Korean Studies

In this article, the author examines the available archaeological record for evidence illuminating the origin and development of the Silla state, which historians traditionally claimed to have been a major force on the Korean peninsula as early as the first century B.C.E. Archaeological research in the Kyŏngju basin, the home of the Silla state, suggests, however, that Silla developed as a state in the late fourth and early fifth centuries C.E. Further archaeological research in the area will no doubt increase understanding of Silla's development.