The characteristic bronze artifact of Gojoseon is the bipa-shaped bronze dagger because it resembles a bipa, a mandolin like musical instrument. Such daggers are broad and rounded at the base of the blade while the front and back sides of the dagger blade feature a defined spine in the center. Unlike Chinese bronze daggers, which were cast entirely from a single piece of bronze, the blade and the hilt of bipa-shaped bronze daggers were cast separately and assembled.