Gia Hội Thư Trang: DOCUMENTS OF VIETNAMESE ANCIENT CULTURE I

ĐÔNGSON CULTURE

COLLECTED BY NGUYỄN THIÊN THỤ

1. NEW LIGHT ON A FORGOTTEN PAST
By Wilhelm G. Solheim II, Ph.D.

Professor Of Anthropology, University Of Hawaii

Picture 1: Dongson bronze

The world has turned its attention to Southeast Asia during the past decade, but the cause of the interest has been war. The overwhelming nature of military events has obscured some astonishing discoveries about the ancient history and prehistory of the people who live there. Yet in the long run these discoveries, primarily archeological, will affect--perhaps more than the war or its outcome--the way we think about the area and its people, and the way they think about themselves.

Even the position of Western man and his place in the evolution of world culture may be drastically affected. For clear and powerful indications are emerging that some of the earliest steps toward civilization may have been taken in Southeast Asia.

Where Did Man First Grow Plants and Cast Bronze ?

European and American historians generally have theorized that what we call civilization first took root in the Fertile Crescent of the Near East, or on its hilly flanks. There, we have long believed, primitive man developed agriculture and learned to make pottery and bronze. Archeology supported this belief, partly because it was in the region of that Fertile Crescent that archeologists did their most extensive digging.

Now, however, discoveries in Southeast Asia are forcing us to re-examine these traditions. Material excavated and analyzed during the past five years suggests that men were cultivating plants there, making pottery, and casting bronze implements as early as anywhere on earth.

The evidence comes from archeological sites in northeastern and northwestern Thailand, with support from excavations in Taiwan, North and South Viet Nam, other areas in Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, and even from northern Australia.

Materials uncovered and dated by carbon 14* are the cultural remains of people whose ancestors may have been growing plants and making polished stone tools and pottery thousands of years earlier than were the peoples of the Near East, India, or China.

Picture 2: Cast in double molds

At one site in northern Thailand, bronze was being cast in double molds (picture 2) well before 2300 B.C.---perhaps earlier than 3000 B.C.. This is substantially earlier than such work in India or China, and possibly earlier than the first bronze cast in the Near East, where, until now, most experts have thought that bronze metalworking began.

One may reasonably ask: If it is so important, why has Southeast Asia's role in prehistory remained unknown until now?
There are several explanations, but the main reason is simply that very little archeological research had been done in the area before 1950. Even now the work has barely begun. Colonial officials did not place a high priority on studies of prehistory, and few of the men who did investigate it had professional training. Not one complete site report acceptable under present standards was published before the 1950's.

Secondly, what they did uncover was interpreted on the assumption that the flow of culture was eastward and southward. Civilization, they theorized, having begun in the Near East, flowered in Mesopotamia and Egypt, and later in Greece and Rome. It also moved east to India and China. Southeast Asia, being so far from the point of origin, got it thereafter.

Europeans found advanced cultures in India and China. When they saw similarities in the architecture and aristocratic lifestyles of those countries and Southeast Asia, they assumed Indian and Chinese influence. Even the name they gave the area--Indochina--reflected this attitude.

Migrating Peoples and "Waves of Culture"

Robert Heine-Geldern, an Austrian anthropologist, published in 1932 the traditional outline of Southeast Asian prehistory. He suggested a series of "waves of culture" that is, human migrations--which brought to Southeast Asia the major peoples who are found there today.

His most important wave -- people who made a rectangular stone tool called an adz-- came from northern China into Southeast Asia, he said, and spread from there through the Malay Peninsula into Sumatra and Java, and then to Borneo, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Japan.

Later, Heine-Geldern dealt with the coming of bronze to Southeast Asia. He theorized that the original source of the Southeast Asian Bronze Age was a migration from eastern Europe about 1000 B.C. The people in this migration, he believed, moved east and south, entering China during the Western Chou Dynasty (1122-771 B.C.). They carried with them not only a knowledge of bronze working but also a new art form. That is, they decorated their bronze with geometric patterns, spirals, triangles, and rectangles, as well as with scenes or pictures of people and animals.

Picture 3: Dongson bronze drum

Picture 4: Dongson bronze artifact

As applied to Southeast Asia, both Heine-Geldern and Bernhard Karlgren, a Swedish scholar, called this culture Dong Son, after Dong Son, a site in North Viet Nam south of Hanoi, where large bronze drums (picture 3) and other artifacts (picture 4) had been unearthed. Both men felt that the Dong Son people brought bronze and the geometric art style into Southeast Asia (picture 1).

Prehistorians, for the most part, have followed this traditional reconstruction, but there were some facts that did not quite jibe. A few botanists who studied the origins of domesticated plants, for example, suggested that Southeast Asia had been a center of very early plant domestication.

In 1952 Carl Sauer, a ž S. geographer, went a step further. He hypothesized that the first plant domestication in the world took place in Southeast Asia. He speculated that it was brought about by people much earlier than the Dong Son period, people whose primitive culture was known as Hoabinhian. Archeologists did not immediately take up Sauer's theory.

Dams Add an Element of Urgency

The existence of a Hoabinhian culture had first been proposed in the 1920's by Madeleine Colani, a French botanist turned paleontologist and then archeologist. She based the idea on excavations of several cave and rock-shelter sites in North Viet Nam, the first of which was found near the village of Hoa Binh.

Typical artifacts in these sites included oval, circular, or roughly triangular stone tools flaked on only one side, leaving the original surface of the rock on the other. Neat grinding stones were found in most sites, and many stone flakes. Upper levels usually held pottery and a few somewhat different stone tools, with the working end ground to a sharp edge. Animal bones and large quantities of shell were usually present.

Archeologists felt that the pottery was associated accidentally with the Hoabinhian tools and had been made by more advanced people living nearby, possibly farmers who had migrated from the north. They also felt that the edge grinding of the stone tools had been learned from these outsiders. But no sites of tile northern farmers have ever been found.
In 1963 I organized a joint expedition of the Fine Arts Department of Thailand and the University of Hawaii to do archeological salvage work in areas that would be flooded by new dams on the Mekong River and its tributaries." We were to start work in northern Thailand, where the first dams were being built.
No systematic research had ever been done on the region's prehistory. I felt that it was urgent to begin a series of excavations before much of this area went under water.

