Parasitological examination of samples from tombs of the Korean Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) could be helpful to researchers in understanding parasitic infection prevalence in pre-industrial Korean society. Whereas most of our previous parasitological studies revealed the presence of ancient parasite eggs in coprolites of Korean mummies, a sample from a man living in late 17th century Korea proved to be relatively unique in possessing what appeared to be several species of parasite larvae. The larvae identified included Strongyloides stercoralis and Trichostrongylus spp., along with eggs of Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, and Paragonimus westermani. Since ancient parasite larvae retain enough morphology to make proper species identification possible, even after long burial times, the examination of parasite larvae within ancient samples will be conducted more carefully in our future work.

We report a possible rheumatoid arthritis (RA) case found in a Korean Joseon Dynasty (1392Dynasty ( -1910 tomb encapsulated by a lime-soil mixture barrier (LSMB). The tomb is thought to have been constructed during the 1700s AD (1760 AD by carbon dating). In our anthropological examination, joint destruction, erosion or fusion (signs of polyarthritis) were identified mainly in the peripheral skeleton. Especially in both sides of the wrist bones, severe destruction/joint fusion possibly caused by polyarthritis was observed. A similar polyarthritis pattern also was seen in the right foot bones, even though we failed to confirm this symmetry due to the missing left foot bones. Despite these findings, signs suggestive of polyarthritis are very rarely seen in axial bones, even though bony fusions are found in the atlanto-occipital joint or thoracic vertebrae (TV) 9-10. By the osteological signs observed in this case, the individual, a female, might have been suffering from a very late stage of RA and died in her 40s, even though other forms of chronic arthritis could not be ruled out completely. Though the current case could not provide evidence to decisively settle the debates on the antiquity of RA, our report could be a stepping stone for forthcoming studies on RA cases found in East Asian countries.

In Korea, ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis has been applied to investigations into the genetic affiliations of mummies found in Joseon Dynasty tombs (1392( -1910, becoming now indispensable tool for researches studying human remains from archaeological sites. In the course of our recent examinations on a Korean mummy of Joseon Dynasty, we discovered many teeth contained in a pouch. And in fact, the historical literature on the topic of Joseon funerals contain general accounts of pouches in which an individual's lost teeth were collected over the course of a lifetime and, after death, placed in the coffin with the body. To test the veracity of the historical texts, the present study undertook aDNA analyses and compared the results between specifically questioned (Q) samples (teeth) and known (K) samples (brain and bone) from the mummy to ensure that they came from the same individual. Although the Q-K comparison of autosomal short tandem repeat results did not show full concordance due to allelic drop-outs in some loci, our statistical calculation indicated that the teeth in the pouch are highly likely those of the mummy. Additionally, Q-K comparison of mitochondrial DNA sequence results showed 100% matches between samples. There results, in short, Abbreviations used: aDNA 5 ancient DNA; BSA 5 bovine serum albumin;; CT 5 computed tomography; DTT 5 dithiothreitol; DVI 5 disaster victim identification; EDTA 5 ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid; HVR 5 hypervariable region; LR 5 likelihood ratio; LSMB 5 lime-soil mixture barrier; MDCT 5 multi-detector computed tomography; MPR 5 multi-planar reformat; mtDNA 5 mitochondrial DNA; PCR 5 polymerase chain reaction; SDS 5 sodium dodecyl sulfate; STR 5 short tandem repeats; VR 5 volume rendering; UV 5 ultra violet.

1)This study is based on the official Chinese history of the ancient Korean(中國正史朝鮮傳) clothing and ornaments, and also tries to discover, study, and adjust the system of the ancient Korean clothing and ornaments. Ancient Korea has very poor official records of its clothing and ornaments. Therefore, this study had no choice but to rely on the official Chinese history to cover for the lack of resources. The official Chinese history documents are not only important for studying ancient Korean history, but also important for studying about the ancient Korean clothing and ornaments. This research selected historical documents about the ancient Korean clothing and ornaments from fifteen different Chinese dynasties' official documents, and then systematically classified the documents in order to compare them. All these processes confirmed the following subjects. In regards to the Kwan(冠 : general hat), the hat types included Check(幘), Byun(弁), Jeol-poong(折風), Jowoo-Kwan(鳥羽冠), So-gol(蘇骨), and Na-kwan(羅冠). These Kwan(冠) were influenced from Chinese clothing and ornaments. Gold and silver decorations on the Kwan(冠) were influenced from the Scythai culture. The feather decorations on the hat were residual of the bird worshiping culture or the hunting lifestyle. These things show that the ancient Korean clothing and ornaments originated the clothing and ornaments from the North. But the use of Jo-woo(bird feather) was common around the globe in many ways during the ancient times, regardless of area and period. The official Chinese history describes men's hair style as Choo-gyul (魋結) or sometimes pronounced, Choo-gyul(椎結). These seem to describe the topknot. Women had various types of hair styles such as Yu-byun-bal-su-hu (女辮髮垂後 : wear women's hair in a braid). The official Chinese history show that the ancient Korean clothing and ornaments originated the clothing and ornaments from the north. The ancient Korean clothing and ornaments 본 논문은 석사학위 청구논문의 일부임