Ulsan whale bone with antler harpoon tip nears designation as national folk heritage

A whale bone discovered in Ulsan with a deer-antler harpoon tip still embedded in it is set to be designated a national folk cultural heritage — recognition of its value as an archaeological artifact proving prehistoric whaling practices. National folk cultural heritage designations are granted by law to folklore materials of high academic or artistic value that are considered essential to understanding the evolution of everyday life in Korea.

Ulsan city said Monday that the Cultural Heritage Administration conditionally approved a motion to designate the artifact — held in the collection of the Ulsan Museum — as national folk cultural heritage at a meeting of the Folk Cultural Heritage Subcommittee of the Cultural Heritage Committee on May 12.

The committee found that the artifact's existing name, which translates roughly as "whale bone with embedded bone tip," did not adequately capture its material characteristics or its significance to the history of lifestyle and culture. It approved the motion on the condition that the official designation name be changed to "deer-antler harpoon tip embedded in whale bone."

The artifact was unearthed in 2009 during excavation work at the site of a road connecting Ulsan's new port terminal. It drew immediate attention from scholars for the processed deer-antler tip lodged within it.

Ulsan city designated it a municipal tangible cultural heritage in 2015, recognizing it as the earliest known example in East Asia of empirical evidence for Neolithic whaling activity and as an archaeological artifact attesting to prehistoric whaling as a way of life.

The Cultural Heritage Administration reached a similar conclusion last year through a national folk cultural heritage field survey, describing the artifact as important evidence of Neolithic whaling technology in the Ulsan region and concrete proof that Ulsan was an optimal location for whale hunting. The administration also noted that a harpoon tip found still embedded in a whale bone is an exceptionally rare find worldwide, giving the artifact unrivaled scarcity value.

"If this artifact is designated national folk cultural heritage, it will join the Bangucheon petroglyphs — inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site last year — as an important symbol showing that Ulsan was the center of prehistoric maritime civilization," a city official said.

The Cultural Heritage Administration will collect public and expert opinion during a formal notice period running from Monday through July 8, after which the Cultural Heritage Committee will hold a final review to confirm the designation.