Surprises From an Unimpressive Mound

During the first field season we located more than twenty sites; during the second we excavated some of these and tested others; and in 1965-66 we made a major excavation at Non Nok Tha. While the carbon-14 dates from this site have presented some problems, they strongly suggest a sequence of human habitation (with some interruptions) going back to well before 3500 B.C.
Non Nok Tha is a mound of about six acres that rises less than six feet above the surrounding rice fields. While working there, we lived in the small Thai-Lao village of Ban Na Di, a couple of hundred yards from the mound.

We spent about four months at our first excavation. Hamilton Parker, of the University of Otago in New Zealand, was in charge the first year. Donn Bayard, a student of mine working for his Ph.D., returned to Non Nok Tha in 1968 to make a second excavation for his doctor's thesis. Since then Otago and the University of Hawaii have continued to support our work in Thailand as a joint program with the Thai Fine Arts Department.

The results of those excavations, now in their seventh year, have been astonishing, hut have 01714' unfolded slowly as the analysis of our finds proceeds in our laboratory in Honolulu. As we started to receive our carbon-14 dates, we began to realize what a truly revolutionary site this was.
In a scrap of broken pottery little more than an inch square, we found an imprint of the husk of a grain of rice, Oryza sativa. From the carbonddating of a burial in a level above this potsherd, we know that it--and the rice-ðate at the latest from 3500 B.C. This is as much as a thousand years earlier than rice has been dated for either India or China --where some archeolotrists have claimed, rice was first domesticated.

From carbonddating of associated charcoal, we know that bronze axes, cast in double molds of sandstone, were being made at Non Nok Tha substantially earlier than 2300 B.C. --probably before 3000 B.C. This is more than 500 -ears earlier than the first known Bronze casting in India, and 1,000 years before any known in China. It may also prove older than sites in the Near East, which is where bronze manufacture was long assumed to have begun.
The rectangular molds we found at Non Nok Tha all came in pairs (page 334), indicating that they had been placed together where we found them, rather than having been lost or discarded. Considering the whole and broken crucibles that turned up, and the many small nodules of bronze scattered about, we have no doubt that we have unearthed a bronze-casting area--in effect, an ancient ax factory.

Portions of cattle were interred with some of the early burials at Non Nok Tha. These have been tentatively identified as domesticated animals very similar to the zebu (Bos indicus). This would be the earliest dated find of domesticated cattle in eastern Asia.
Chester German, a student of mine at the University of Hawaii, was the one who located' Non Nok Tha by finding potsherds eroding from the mound. In 1965 he returned to Thailand for his Ph.D. work. He wanted to test the suggestion by Carl Sauer and others of possible plant domestication by Hoabinhian people. In far northern Thailand, close to the Burmese border, he found Spirit Cave --and what he was looking for.

Cave of Death Yields Startling Dates

Spirit Cave stands high on the side or a limestone outcrop, overlooking a stream which ultimately drains into the Salween River in Burma (see supplement map). The cave was apparently once used as a mausoleum - hence the name.

Picture 5: Stone tool

Excavating. its floor, German found carbonized plant remains, including two probable beans, a possible pea, a Chinese water chestnut, a pepper, and bits of bottle gourd and cucumber, all in association with typical Hoabinhian stone tools (picture 5).
The remains of animal bones, chopped into small pieces but usually not burned, suggest that the meat cooked here was not roasted in or on the fire but stewed, probably in a container of green bamboo--as is still done in Southeast Asia todaÜ

A series of carbon-14 dates for this site range from 6000 B.C. back to 9700 B.C., and there is still older material, in deeper layers, \let to be dated. At about 6600 B.C., new elements entered the site. These include wellddeveloped pottery, burnished, incised, and marked by the woven cords used in its manufacture; rectangular, partially polished stone tools; and small slate knives. Hoabinhian tools and plant remains continue to he found with this more recent material.

We may regard the finds at Spirit Cave as at least preliminary corroboration of Carl Sauer's hypothesis, and other expeditions are adding evidence of a complex and widespread Hoabinhian culture. U Aung Thaw, Director of the Archeological Survey of Burma, excavated in 1969 a remarkable Hoabinhian site at the Padah-lin caves in eastern Burma. It contained, among other things, many cave paintings. This is the farthest west that a Hoabinhian site has been reported.
Excavations in Taiwan by a joint expedition of the National Taiwan University and Yale University, led by Professor Kwangchih Chang of Yale, have shown that a culture with cord-marked and incised pottery, polished stone tools, and polished slate points had a long existence prior to 2500 B.C.

Puzzle Begins to Fit Together

In view of the new excavations and dates I have summarized here, and others, perhaps equally important, that I have not, it is interesting to speculate on how the prehistory of Southeast Asia may someday be reconstructed. In a number of published papers I have made a start on this. Most of the ideas I have proposed must be labeled as hypothesis or conjecture. They need a great deal more research to bear them out--or refute them. Among them are these:

