- Bae Kidong, Ph.D The Institute of Cultural Properties, Hanyang University. - One of the most elegant demonstrations of this is the distribution of the whole apparatus of bronze metallurgy in the Mekong and Red River catchments. - From their hub in the eastern Himalaya, a series of the world's great rivers radiate like spokes of a wheel. - The Philippines are also a part of the Indo-Malaysian Archipelago. - These, in turn, might have laid some of the seafaring groundwork for: (5). - (2) the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River basin. - Cultural regions and traditions (North, South and West China): II.1.The Zhongyuan (Central Plains): The nuclear area of Chinese civilization, the zhongyuan, is found in the land flanking the central course of the Huanghe River. - The excavations at Anyang and the evidence on the oracle bones have confirmed the existence of the Shang dynasty. - The largest of the bronze trees is 4 m high. - At least 6 of the more than 40 bronze heads in the pit were originally partly covered with gold foil. - The contents of the pits attest to a level of cultural development in the Sichuan Basin previously unknown.. - Dayangzhou site: It is located south of the Yangzi River basin in Jiangxi province. - The appearance of bronze is in about the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. - The pottery of the Bronze Age comprises a continuation of the earlier cord-impressed and geometric traditions. - Some of the patterns are abstract and possibly zoomorphic. - Bronze Age on the Korean peninsula was closely related to the distribution and production of the daggers. - Dagger: This kind of bronze implements was closely related to origin of the bronze-working on the Korean peninsula. - Many of the bronze artifacts found in Korea were locally manufactured. - Some scholars defined that the dolmen society represents the archievement of the Chiefdom Stage of development on the Korean Peninsula (Choi Mong-lyong 1984:31). - It is a mountainous land, with only one-fifth of the area available for cultivation. - The alluvial plains along the reaches of the major rivers in the South, i.e., the Han River in Central Korea, the Kum and the Yong San Rivers in the Southwest, and the Naktong River in the Southeast, are the areas of extensive rice cultivation. - Some general aspects: B.II.1.1.The environment and climate: The modern-day country of Japan consists of four main island: Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku. - Chronologies of the Yayoi Period. - Chronology of the Yayoi Culture. - Settlements: The was no essential change in the basic technology of the settlement throughout the Yayoi period. - In the early stage of the Yayoi period, in the mi-first millennium BC, nuclear settlement sites were built with surrounding ditches. - Yayoi villages typically have a number of squarish pit-dwellings with roofs reaching to the ground and hearths in the center of the earthen floors. - The agricultural implements include spade, hoes, toothed hoe or rake, pick, adze handles, paddy field clog...The eating utensils such as bowl with pouring lip, bowl, trencher, composite pedestal bowl, serving spoons...(Melvin Aikens, Takayasu Higuchi . - Wooden implements also include other kinds such as pounder or pestle, sword and scabdard, boat parts, weaving elements...The most common material of which the tools were made was hard oak. - Metal Metals were introduced together with rice cultivation at the beginning of the Yayoi period. - Domestic production became dominant from the middle stage of the Middle Yayoi. - There was the shift in the location of the occupation sites from the hunter-gatherer period to the domesticated period in this area. - The preliminary results of the excavation of Khok Phanom Di suggest that the origins of such domestic communities may lie in the rich, sedentary coastal contexts (Higham 1989:92). - The northern part of the plateau is the best archaeologically investicated. - Non Nok Tha site (Non Nok Tha and Phu Wiang phases): It located in the upper Chi River, Phu Wiang, of the Petchabun Range. - The average depth of the prehistoric deposits was 1,4 m. - Phu Wiang period was derived from the results of the 1968 excavations. - This is one of several prehistoric occupation sites excavated on the Khorat Plateau since that have revealed the existence in the area of the advanced Bronze and Iron Age culture. - In the first report of 1974-5 excavations, the excavators noted that bronzes was present "during the initial phase I/II occupation of the mound". - Only 4 of the graves included bronzes. - There were revealed 5 radiocarbon dates, they indicate initial settlement in the second half of the second millennium BC. - There was the continuity in the area settled from the early to the late period. - Most of the sites range in size from 0,33 to 6,3 ha and have been extended in the middle and late phases, which reached 10 to 20 ha. - Cultural sequences in the Bronze Age. - It is believed that this choice of the location is closely related to the subsistence activity of the people. - Settlement: Phung Nguyen culture sites are occurred on the crossroads of the main rivers such as Hong, Da, Lo, Thao and Day. - There were also yielded 540 specimens bracelet, which has been subdivided into eight types, based on the shape of the cross-section. - One of the most characteristics of Phung Nguyen pottery decoration was laid in its geometric symmetry. - There was appeared the