Đông Sơn culture

The Dongsonians spoke either Austroasiatic^{[8][9][10][11]} or Northern Tai languages;^[12] or were Austroasiatic-speakers with significant contact and admixture with Tai-speakers.^[13]

Archaeogenetics have demonstrated that before the Đông Sơn period, the Red River Delta's inhabitants were predominantly Austroasiatic. Genetic data from Vietnam's Phùng Nguyên culture's Mán Bạc burial site demonstrated close proximity to modern Austroasiatic speakers such as the Khmer and Mlabri;^[14][15] meanwhile, "mixed genetics" from Đông Sơn culture's Núi Nấp site showed affinity to "Dai from China, Tai-Kadai speakers from Thailand, and Austroasiatic speakers from Vietnam, including the Việt".^[16] One study states that the majority of Dongsonians have cranial features characterized by narrow long faces, relatively flat glabellas and nasal roots and round orbits due to extensive admixture with their northern neighbors, including those from southern China.^[17] Another study states that Núi Nấp populations have affinities with the Dushan and Baojianshan and that they can be modeled as a mixture of Dushan-related (~65%) and northern East Asian-related (~35%) ancestry.^[18]

Ferlus (2009) showed that the inventions of pestle, oar, and a pan to cook sticky rice, which is the main characteristic of the Đông Sơn culture, correspond to the creation of new lexicons for these inventions in Northern Vietic (Việt–Mường) and Central Vietic (Cuoi-Toum).^[19] The new vocabularies to denote these inventions were proven to be derivatives from original verbs rather than borrowed lexical items. The current distribution of Northern Vietic also correspond to the area of Đông Sơn culture. Thus, Ferlus conclude that the Dongsonian culture was of Vietic origin and they were the direct ancestors of modern Vietnamese people.^[19]

The origins of Đông Sơn culture may be traced back to ancient bronze castings. Scholars traditionally traced the origins of bronze-casting technology to China but during the 1970s archaeological discoveries in Isan, Thailand found that the casting of bronze either began in Southeast Asia first then spread into China, or that it developed the practise independently from China. The Đông Sơn bronze industry therefore has a local origin in Southeast Asia rather than being introduced by migrations out of China. The Gò Mun culture gave rise to the Đông Sơn culture; the Đông Sơn was the culmination of the Bronze Age and the opening stage of the Iron Age.^[20]

The bronze drums were used for war, "the chief summons the warriors of the tribe by beating the drum", when mourning, and during feasts. "The scenes cast onto the drums would inform us that the Dong Son leaders had access to bronze founders of remarkable skill." Lost-wax casting was based on Chinese founders, but the scenes are local, including drummers and other musicians, warriors, rice processing, birds, deer, war vessels, and geometric designs.^{[3]: 200–202}

The bronze drums were made in significant proportions in northern Vietnam, Laos and parts of Yunnan. The Đông Sơn bronze drums exhibit "remarkable skill". The Cổ Loa drum weighs 72 kilograms (159 lb) and would have required the smelting of between 1 and 7 tonnes (1.1 and 7.7 tons) of copper ore.^[3]: 200

Displays of the Đông Sơn drum surface can be seen in some of Vietnam's cultural institutions.^[21]

Some of Đông Sơn bronze daggers closely resemble Scytho-Siberian styles.^[2]