I agree with Sauer that the first domestication of plants in the world was done by people of the Hoabinhian culture, somewhere in Southeast Asia. It would not surprise me if this had begun as early as 15,000 B.C.
I suggest that the earliest dated edge-ground stone tools, found in northern Australia and dated by carbon 14 at about 20,000 B.C., are of Hoabinhian origin.
While the earliest dates for pottery now known are from Japan at about 10,000 B.C., I expect that when more of the Hoabinhian sites with cord-marked pottery are dated, we will find that pottery was being made by these people well before 10,000 B.C., and was possibly invented by them.
* The traditional reconstruction of Southeast Asian prehistory has had migrations from the north bringing important developments in technology to Southeast Asia. I suggest instead that the first neolithic (that is, late Stone Age) culture of North China, known as the Yangshao, developed out of a Hoabinhian subculture that moved north from northern Southeast Asia about the sixth or seventh millennium B.C.
I suggest that the later so-called Lungshan culture, which supposedly grew from the Yangshao in North China and then exploded to the east and southeast, instead developed in South China and moved northward. Both of these cultures developed out of a Hoabinhian base.
Dugout canoes had probably been used on the rivers of Southeast Asia long before the fifth millennium B.C. Probably not long before 4000 B.C. the outrigger was invented in Southeast Asia, adding the stability needed to move by sea. I believe that movement out of the area by boat, beginning about 4000 B.C., led to accidental voyages from Southeast Asia to Taiwan and Japan, bringing to Japan tare cultivation and perhaps other crops.
Sometime during the third millennium B.C. the now-expert boat-using peoples of Southeast Asia were entering the islands of Indonesia and the Philippines. 'They brought with them a geometric art style -- spirals and triangles and rectangles in band patterns-that was used in pottery, wood carvings, tattoos, bark cloth, and later woven textiles. These are the same geometric art motifs that were found on Dong Son bronzes and hypothesized to have come from eastern Europe. · The Southeast Asians also moved west, reaching Madagascar probably around 2,000 years ago. It would appear that they contributed a number of important domesticated plants to the economy of eastern Africa.
At about the same time, contact began between Viet Nam and the Mediterranean, probably by sea as a result of developing trade. Several unusual bronzes, strongly suggesting eastern Mediterranean origins, have been found at the Dong Son site.

Past May Help to Light Up the Present

The new reconstruction of Southeast Asian prehistory I have presented here is based on data from only a very few sites and a reinterpretation of old data. Other interpretations are possible. Many more well-excavated, welldated sites are needed just to see if this general framework is any closer to what happened than is Heine-Geldern's reconstruction. Burma and Assam are virtually unknown prehistorically, and I suspect that they are of great importance in Southeast Asian prehistory.
Most needed are many more details about small, definable areas. By intensive investigation in a small area, it will be possible to work out the local cultural development and ecological adaptation to see how living people fit in with the framework of prehistory. After all, it is people we want to understand, and this information may give us some insight into their interaction with each other and with their changing world in Southeast Asia.

Wilhelm G. Solheim Ii, Ph.D.

. National Geographic.Vol 139 . No 3, March, 1971, p.339

Thứ năm, 13 Tháng 8 2009 03:35 Nguyễn Thị Tuyết Ngân

BẢN DỊCH VIỆT NGỮ I
TIA SÁNG MỚI RỌI VÀO MỘT QUÁ KHỨ BỊ LÃNG QUÊN

Wilhelm G. Solheim II

Tiến sĩ Wihelm G.Solheim II là giáo sư nhân chủng học ở Đại học Hawaii chuyên nghiên cứu tiền sử Đông Nam Á. Bài viết “New Light on a Forgotten Past” trích giới thiệu dưới đây đăng trong tạp chí “National geographic” (Vol.139, No.3, March 1971). Cũng nội dung này ông đã trình bày trong nhiều bài ở những tạp chí khác.

Tuy về những nhận định trong bài thì tác giả khuyên rằng chúng “cần được xem như những giả thuyết hoặc nghi vấn”, song những sự kiện khảo cổ học mà tác giả trình bày, lịch sử vấn đề cùng những lập luận của tác giả là rất đáng để ta suy ngẫm.

Đây là bản trích dịch in trong Trần Ngọc Thêm 1996/2006: “Tìm về bản sắc văn hoá Việt Nam”. – NXB Tp. HCM. (Các chỗ nhấn mạnh trong bài này là của TNT).
Nguyên tác tiếng Anh: W.G. Solheim II. New Light on a Forgotten Past

Thế giới trong 10 năm qua đã quay sang chú ý đến Đông Nam Á, nhưng nguyên do chính của sự chú ý này là chiến tranh đang xảy ra tại đây. Chính cái tính chất nặng trĩu của những biến cố quân sự ấy đã làm lu mờ nhiều khám phá kỳ thú về cổ sử và tiền sử của các dân tộc hiện đang sống trên miền đất này. Thế nhưng, về lâu về dài, những khám phá này, phần nhiều có tính khảo cổ, sẽ tác dụng, có lẽ còn nhiều hơn là chiến tranh hay hậu quả của chiến tranh, đối với lối suy nghĩ của chúng ta về miền đất này và các dân tộc của miền này, và đối với lối tư duy của họ đối với chính họ nữa.

Ngay cả đến quan niệm của người phương Tây về vị trí của họ trong quá trình biến đổi của văn hóa thế giới cũng có thể bị thay đổi hoàn toàn. Bởi vì có nhiều dấu hiệu rõ rệt và mạnh mẽ khiến ta nghĩ rằng những bước đầu tiên đến văn minh có thể đã phát xuất từ Đông Nam Á.

LOÀI NGƯỜI BIẾT TRỒNG TRỌT VÀ ĐÚC ĐỒNG Ở ĐÂU TRƯỚC?

Các nhà sử học Âu Mỹ thường hay lý luận rằng lối sống mà ta gọi là văn minh thoạt tiên bắt nguồn từ vòng cung phì nhiêu miền cận Đông, hoặc trong những vùng sườn đồi lân cận. Ta đã tin tưởng từ lâu rằng ở đây con người cổ sơ đã phát triển nghề nông và dần dần học cách làm gốm và đồ đồng. Môn khảo cổ học cũng yểm trợ cho điều tin tưởng này, một phần vì các nhà khảo cổ đào bới khá nhiều trong vùng thung lũng phì nhiêu của vùng cận Đông.

Tuy nhiên, những khám phá mới đây ở vùng Đông Nam Á bắt buộc chúng ta phải xét lại những quan niệm này. Những vật dụng đã được đào lên và đem phân tích trong vòng 5 năm qua cho ta thấy rằng con người ở đây đã bắt đầu trồng cây, làm đồ gốm và đúc đồ dùng bằng đồng sớm hơn hết thảy mọi nơi trên trái đất.

