ABSTRACT
This is a think piece that resulted from my first exposure to state origins archaeology in Korea in 1978. Although formulated two decades ago, many of the same concerns detailed herein are still with us today in the 21st century, and anyone who delves into the Korean archaeological literature will face the same problems of chronological overlap, multiple period names and regional diversity. Thus this paper is offered again with two purposes. It provides a baseline for my own development in viewing state formation in Korea, and it warns future researchers of the inherent problems in researching state origins on the peninsula. The chapters following this inspect some of the issues in detail, and the case studies also serve to update the material given here from twenty years ago.
