Important prehistoric culture of mainland Southeast Asia that developed in the 1st millennium BC, best known for its bronzes.
Excavations at the site of Dong Son in northern Vietnam revealed bronze objects, iron, pottery, and Chinese artifacts. The Dong Son were a seafaring people who traded throughout Southeast Asia. They are credited with making the Red River delta area a great rice-growing region. Dong Son culture, transformed by Chinese and Indian influence, became the basis of the general civilization of the region. The Dong Son homeland was taken over by the Han dynasty of China in AD 43.