Điều hiển nhiên là người ta tìm thấy các chứng tích tại những nơi mà ngành khảo cổ đào xới trong vùng Đông Bắc và Tây Bắc Thái Lan, với những chứng minh hỗ trợ từ các cuộc đào xới ở Đài Loan, Nam và Bắc Việt Nam, các miền khác của Thái Lan, Malaixia, Philippin, và ở cả Bắc Úc Châu nữa.
Các vật dụng đã tìm được và ước định tuổi bằng cacbon 14 là những di tích văn hóa của dân tộc mà tổ tiên họ đã biết phương pháp trồng cây, chế tạo đồ đá mài và đồ gốm sớm hơn các dân tộc Cận Đông, Ấn Độ và Trung Hoa tới cả hằng mấy ngàn năm.

Where Did Man First Grow Plants and Cast Bronze ?

Picture 2: Cast in double molds

Trong một vùng ở Bắc Thái Lan, có những đồ đồng được đúc bằng các khuôn kép (hình 2) vào khoảng 2.300 năm trước công nguyên. Thậm chí có thể trước cả năm 3.000 trước công nguyên nữa. Nghĩa là trước khá lâu so với các vật dụng bằng đồng được đúc ở Cận Đông, Ấn Độ và Trung Hoa mà nhiều chuyên gia đã tưởng là những vật dụng đầu tiên <…>.

At one site in northern Thailand, bronze was being cast in double molds (picture 2) well before 2300 B.C.---perhaps earlier than 3000 B.C.. This is substantially earlier than such work in India or China, and possibly earlier than the first bronze cast in the Near East, where, until now, most experts have thought that bronze metalworking began.

Người ta có thể sẽ có lý khi đặt câu hỏi: Nếu có sự kiện quan trọng như vậy thì tại sao cho tới nay khoa tiền sử học Đông Nam Á lại không ai biết đến? Có nhiều nguyên nhân, nhưng lý do chính là vì rất ít những tìm tòi khảo cổ được tiến hành tại đây trước năm 1950. Ngay cả đến bây giờ công việc cũng chỉ mới bắt đầu. Nhà cầm quyền thực dân đã không ưu tiên cho vấn đề khảo cổ ở đây, còn một số rất ít người khảo cứu về môn này lại không có hiểu biết chuyên môn cần thiết. Trước năm 1950, không có một bài biên khảo nào đúng với tiêu chuẩn hiện đại được tiến hành. Lý do thứ hai là bất cứ cái gì khám phá thấy đều được xếp loại căn cứ vào quan niệm từ lâu cho rằng đó là kết quả của sự di chuyển văn minh… Họ cho rằng, văn minh bắt nguồn từ Cận Đông, phát triển thịnh vượng ở xứ Mesopotamie và Ai Cập, và sau này ở Hy Lạp và La Mã. Văn minh cũng di chuyển về hướng Đông đến Ấn Độ và Trung Hoa. Còn Đông Nam Á, vì ở xa nhất đối với điểm xuất phát, nên cũng hưởng văn minh sau chót.

Người châu Âu đã tìm thấy những nền văn hóa tiến bộ ở Ấn Độ và Trung Hoa. Khi họ thấy có những điểm tương đồng của các nước này với các xứ sở miền Đông Nam Á thì họ liền cho rằng đó là do Ấn Độ và Trung Hoa đã ảnh hưởng đến Đông Nam Á. Ngay cả cái tên mà họ đặt cho miền này – “Ấn Độ Trung Hoa (Indochine) – cũng phản ảnh thái độ đó.

One may reasonably ask: If it is so important, why has Southeast Asia's role in prehistory remained unknown until now?
There are several explanations, but the main reason is simply that very little archeological research had been done in the area before 1950. Even now the work has barely begun. Colonial officials did not place a high priority on studies of prehistory, and few of the men who did investigate it had professional training. Not one complete site report acceptable under present standards was published before the 1950's.

NHỮNG NGƯỜI THIÊN DI VÀ CÁC “LÀN SÓNG VĂN HÓA”

<…> Robert Heine Geldern, một nhà nhân chủng học Áo, đã xuất bản năm 1932 một tác phẩm bàn về những nét chính cổ truyền của tiền sử Đông Nam Á. Ông cho rằng có một loạt các “làn sóng văn hóa”, nghĩa là những dòng di cư <…>. Theo ông thì đoàn di cư quan trọng nhất đến Đông Nam Á là từ phía Bắc Trung Hoa <…>.

Ông cho rằng đồ đồng Đông Nam Á là kết quả di cư của các dân tộc ở Đông Âu tới vào khoảng năm 1.000 trước công nguyên. Ông tin rằng những dân tộc này di cư về phía Đông và phía Nam, đi qua Trung Hoa vào thời kỳ Nhà Tây Chu (1122 – 711 trước công nguyên). Các sắc dân này mang theo không chỉ phương pháp đúc đồng mà cả một nghệ thuật trang trí đồ đồng bằng các hình vẽ kỷ hà học <…>.

For purposes of prehistory, what we usually think of as Southeast Asia must be expanded somewhat to include related cultures. Prehistoric Southeast Asia, as I use the term, consists of two parts. The first is "Mainland Southeast Asia," which extends from the Ch'in Ling Mountains, north of the Yangtze River in China, to Singapore, and from the South China Sea westward through Burma into Assam. The other I call "Island Southeast Asia," an are from the Andaman Islands, south of Burma, around to Taiwan, including Indonesia and the Philippines. (See the double supplement, Asia and Peoples of Mainland Southeast Asia, distributed with this issue.)

Các nhà nghiên cứu tiền sử phần đông đều chấp nhận lối lập luận cổ điển này, nhưng nếu theo đó thì có một số sự kiện tỏ ra không được ăn khớp lắm. Một số nhà thực vật học nghiên cứu nguồn gốc cây trồng chẳng hạn cho rằng Đông Nam Á là nơi biết trồng cây sớm nhất.

Năm 1952, ông Carl Sauer, một nhà địa chất học Mỹ, đi thêm một bước xa hơn nữa. Ông nêu giả thuyết là khoa trồng cây trên thế giới đã bắt nguồn trước tiên trong vùng Đông Nam Á. Ông cho rằng khoa trồng cây do một sắc dân mang lại đây trước thời kỳ Đông Sơn rất lâu, họ được biết tới dưới danh hiệu một nền văn hóa thô sơ gọi là văn hóa Hòa Bình. Các nhà khảo cổ học không thể chấp nhận ngay thuyết của ông Sauer.

