This paper explores the use of the building technologies of seven excavated embankments from the Ancient Period of Korea. This research applies Chaîne Opératoire to understand and organize the embankments data. The concept of ‘fragmentation of the operation’ and ‘decision making for the choice’ helps to reproduce the building process and identify the building techniques, thereby approaching the analysis on various factors that bring about a choice among alternatives.
The operational sequence of the embankments shows that while the types of building techniques were limited, the way in which the techniques were used varied according to each embankment site. With regard to technological choices, there were the knowledge for technical function and purpose, the identification of the surrounding environment which could limit or widen the variety of choices, the fact that the former technological choice structured the latter choice, and so on.