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Metallurgy and bronze technology were introduced into the Korean peninsula around the tenth century BC, most likely from the northern regions of the continental mainland. By the seventh century BC, a Bronze Age material culture of remarkable sophistication, with influences from northeastern China as well as Siberian and Scythian bronze styles, was flourishing on the peninsula. The earliest bronze objects produced in Korea consist largely of swords and spears, though excavations have also yielded objects that perhaps served ritual functions. A long rectangular bronze object is fitted with two semicircular eyelets and has sharp projecting points at the four corners. It is decorated with bands of incised hatching and the image of a human hand at one end. Although its function is not clear, the object may represent a tribal or clan totem, or may relate to rituals associated with hunting.