TỪ VĂN HÓA HÒA BÌNH ĐẾN CÁC ĐẬP NƯỚC Ở BẮC THÁI LAN

Từ năm 1920 trở đi, bà Madeleine Colani, một nhà thực vật học, cổ sinh vật học và khảo cổ học người Pháp, đã nêu ý kiến là có một nền văn hóa Hòa Bình. Những ý kiến của bà đều căn cứ vào các cuộc đào xới ở một vài hang đá và các nơi trú ẩn bằng đá khác ở miền Bắc Việt Nam, trong đó khu vực đào xới đầu tiên đã được tìm thấy ở tỉnh Hòa Bình <…>.

Đến năm 1963, tôi tổ chức một phái đoàn hỗn hợp của bộ Mỹ nghệ Thái Lan và trường Đại học Hawaii để tìm kiếm cổ vật trong những vùng sẽ bị chìm sâu dưới mặt nước do việc xây dựng các đập mới trên sông Mêkông và các nhánh của sông này tạo ra. Chúng tôi đã khởi công ở miền Bắc Thái Lan, nơi sẽ xây chiếc đập đầu tiên.

Trước kia chưa có công cuộc đào xới quy mô nào để khảo cứu về tiền sử vùng này <…>.

NHỮNG NGẠC NHIÊN LỚN TỪ MỘT GÒ ĐẤT NHỎ

<…> Kết quả các cuộc đào xới này, cho đến nay đã vào năm thứ bảy, thật là kinh ngạc, nhưng chỉ tiến rất chậm so với những khám phá của chúng tôi trong phòng thí nghiệm ở Honolulu. Trong khi tiếp nhận tư liệu của các thời kỳ ước lượng bằng cacbon 14, chúng tôi bắt đầu nhận thấy rằng khu vực đào xới này quả đang đảo lộn hoàn toàn các điều khoa khảo cổ học đã biết từ trước.

Trong một chỗ đất chỉ rộng chừng 2,5cm2, có một mảnh đồ gốm có in vết vỏ của một hạt lúa, có niên đại muộn nhất là 3.500 năm trước công nguyên. Như vậy có nghĩa là trước cả ngàn năm so với những hạt lúa tìm thấy ở Ấn Độ và Trung Hoa cũng được xác định bằng phương pháp cacbon (mà trước đây, dựa vào đó các nhà khảo cổ đã cho rằng con người tại đây biết trồng lúa nước trước tiên).

Cũng với phương pháp ước lượng thời gian bằng cacbon đối với các cục than tìm thấy ở đó, chúng tôi được biết thêm là các rìu đồng, được đúc trong các khuôn kép bằng đá, đã được chế tạo ít nhất là khoảng 2.300 năm trước công nguyên, có thể là trước cả năm 3.000 trước công nguyên nữa. Như vậy là sớm hơn bất cứ một đồ đồng đầu tiên nào đã đúc tại Ấn Độ cả 500 năm và nó cũng còn lâu đời hơn cả những khu vực Cận Đông mà trước đây người ta đã tưởng là nơi xuất phát cách chế tạo đồ đồng đầu tiên.

Những khuôn đúc tứ giác mà chúng tôi tìm thấy ở Non Nok Tha đều nằm từng đôi một, chứng tỏ chúng đã được đặt cạnh nhau ở đó chứ không phải bị mất hoặc bị vứt bỏ bừa bãi. Cứ nhìn những mảnh vụn của những nồi gang tìm được, và rất nhiều những dây đồng nhỏ như sợi bún rải rác chung quanh đó, thì có thể chắc chắn rằng chúng tôi đã đào trúng một khu vực ngày xưa đúc đồng, hay đúng hơn, một lò đúc rìu thời cổ.

Có những miếng thịt bò được chôn chung trong những ngôi mộ ở Non Nok Tha. Chúng được xem như thịt của một loài bò bướu (bos indicus). Như thế, đây là nơi sớm nhất trên trái đất biết chăn nuôi gia súc ở Đông Á.

Chester Gorman, một sinh viên hầm mỏ ở trường Đại học Hawaii, là người đã xác định vị trí của Non Nok Tha nhờ tìm thấy những mảnh gốm bị xói mòn trong gò đất. Năm 1965, anh trở lại Thái Lan để tìm tài liệu cho luận án tiến sĩ của mình <…>. Ở xa phía Bắc Thái Lan gần biên giới Miama, anh đã tìm thấy Hang Thần và những gì đang ra công tìm kiếm.

During the first field season we located more than twenty sites; during the second we excavated some of these and tested others; and in 1965-66 we made a major excavation at Non Nok Tha. While the carbon-14 dates from this site have presented some problems, they strongly suggest a sequence of human habitation (with some interruptions) going back to well before 3500 B.C.
Non Nok Tha is a mound of about six acres that rises less than six feet above the surrounding rice fields. While working there, we lived in the small Thai-Lao village of Ban Na Di, a couple of hundred yards from the mound.
We spent about four months at our first excavation. Hamilton Parker, of the University of Otago in New Zealand, was in charge the first year. Donn Bayard, a student of mine working for his Ph.D., returned to Non Nok Tha in 1968 to make a second excavation for his doctor's thesis. Since then Otago and the University of Hawaii have continued to support our work in Thailand as a joint program with the Thai Fine Arts Department.

HANG THẦN CHO NHỮNG NIÊN ĐẠI GÂY SỬNG SỐT

Hang Thần ở cao trên sườn một vách núi đá vôi phía bên một con suối chảy vào sông Salween ở Mianma. Hiển nhiên hang này đã có lần được dùng như một ngôi đền, vì vậy nên mới có tên là Hang Thần.

Khi đào nền hang, Gorman tìm thấy những mảnh cây đã hóa than, cùng hai hạt có thể là đậu, một hạt đậu tròn, một hạt dẻ, một hạt tiêu sọ, nhiều mảnh bí và dưa leo, cùng với nhiều đồ dùng bằng đá rất đặt biệt của vùng Hòa Bình.

