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PERIODS
Hoa Binh Culture:
By 12,000 BC, the pre-historic people of Viet Nam had abandoned
its nomadic life to settle in the Hong (Red) river valley. They
lived in caves and rock shelters close to water streams and knew
how to make rudimentary stoned tools made in oval, circular or
triangle shape with sharp edge. The Hoabinians were mostly hunters
but they also cultivated plants to gather fruits and edible roots.
This fact suggests domestic cultivation may exist in South East
Asia earlier than in the Near East (Iraq) as many Western historians
have believed.
Bac Son Culture:
The Bac Son tools were significantly improved from the Hoa Binh's
as they were made with ground and polished stone. Hand tools such
as choppers and axes were used extensively in hunting and plant
cultivation. One important milestone of the Bac Son culture was
the introduction of pottery, even though it was still very crude.
The Bac Son society was quite developed: Its people lived in tribes
headed by a female leader, usually an elder or experienced woman.
Some painting and marking found on the wall of their shelters
suggested the Bacsonians had an elementary number system they
used for counting and record keeping. |
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Quynh Van Culture:
About the same time of the Bac Son culture, there existed another
culture found along the coastal area of North-Central Viet Nam
(Nghe Tinh province). The Quynh Van people subsisted mainly on
maritime food. Archaeologists have found remains of large fish
bone suggesting seaborn fishing had already developed at this
time.
Phung Nguyen Culture:
Stone hand tools and weapons improved remarkably in both quantity
and variety. Pottery reached a higher level in technique and decoration
style. Many forms of craft also existed such as fabric weaving,
thread yarning, and rope making. The Phung Nguyen people were
mainly agriculturists, they grew the wet rice Oryza, now became
their main staple diet. They grouped in communities settled along
the large rivers in Northern Viet Nam such as Hong, Da and Lo
The first appearance of bronze tools occurred in the later stage
of the Phung Nguyen period although these tools were still rare. |
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Dong Dau and Go Mun Cultures:
Bronze replaced stone for about 40 percent of edged tools and
weapons, rising to about 60 percent in the Go Mun culture. Here,
there are not only bronze weapons, axes, and personal ornaments,
but also sickles and other agriculture tools. Toward the closure
of the Bronze Age, bronze accounts for more than 90 percent of
tools and weapons, and there are exceptional rich graves-the burial
places of powerful chiefdoms-contained some hundred of ritual
and personal bronze artifacts such as musical instruments, bucket-shaped
ladles and ornament daggers. |
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Dong Son Culture:
Vietnamese historians have characterized Dong Son as the formation
period of the Vietnamese nation . This period is closely identifiable
with Van Lang, the first kingdom of Viet Nam, and the 18 Kings
Hung, its founders. The nation was ruled with a royal dynasty
and a professional administrative class from the capital of Co
Loa. The Dong Son culture exerted great influence on its neighbor
regions. Historians have established important links from the
Dong Son culture with Tibeto-Burman culture, with Thai culture
in Yun-nam and Laos, and especially with the Mon-Khmer cultures,
particularly the Tran-ninh's Plain of Jars plateau.
The archaeological material from the Dong Son period is very rich,
The Dong Son people were skilled agriculturalists, they grew rice
and kept buffaloes and pigs. They lived in large huts close to
the sea or river, which were built on stilts to keep them clear
at high water and had overhanging saddle roofs. They were also
skilled fishermen and bold sailors, whose long dug-out canoes
traversed all the China sea. This explains both the wealth of
their culture and the expansion of their territory.
Minh
Bui
References:
Lich Su Viet Nam, Phan Huy Le
The Birth of Viet Nam, Keith Taylor, 1988
The Bronze Drums of Dong Son, Nguyen van Huyen et al.., 1989
Old Civilizations of the World
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