The Cultural Heritage Administration announced on August 5 that the "harpoon tip embedded in whale bone" housed at the Ulsan Museum has been designated as a national intangible cultural heritage.
The "harpoon tip embedded in whale bone" was excavated from a Neolithic site in Hwangseong-dong, Nam-gu, Ulsan. It was found embedded in both a whale's tailbone and a shoulder bone, indicating the lifestyle, subsistence techniques, and tool-making skills of Neolithic people on the Korean Peninsula. The discovery of the harpoon tip embedded in the whale bone provides evidence of the purpose and usage of Neolithic tools.
The rock carvings at Bangudae in Ulsan, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2025, depict scenes of whale hunting using boats and harpoons. The "harpoon tip embedded in whale bone" serves as a significant cultural heritage that corroborates these depictions as actual records of whale hunting activities during the Neolithic period.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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