Glossary

East Asia The eastern end of the Eurasian continent, comprised of territory occupied by the present-day nation-states of China and Korea on the mainland, and the island archipelago of Japan.

Koguryo A state that straddled the present-day China-Korea border region during the protohistoric and historic Three Kingdoms period (c. first century BCE to 668) on the Korean Peninsula.

Kyongju, Kyongsang province, South Korea Location of pre-Silla (Saro), Silla, and Unified Silla capital cities.

Nara A capital city from the time period of the same name (710-794), located in the Kinai region of the island of Honshu, Japan.

Oracle bones Prepared turtle plastrons and oxen scapulae whose cracks, resulting from subjection to fire, were interpreted as oracles. Use started in northern China by c. 4000BCE; by late Shang period c. 1200 BCE, they were inscribed with both question and answers.

Paekche A state in the southwestern corner of the Korean Peninsula during the protohistoric and historic Three Kingdoms period.

Protohistory The time period when only secondary or extremely fragmentary primary sources are available.

Silla a state in the southeastern corner of the Korean Peninsula during the protohistoric and historic Three Kingdoms period, it defeated Paekche and Koguryo to unite the Peninsula in a state known as Unified Silla (668-935).

The Yinxu site, Anyang, Henan province, China Location of important late Shang Dynasty settlement with royal tombs, palaces, workshops, and ‘oracle bone’ cache.

Yamato Protohistoric polity on Japanese archipelago, noted in Chinese historical sources. Location as yet undefined.