decoration on the interior of the open rim. - In the area of Phung Nguyen culture territory of distribution, there was recognized a group of the sites which was dated to the end of III millennium BC but contained distinguished archaeological traits. - It is located just north of the Hong River 35km east of Phung Nguyen. - There was recognized that many of the Phung Nguyen phase stone artifacts were replaced in bronze. - It is believed that in Dong Dau period there was a flowering of the local bronze industry. - The number of bronze implements increase in the latter phase. - Go Mun culture: Toward the end of the second millennium B.C., the Dong Dau culture developed into the Go Mun phase, named after the site of Go Mun. - Three phases of Go Mun culture were identified, largely on the basis of the pottery, stone and bronze typology (Ha Van Phung 1996). - There were found the traces of burned basketry walls of the houses. - Which was presumably cast by means of the lost wax technique (Higham 1989:181). - Go Mun pottery bears similarity with those of Dong Dau, especially the decoration on the interior of the mouth-rim. - A similar, although not so well-documented sequence, has been reconstructed in the valley of the Ma River to the south. - The stone implements shown the local features, but in Con Chan Tien site there was revealed a number of imported jade such as axes, chisels...the imports from Phung Nguyen culture. - The sites could be belonged to two stages as given bellow: B.II.1.1.The Early period (Pre-Sahuynhian Stage): It includes over 20 sites, which were ranged from about 3500 BP to 2700/2600 BP. - In the final stage (I, II. - The archaeological deposits extent on the top and particularly southeastern portion of the mound. - The painted pottery has been found in small quality and only of the pedestal vessels. - Over 20 sites of the period, which preceded Sa Huynh culture cemeteries were uncovered and examined. - They used pedestal vessel as the cover of the burial. - The bottom of the jar burials was supported by the arranged cobbles. - The graves were put in carefully in the jar, there was observed the phenomenon of perforation of the jar at the wall or bottom. - Soilhem has stressed their similarities with the Kalanay assemblages of the Philippines. - According to Francis (2001), glassmaking and glass working were staples of the Sa Huynh culture. - Most of the molds for bronze casting was made from stone. - In the second cultural layer (i.e. - Most evidences of the elaborate bronze industry came from the late stage-Doc Chua stage. - Dong Son bronze metallurgy: The suggested local origin of the Dong Son bronze industry has been supported by the research in the preceded periods as mentioned above. - But on the other hand we can see that certain standard combinations have become almost exclusively dominant in two leading areas in the late bronze age and early iron age of the region: In Tong King (North Vietnam) and Tien (Yunnan). - In the first period (including the incipient and developed stages) the alloy composed of copper and tin (CuSn) or copper and asenic (CuAs). - In the second one (including the mature period) the chosen alloy composed of copper, tin and lead (CuSnPb). - The dating of charcoal found in the grave fill does not necessarily relate to the interment, because charcoal can be lifted and redeposited during the digging of the grave. - Yet, this hypothesis falters in view of the apparently rather domestication (c.2000 BC) of yams in the region (Alexander and Coursey 1969). - It is important to note that in addition of the plant remains there were found and some pottery sherds. - Husk fragments were found in the occupation layers. - The sample from 1984 excavation: The analyses results (Dao The Tuan 1988): From Dong Dau culture layer (i.e the II layer 1,8-1,4m pit II): 10 rice grain with long shape from non glutinous variety, several grains with long oval shape from dry-field glutinous variety. - It is seems that Chamber A assemblage provided the evidences for the beginnings of the jar burial tradition at the beginning of the first millennium B.C. - On the other hand, it is clear from Barbara Harrisson's analysis that the earliest of the 'neolithic' burials in the cemetery area, which includes most of the pottery, must be dated to 500 B.C or after. - Plawangan in north-central Java...The distribution is already quite wide but urn-fields are confined to coastal districts (Glover 1979:180). - Jar burial is one of the four main systems recognized at the site. - Part of the soul boat of Manunggul Jar. - Diep Dinh Hoa, 1978, On the metal artifacts from the beginning of the Bronze Age in Vietnam (in Vietnamese). - Pham Duc Duong, 1974, On the origin of the Vietnamese nation the Viet-Tay Thai relations (in Vietnamese). - 1985, Prehistory of the Indo-Malaysian Archipelago. - Eiji Nitta, 2002, The Dawn of the Civilization in the Mekong basin and Its neighboring regions. - People of the Earth- An Introduction to World Prehistory. - Ho Ping-ti, 1975, The Craddle of the East. - Papers of the British Association for Korean Studies. - Liu Li, 2000, On the Chronology of the Three Dynasties. - In Keightley, D.N., (editor), The Origins of Chinese Civilization: 157-172. - Soejono, R.P., 1979, The significance of the excavations at Gilimanuk (Bali). - von Dewall, M., 1979, Local workshop centers of the Late Bronze Age in highland Southeast Asia. - The origin of the Chinese plough in rice paddy cultivation