Những mảnh xương súc vật được chặt thành miếng nhỏ rõ ràng chứ không phải bị đốt, cho phép ta nghĩ rằng thịt được chế biến ở đây không phải bằng cách vùi hoặc nướng trên lửa, mà là được nấu trong một dụng cụ hẳn hoi, có lẽ là trong ống nứa giống như ngày nay người ta vẫn còn làm như vậy ở Đông Nam Á.

Việc xác định thời gian bằng cacbon 14 đối với một loạt những gì tìm được tại đây đã cho ta thấy một khoảng thời gian từ 6.000 năm đến 9.700 năm trước công nguyên; và hiện còn nhiều vật dụng khác nữa trong các lớp đất sâu hơn đang chờ xác định thời gian. Vào khoảng 6.600 năm trước công nguyên, có nhiều yếu tố mới đã xuất hiện tại nơi này. Đó là những đồ gốm tráng men bóng được khắc sâu và trang trí bằng cách in dấu các sợi dây thừng trong lúc chế tạo; những dụng cụ đồ đá có một phía mài bằng và những con dao bằng đá mỏng. Những dấu vết của đồ dùng và cây cối thời Hòa Bình đang tiếp tục được khám phá thêm.

A series of carbon-14 dates for this site range from 6000 B.C. back to 9700 B.C., and there is still older material, in deeper layers, \let to be dated. At about 6600 B.C., new elements entered the site. These include wellddeveloped pottery, burnished, incised, and marked by the woven cords used in its manufacture; rectangular, partially polished stone tools; and small slate knives. Hoabinhian tools and plant remains continue to he found with this more recent material.

Như vậy ta có thể coi những khám phá ở Hang Thần ít nhất cũng phù hợp với thuyết của Carl Sauer và nhiều đoàn thám hiểm khác đang đi đến nhận định rằng có một nền văn hóa Hòa Bình khá phức tạp đã được phổ biến tương đối sâu rộng. Ông Aung Thaw, giám đốc sở Khảo cổ học Mianma, năm 1969 đã đào được một số dụng cụ rất đáng chú ý về văn hóa Hòa Bình trong những hang Padh Lin ở Đông Mianma. Ngoài nhiều vật dụng, còn tìm thấy cả những hình vẽ trên vách hang. Như vậy, đây là khu vực ở phía cực Tây của nền văn hóa Hòa Bình đã được tìm thấy.

We may regard the finds at Spirit Cave as at least preliminary corroboration of Carl Sauer's hypothesis, and other expeditions are adding evidence of a complex and widespread Hoabinhian culture. U Aung Thaw, Director of the Archeological Survey of Burma, excavated in 1969 a remarkable Hoabinhian site at the Padah-lin caves in eastern Burma. It contained, among other things, many cave paintings. This is the farthest west that a Hoabinhian site has been reported.

Những cuộc đào xới ở Đài Loan do một đoàn thám hiểm hỗn hợp của trường Đại học Yale thực hiện dưới sự hướng dẫn của giáo sư Kwang Chih Chang thuộc Đại học Yale cũng cho thấy có một nền văn hóa đồ gốm có khắc và in hoa văn dây thừng, đồ đá mài và dao nhọn mài, đã xuất hiện khá lâu trước năm 2.500 năm trước công nguyên.

Excavations in Taiwan by a joint expedition of the National Taiwan University and Yale University, led by Professor Kwangchih Chang of Yale, have shown that a culture with cord-marked and incised pottery, polished stone tools, and polished slate points had a long existence prior to 2500 B.C.

NHỮNG ĐIỀU KHÓ HIỂU BẮT ĐẦU ĂN KHỚP

Căn cứ vào kết quả của các cuộc đào xới mới đây và của các thời kỳ mà tôi đã tóm lược, và của những nơi khác có lẽ cũng quan trọng không kém mà tôi chưa ghi chép, có thể thấy rằng một ngày kia tiền sử Đông Nam Á sẽ được hiện ra một cách hết sức thú vị. Trong một số tài liệu, tôi đã phác thảo những nét đầu tiên về vấn đề này. Đa số những ý kiến của tôi cần được xem như những giả thuyết hoặc nghi vấn; cần phải khảo cứu sâu hơn nữa mới có thể chấp nhận hay phủ nhận chúng. Trong số các ý kiến đó có những điểm sau:

1. Tôi đồng ý với Sauer rằng sắc dân Hòa Bình ở miền nào đó trong vùng Đông Nam Á là giống người biết trồng cây trước hết trên thế giới. Tôi cũng không ngạc nhiên nếu thời kỳ đó bắt đầu khoảng 15.000 năm trước công nguyên.

2. Tôi cho rằng những đồ dùng bằng đá đẽo có cạnh sắc tìm thấy ở Bắc Úc Châu và được ước định bằng cacbon 14 là xuất hiện vào khoảng 20.000 năm trước công nguyên đều thuộc nguồn gốc Hòa Bình.

3. Trong khi người ta được biết hiện nay đồ gốm cổ xưa nhất tìm được ở Nhật có niên đại khoảng 10.000 năm trước công nguyên, tôi tin rằng khi xác định được tuổi của loại đồ gốm có in hoa văn dây thừng thì ta sẽ phải nhận rằng đồ gốm đó chính là do sắc dân Hòa Bình chế tạo rất lâu trước khoảng 10.000 năm trước công nguyên.

4. Theo truyền thống, người ta cho rằng trong thời kỳ tiền sử, kỹ thuật miền Đông Nam Á là kết quả của những làn sóng di dân từ phương Bắc mang tới. Riêng tôi cho rằng văn hóa nguyên thủy thời đồ đá mới Ngưỡng Thiều (Yangshao) ở Trung Hoa mà người ta biết đến chính là kết quả của một nền văn hóa tiền Hòa Bình đã di chuyển từ miền Bắc Đông Nam Á lên phía Bắc vào khoảng 6 hay 7.000 năm trước công nguyên.

5. Tôi cho rằng văn hóa mà sau này được gọi là văn hóa Long Sơn (Lungshan) vẫn thường được coi là phát triển từ Ngưỡng Thiều (Yangshao) ở Bắc Trung Hoa rồi lan ra miền Đông và Đông Nam, thì trái lại thực ra đã khai sinh ở Nam Trung Hoa và di chuyển lên phía Bắc. Cả hai nền văn hóa này đều bắt nguồn từ gốc văn hóa Hòa Bình.

