| Abstract: |
Neolithic communities settled in the river valleys of Yunnan and northern Vietnam evolved into politically stratified societies known as the Dian and Dong Son during the second half of the first millennium BC. Synonymous with bronze drum using cultures, the Dian and Dong Son present two independent polities whose central leadership drew on a similar array of material symbols and prestige goods to extend their influence. This discussion traces their political development in the context of regional trade, organization of bronze metallurgy, and settlement histories, highlighting the ways coercion, ritual, and ideology configured elite power during the Bronze Age.
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