Okvik Culture (244–387 CE)

St. Lawrence Island’s Distinctive Style and the Dialogues of OBS

The Okvik culture, named for the northern Punuk Islands southeast of St. Lawrence Island, flourished in the mid-3rd to 4th centuries CE. Archaeologists see it as a contemporary counterpart to the developed Old Bering Sea traditionaround 300 CE — its communities inhabiting the same Bering Strait world, but expressing it with distinctive material and social emphases.

Okvik sites are especially renowned for their ivory carving style, marked by bold incisions, spirals, and figurative forms that set them apart from the more geometric OBS patterns. Harpoon heads, snow goggles, and ornaments recovered at Okvik display both artistry and practical refinement. Some depict stylized human or animal faces, perhaps embodying spiritual guardianship.

Subsistence paralleled that of OBS communities: marine hunting of walrus, seals, and whales, complemented by fishing and foraging. Okvik groups also engaged in long-distance exchange — their materials show ties to Siberia, Alaska, and neighboring island groups.

What distinguishes Okvik in the archaeological record is less subsistence and more identity of style. Many specialists treat Okvik as a regional expression of OBS, while others view it as a separate but allied tradition that coexisted and interacted with OBS communities. Either way, the Okvik horizon reveals a world of dialogue between island and mainland, where artistry was as much about signaling belonging and prestige as about decorating tools.

By the later 4th century, the Okvik tradition began to fade, merging into the broader Punuk trajectory that would reshape Bering Strait societies by the early medieval period.

A time of turbulence in China follows the demise of the Han dynasty, with six different dynasties in succession coming to power from the third to the sixth century.

The periods between dynasties or the periods when dynasties are weak in China are usually the most peaceful in Vietnam.

When dynasties are strong and interfere with local rule, the Vietnamese aristocracy engages in a series of violent revolts that weaken China's control over its southern territory.

A rebellion led by the noblewoman Trieu Au (Lady Trieu) in 248 is suppressed after about six months, but its leader earns a place in the hearts and history of the Vietnamese people.

Despite pressure to accept Chinese patriarchal values, Vietnamese women continue to play an important role and to enjoy considerably more freedom than their northern counterparts.

Funan's population during this early period in its history is probably concentrated in villages along the Mekong River and along the Tonle Sab River below the Tonle Sap.

Traffic and communications are mostly waterborne on the rivers and their delta tributaries.

The area is a natural region for the development of an economy based on fishing and rice cultivation.

There is considerable evidence that the Funanese economy depends on rice surpluses produced by an extensive inland irrigation system.

Maritime trade also plays an extremely important role in the development of Funan.

The remains of what is believed to have been the kingdom's main port, Óc Eo (now part of Vietnam), contain Roman as well as Persian, Indian, and Greek artifacts.

Maritime East Asia (244–387 CE): Fragmentation, Cultural Evolution, and Regional Realignments

Between 244 CE and 387 CE, Maritime East Asia—comprising lower Primorsky Krai, the Korean Peninsula, the Japanese Archipelago below northern Hokkaido, Taiwan, and southern, central, and northeastern China—experiences profound political fragmentation, regional realignments, cultural evolution, and technological innovation following the collapse of the Han dynasty.

Fragmentation and the Rise of Regional Powers

The collapse of the Han dynasty ushers in nearly four centuries of fragmentation, beginning with the era of the Three Kingdoms (Wei, Shu, and Wu, 220–280 CE). While later romanticized for chivalry, this era is marked by widespread warfare. The brief reunification under the early Jin dynasty (265–420 CE) proves fragile, unable to withstand persistent invasions by northern nomadic groups.

Forced to flee from Luoyang in 317 CE, the Jin court relocates to Nanjing, signaling China's division into successive dynasties and kingdoms lasting until 589 CE. This period sees accelerated sinicization, as non-Chinese groups integrate culturally, notably accompanied by the spread of Buddhism, introduced in the first century CE.

Technological and Cultural Advancements

Despite political fragmentation, significant technological advancements occur. Innovations such as gunpowder(initially for fireworks), the wheelbarrow, and notable developments in medicine, astronomy, and cartography emerge during this turbulent period.

Developments in Korea: Baekje, Goguryeo, and Silla

On the Korean Peninsula, three powerful states emerge: Baekje in the southwest, Goguryeo in the north, and Silla in the southeast.

Baekje, known for its centralized aristocratic structure, emerges strongly by 246 CE, aggressively expanding northward. Its King Kun Ch'ogo (r. ca. 346–375) establishes a lasting royal succession tradition, and in 384 CE, Buddhism is officially adopted as the state religion.

Goguryeo, initially developed near the Yalu River, expands significantly, conquering the Chinese-held region of Lelang in 313 CE. Situated in rugged terrain and harsh climates, Goguryeo becomes a major regional power, heavily influencing Korean history and identity, particularly as claimed by modern North Korea.

Silla, with its capital at Kyongju, becomes known for its cultural richness. The ruling elites from Silla’s region will notably dominate South Korean political leadership in later historical periods, shaping its national historical narrative.

The Kofun Period in Japan

In Japan, the Kofun period represents a critical evolutionary stage toward state formation. Society flourishes particularly along the eastern Inland Sea, with Japanese military influence extending onto the southern Korean Peninsula. Early Japanese rulers actively seek and obtain diplomatic recognition from China. Chinese records from this period describe the Japanese (Wa) society as fragmented, yet increasingly centralized under powerful leaders like the famed queen Himiko of Yamatai, who maintains diplomatic relations with China’s Wei Dynasty (220–265 CE).

