Archaeological Site in Jeongok-ri, Yeoncheon

Site details

The Jeongok-ri Site in Yeoncheon (Jeongok Prehistoric Site) has garnered global attention since the discovery of an Acheulean hand axe from the Paleolithic era in 1978. Various types of stone tools, including hand axes, hunting stones, hand points, scrapers, and points, have been unearthed at the site. Notably, hand axes and flake axes with Acheulean characteristics—similar to those found in Europe and Africa—were discovered for the first time in Northeast Asia, attracting significant interest. To date, a total of 17 excavations have been conducted at the site and its surrounding areas, yielding approximately 8,500 artifacts. The discovery of the Jeongok-ri Site led to Quaternary geological research in the Hantan River and Imjin River basins. Significant Paleolithic sites have been found at various locations along the Hantan-Imjin River, establishing these basins as key areas for studying Paleolithic culture in East Asia. The Jeongok-ri Site has provided new perspectives on the cultural development processes in the global Paleolithic academic community. Through the study of site formation processes, it has made significant contributions to the development of research methodologies in Paleolithic archaeology. Photo Credit: Yeoncheon Cultural Tourism.