement that this provenance study confirmed the domestic production of Korean-styled daggers.