The transformation of late Gaya pottery styles and groups in the Jinju area has been examined over a broad geographical range, covering the southern coastal region (including Goseong) which is referred to as the Sogaya-style pottery zone, and the region of western Gyeongsangnam-do. This paper proposes that Jinju area was characterized by the composition and development of a material complex distinct from other Sogaya areas, with a change in pottery taking place as the result of a change in the burial mounds.
First, the pottery was classified into in six stages, and the characteristics of each stage, as well as the overall nature of change, was examined. The establishment of Jinju pottery (Stages Ⅰ-Ⅱ) is believed to have been influenced by the large wooden tombs of the Marisan Burial Ground (known to be the tombs of Ara Gaya’s ruling elite) and transitional pottery found within. Later, from the late 5th century to the early 6th century (Stages Ⅱ-Ⅴ), a distinctive pottery complex came to be established as a result of the development of a formalized type of burial. By the second half of the 5th century, the group that constructed the tombs of the Muchon Burial Ground grew into a central group with the establishment of a production (Sangchon-ri pottery kiln) and distribution system; by the 6th century, the Gajwa-dong Burial Ground were formed. Along with the establishment of the ancient tombs, the pottery complex associated burial mounds was further formalized, and pottery rituals were extended to outside the mound. Later, as the pottery style declined and disappeared, a new type of burial mound was introduced, and the formalized burial and pottery ritual methods disappeared.
As a result, the Sujeong-dong and Okbong Burial Grounds emerged as the central tomb complexes.
Over a century, the groups that constructed the ancient tombs in the Jinju area changed their status by sharing burial rituals which involved the formalized use of pottery. This sharing of burial rituals continued until the pottery style disappeared and collapsed; new central burial grounds subsequently emerged and new burial rituals came to be introduced.