Circulation of objects and techniques, dissemination of funerary practices, exchange networks are the key topics of this panel which looks to reconsider the nature and extent of relationships between the various polities that emerged in East Asia between the fifth century BC and the sixth century AD. Until the past few decades, archaeological findings were analyzed by referring to historical texts which were often fragmentary and imprecise. Since then, a considerable amount of more recent archaeological findings offer new perspectives and tell a different and more balanced story about the development of these polities in relation to their neighbours.

The six papers of this panel focus on two interaction spheres, the first, southern one, centers on the relationships between the continent and Japan. Shinya SHODA re-examines the influence of the Korean Peninsula on the cuisine culture of the Japanese islands by using recently excavated wooden utensils. Linda GILAIZEAU investigates the adoption of continental burial features, their transformation and reinterpretation by Yayoi societies in cemeteries of Northern Kyushu, and Britta STEIN studies the impact of the arrival of the horse in the Japanese archipelago. A new set of objects of prestige and funerary practices emerged as a consequence. 

The second interaction sphere, in the northern regions, concerns the circulation of objects and dissemination of techniques. Akiko NAKAMURA compares the roof tile production technique of the Chinese Central Plain with that of the Korean peninsula, in particular with the Chinese Lelang commandery in North Korea. Ariane PERRIN studies the mixed Han Chinese and non-Han mortuary furnishings of the wooden chamber tombs of the Lelang commandery and differences in interment practices. Shing MUELLER and Sonja FILIP discuss a foreign funerary rite that emerged during the period of the Tuoba Xianbei in northern China: the use of chin-straps to keep the mouth of the deceased closed.