6. Xuồng đục từ thân cây có lẽ đã được sử dụng trên các sông rạch Đông Nam Á rất lâu trước 50 thế kỷ trước công nguyên. Rất có thể là các bộ phận giữ thăng bằng lồi ra hai bên xuồng cũng được sáng chế tại Đông Nam Á khoảng 4.000 năm trước công nguyên, làm cho xuồng được vững chắc hơn trong khi cần vượt biển. Tôi tin rằng những đợt di chuyển ra khỏi khu vực Đông Nam Á bằng ghe, thuyền bắt đầu khoảng 4.000 năm trước công nguyên đã tình cờ đưa cư dân Đông Nam Á lạc tới đất Đài Loan và Nhật Bản, và du nhập vào Nhật cách trồng sắn (khoai mỳ) và có lẽ là cả các hoa màu khác.

7. Vào khoảng 3.000 năm trước công nguyên, các dân tộc Đông Nam Á bấy giờ đã thành thạo trong việc sử dụng thuyền bè, đã đi vào các đảo Inđônêxia và Philippin. Họ mang theo nghệ thuật vẽ hình kỷ hà học gồm những vòng xoắn ốc, những hình tam giác, tứ giác trong các dải đường viền trang trí khi chế tạo đồ gốm, khắc gỗ, xăm mình, dệt vải bằng vỏ cây, và sau này là trên các trống đồng tìm thấy ở vùng Đông Sơn mà trước đây người ta vẫn giả thuyết là từ Đông Âu tới.

8. Các dân tộc Đông Nam Á cũng di chuyển về phía Tây tới Madagascar có lẽ vào khoảng 2000 năm trước đây. Rõ ràng là họ đã đóng góp một phần quan trọng vào nền kinh tế Đông Châu Phi bằng cách trồng các loại hoa màu.

9. Cũng cùng vào khoảng thời gian đó, đã có sự tiếp xúc giữa Việt Nam và miền Địa Trung Hải, có lẽ bằng đường biển do sự phát triển thương mại đem lại. Người ta đã tìm thấy tại tàn tích Đông Sơn một số đồ đồng khác thường, rõ ràng là bắt nguồn từ Địa Trung Hải <…>.

I agree with Sauer that the first domestication of plants in the world was done by people of the Hoabinhian culture, somewhere in Southeast Asia. It would not surprise me if this had begun as early as 15,000 B.C.
I suggest that the earliest dated edge-ground stone tools, found in northern Australia and dated by carbon 14 at about 20,000 B.C., are of Hoabinhian origin.
While the earliest dates for pottery now known are from Japan at about 10,000 B.C., I expect that when more of the Hoabinhian sites with cord-marked pottery are dated, we will find that pottery was being made by these people well before 10,000 B.C., and was possibly invented by them.
* The traditional reconstruction of Southeast Asian prehistory has had migrations from the north bringing important developments in technology to Southeast Asia. I suggest instead that the first neolithic (that is, late Stone Age) culture of North China, known as the Yangshao, developed out of a Hoabinhian subculture that moved north from northern Southeast Asia about the sixth or seventh millennium B.C.
I suggest that the later so-called Lungshan culture, which supposedly grew from the Yangshao in North China and then exploded to the east and southeast, instead developed in South China and moved northward. Both of these cultures developed out of a Hoabinhian base.
Dugout canoes had probably been used on the rivers of Southeast Asia long before the fifth millennium B.C. Probably not long before 4000 B.C. the outrigger was invented in Southeast Asia, adding the stability needed to move by sea. I believe that movement out of the area by boat, beginning about 4000 B.C., led to accidental voyages from Southeast Asia to Taiwan and Japan, bringing to Japan tare cultivation and perhaps other crops.
Sometime during the third millennium B.C. the now-expert boat-using peoples of Southeast Asia were entering the islands of Indonesia and the Philippines. 'They brought with them a geometric art style -- spirals and triangles and rectangles in band patterns-that was used in pottery, wood carvings, tattoos, bark cloth, and later woven textiles. These are the same geometric art motifs that were found on Dong Son bronzes and hypothesized to have come from eastern Europe. · The Southeast Asians also moved west, reaching Madagascar probably around 2,000 years ago. It would appear that they contributed a number of important domesticated plants to the economy of eastern Africa.
At about the same time, contact began between Viet Nam and the Mediterranean, probably by sea as a result of developing trade. Several unusual bronzes, strongly suggesting eastern Mediterranean origins, have been found at the Dong Son site.

LÊ XUÂN MAI dịch
(lấy theo bản in trong tạp chí “Phương Đông” số 10, 1972, tr. 256- 264; Trần Ngọc Thêm hiệu chỉnh, có tham khảo bản dịch của Nguyễn Tường Minh đăng trong: [Lê Kim Ngân 1974, tr. 216-225]).
Ảnh:Trần Ngọc Thêm sưu tầm và bổ sung.

BẢN DỊCH VIỆT NGỮ II

Ánh sáng mới trên một quá khứ bị lãng quên

Nguyên tác “New Light on a Forgotten Past”

của Tíến Sĩ WILHELM G SOLHEIM II
Giáo Sư Nhân Chủng Học Đại Học Hawaii
National Geographic, Vol. 139, No. 3
Tháng 3 năm 1971
Người dịch: HOÀNG-HOA-NHÂN-KIỆT

NƠI NÀO LÀ NƠI ĐẦU TIÊN LOÀI NGƯỜI TRỒNG TRỌT CÂY TRÁI VÀ ĐÚC ĐỒNG?
Các sử gia Âu Mỹ thường lập luận rằng nền văn minh nhân loại đã bắt rễ từ vùng bán nguyệt Cận Đông hay trên những vùng đồi phụ cận của miền này. Ở đó, từ lâu chúng ta tin rằng con người nguyên thủy đã phát triển canh nông và học cách làm đồ gốm, đồ đồng. Khoa khảo cổ đã hổ trợ niềm tin này một phần vì các nhà khảo cổ đã đào xới, khai quật nhiều nhất vùng bán nguyệt Cận Đông mầu mỡ này. Tuy nhiên, những khám phá bây giờ ở trong miền Đông Nam Á đang buộc chúng ta phải khảo nghiệm lại các truyền thống này. Các vật liệu được khai quật và phân tích trong năm năm qua đã cho thấy rằng con người sống ở vùng Đông Nam Á đã trồng cây, làm đồ gốm, đúc đồng trước tiên trên thế giới, trước tất cả cá vùng khác trên trái đất này.

