Characteristics of Paleolithic industries in Southwestern Korea during MIS 3 and MIS 2

In the Honam region of southwestern Korea, archaeological surface surveys and excavations have been carried out vigorously since the middle 1990s. As a result, over 300 Paleolithic localities were reported and 40 sites were excavated. Through the scientific analysis of accumulated data, the characteristics of Paleolithic industries during MIS 3-MIS 2 can be traced. ‘Core tool industry with large flake knapping’, ‘Blade industry with tanged point chiefly’, and ‘Microblade industry with various hunting and processing tools’ prevailed during early MIS 3, late MIS 3, and MIS 2 respectively. Also, the Honam region emerged as a key area in understanding the Paleolithic cultural exchange between Korea and Japan during MIS 2. There are not only the same types of stone tools such as tanged point (Hakuhen-sentoki in Japanese), microbladecore, Moppule-seokgi (Kakusuijyo-sekki in Japanese), and backed knife (Knife gata sekki in Japanese) in Korea and Japan, but also transported obsidians from western Japan and North Korea are present.