Influence of Migration: Wu Hu Tribes

The period witnesses significant migrations into China by various non-Chinese tribes collectively termed the Wu Hu (Five Hu). Initially pastoral nomads from the steppe regions, these tribes leverage the collapse of central authority to settle extensively in the fertile North China Plain, reshaping the region’s demographic and cultural landscape.

Legacy of the Age: Political Realignment and Cultural Foundations

Thus, the age from 244 to 387 CE is characterized by political fragmentation, significant cultural evolution, and regional realignments. Despite instability, this era establishes enduring cultural and political foundations, significantly influencing the historical trajectories of China, Korea, and Japan.

According to South Korean historiography, however, it is the glories of a third kingdom that are most important in founding the nation.

Silla eventually becomes the repository of a rich and cultured ruling elite, with its capital at Kyongju in the southeast, north of the modern port of Pusan.

The military men who will rule South Korea, either as dictators or elected leaders beginning in 1961, will all come from this region, and most South Korean historians will consider Silla's historical lineage as predominant.

It is the Baekje legacy that will suffer in divided Korea, as Koreans of other regions and historians in both North Korea and South Korea discriminate against the people of the Cholla provinces in the southwest of the peninsula, but taken together, the Three Kingdoms will continue to influence Korean history and political culture.

Koreans will often assume that regional traits that they like or dislike have their origins in the Three Kingdoms period.

The collapse of the Han dynasty had been followed by nearly four centuries of rule by warlords.

The age of civil wars and disunity had begun with the era of the Three Kingdoms (Wei, Shu, and Wu, which had overlapping reigns during the period CE 220-80).

In later times, fiction and drama greatly romanticize the reputed chivalry of this period.

Unity is restored briefly in the early years of the Jin dynasty (CE 265-420), but the Jin cannot long contain the invasions of the nomadic peoples.

The Jin court is forced to flee from Luoyang in 317 and reestablishes itself at Nanjing to the south.

The transfer of the capital coincides with China's political fragmentation into a succession of dynasties that is to last from 304 to 589.

During this period the process of sinicization accelerates among the non-Chinese arrivals in the north and among the aboriginal tribesmen in the south.

This process is also accompanied by the increasing popularity of Buddhism (introduced into China in the first century CE) in both north and south China.

Despite the political disunity of the times, there are notable technological advances.

The invention of gunpowder (at this time for use only in fireworks) and the wheelbarrow is believed to date from the sixth or seventh century.

Advances in medicine, astronomy, and cartography are also noted by historians.

The Kofun period is a critical stage in Japan's evolution toward a more cohesive and recognized state.

This society is most developed in the easternmost part of the Inland Sea (Seto Naikai), and its armies establish a foothold on the southern tip of Korea.

Japan's rulers of the time even petition the Chinese court for confirmation of royal titles; the Chinese, in turn, recognize Japanese military control over parts of the Korean Peninsula

The earliest written records about Japan are from Chinese sources from this period.

Wa (the Japanese pronunciation of an early Chinese name for Japan) was first mentioned in CE 57.

Early Chinese historians described Wa as a land of hundreds of scattered tribal communities, not the unified land with a seven hundred-year tradition as laid out in the Nihongi, which puts the foundation of Japan at 660 BCE.

Third-century Chinese sources report that the Wa people live on raw vegetables, rice, and fish served on bamboo and wooden trays, have vassal-master relations, collect taxes, have provincial granaries and markets, clap their hands in worship (something still done in Shinto shrines), have violent succession struggles, build earthen grave mounds, and observe mourning.

Himiko, a female ruler of an early political federation known as Yamatai, flourishes during the third century.

While Himiko reigns as spiritual leader, her younger brother carries out affairs of state, which included diplomatic relations with the court of the Chinese Wei Dynasty (CE 220-65).

Jinhan is situated in the middle part of the southern peninsula, Mahan in the southwest, and Byeonhan in the southeast.

The state of Baekje, which will soon come to exercise great influence on Korean history, emerges first in the Mahan area; it is not certain when this happened, but Baekje certainly exists by CE 246 because Lelang mounts a large attack on it in this year.

That Baekche is a centralized, aristocratic state melding Chinese and indigenous influence is not in doubt, nor is its growing power: within a century, Baekje has demolished Mahan and continues expanding northward into what today is the core area of Korea, around Seoul.

It is thought that the Korean custom of father-to-son royal succession began with King Kun Ch'ogo (reigned ca. 346-75) of Baekje.

His grandson inaugurates another long tradition by adopting Buddhism as the state religion in 384.

Two other powerful states had meanwhile emerged north of the peninsula around the time of Christ—Buyeo in the Sungari River Basin in Manchuria, and Goguryeo, Buyeo's frequent enemy to its south, near the Yalu River.

Goguryeo, which also exercises a lasting influence on Korean history, develops in confrontation with the Chinese.

Puyo is weaker and seeks alliances with China to counter Goguryeo but eventually succumbs around 312.

Goguryeo is expanding in all directions, in particular toward the Liao River in the west and toward the Taedong River in the south.

In 313 Goguryeo occupies the territory of Lelang and comes into conflict with Baekje.