Abaline Arrowheads

An arrowhead is a pointed part of an arrow developed since the Neolithic Age as part of a hunting tool. It is attached at one end of an arrow which was used with a bow to hunt game animals by exploiting the expansive force of the fully drawn bowstring. This triangular arrowhead made by cutting abalone shell is one of many prehistoric relics excavated at a dwelling site in Gwenegi Cave in Gimnyeong-ri, Jeju. The abalone arrowheads were discovered with many stone arrowheads but the number of the first was much larger than the second probably because they were more efficient as a weapon and easier to manufacture. No similar artifacts have been found in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, making them an important part of the Jeju's unique cultural phenomenon.