Những chứng cớ đến từ những địa điểm khảo cổ trong vùng đông bắc và tây bắc Thái-Lan, với những tiếp trợ từ những khai quật ở Đài-Loan, Bắc và Nam Việt-Nam, các khu vực khác ở Thái-Lan, Mã-Lai, Philippine, và ngay cả từ miền Bắc Australia cho thấy các vật liệu được khám phá và khảo nghiệm bằng carbon 14 cho thấy rằng những di tích của những dân tộc mà tổ tiên họ đã trồng cây, chế tạo đồ đá, đồ gốm hàng ngàn năm trước các dân tộc sống ở vùng Cận Đông, Ấn-Độ, và Trung-Hoa.

Trong một địa điểm khai quật ở bắc Thái-Lan, các nhà khảo cổ đã tìm thấy đồng được đúc trong những khuôn đôi vào khoảng từ 2300 năm đến hơn 3000 năm trước tây lịch. Đây là bằng chứng cụ thể cho thấy công việc đúc đồng này đã có trước cả Trung-Hoa hay Ấn-Độ, cũng như trước cả các đồ đồng đúc ở miền Cận Đông mãi tới bây các chuyên gia vẫn còn tin là nơi luyện kim đồng đầu tiên trên thế giới.

Có người nêu ra lý do hỏi rằng nếu sự việc này quá quan trọng như vậy tại sao vai trò của vùng Đông Nam Á cùng các dân tộc trong vùng trong thời tiền sử không được biết đến cho tới bây giờ. Có vài lời giải thích về việc này nhưng lý do chính rất đơn giàn là rất ít cuộc khảo cứu về khảo cổ được hoàn tất trước năm 1950. Ngay cả bây giờ công việc khảo cổ mới tiến hành một cách sơ lược. Các viên chức thuộc địa đã không đặt ưu tịên cao về các khảo cứu của thời tiền sử ở vùng này chỉ có một số ít người nghiên cứu về công việc khảo cổ được huấn luyện về nghề nghiệp cẩn thận. Không một phúc trình toàn bộ nào về các địa điểm khai quật được chấp nhận theo tiêu chuẩn hiện đại được xuất bản trước năm 1950. Thứ nữa là những điều các nhà khảo cổ tìm ra đã được diễn dịch trên một giả thuyết là sự phát triển văn hóa được đông tiến và nam tiến.

Các nhà chuyên môn này đã nêu ra lý thuyết cho rằng nền văn minh nhân loại bắt đầu trong vùng Cận Đông lan ra vùng Nhĩ Hà, Ai-Cập và sau đó là Hy-Lạp và La-Mã. Nền văn minh cũng di chuyển đông tiến tới Ấn-Độ và Trung-Hoa. Đông Nam Á thì quá xa điểm khởi thủy do đó chỉ tiếp nhận nền văn minh sau các vùng trên.

Các người Âu châu tìm ra các nền văn hóa cao ở Ấn-Độ và Trung-Hoa, do đó khi họ tìm ra các kiến trúc và lối sống của các quốc gia trên và miền Đông Nam Á giống nhau, người Âu châu cho rằng Ấn-Độ và Trung-Hoa ảnh hưởng vùng này. Ngay cả tên họ đặt cho vùng là Ấn –Trung cũng phản ảnh lại thái độ của họ.

NHỮNG DI DÂN VÀ “NHỮNG ĐỢT SÓNG VĂN HÓA”

Trong mụcđích tìm về thời tiền sử ở Đông Nam Á, chúng tôi (tiến sĩ SOLHEIM II) cho rằng văn minh Đông Nam Á phải được trải rộng ra tới những khu vực có các nền văn hóa liên hệ. Từ ngữ tiền sử Đông Nam Á mà tôi (tiến sĩ SOLHEIM II) sử dụng chứa đựng hai phần. Phần thứ nhất hay là phần đất chính Đông Nam Á được trải dài từ rặng núi Tần-Lĩnh phía bắc sông Hoàng-Hà của Trung-Hoa cho tới Singapore và từ miền Đông hải tây tiến tới Miến-Điện vào tận Asssam của Ấn-Độ. Phần khác được gọi là quần đảo Đông Nam Á đánh một vòng cung từ quần đảo Andaman ở miền nam Miến-Điện trải dài tới Đài-Loan bao gồm Indonesia và Philippine.

Nhà nhân chủng học người Áo ROBERT HEINE-GELDERN xuất bản đại cương truyền thống về thời tiền sử ở Đông Nam Á vào năm 1932. Ông ta đã đề xướng một loạt những đợt sóng văn hóa có nghĩa là những làn sóng người di cư đã đem tới Đông Nam Á những chủng tộc chính đã được tìm thấy ngày nay ở khu vực này.

Ông ROBERT HEINE-GELDERN cũng cho rằng đợt di dân quan trọng nhất là đợt di dân của những người đã chế ra một dụng cụ hình chữ nhật được gọi là cái rìu. Những người di dân trong đợt sóng này đã đến từ miền bắc Trung-Hoa di cư xuống Đông Nam Á và lan xuống miền Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Philppines, Đài-Loan và Nhật-Bản.

Sau đó ông ROBERT HEINE-GELDERN đã giải quyết về sự du nhập đồ đồng vào Đông Nam Á như sau: ông ta giả thuyết cho rằng đồ đồng nguyên thủy ở Đông Nam Á được du nhập từ Đông Âu khoảng 1000 năm trước tây lịch do những di dân. Ông ROBERT HEINE-GELDERN tin rằng những di dân trong đợt di dân này di chuyển vào phía đông và phía nam vào Trung-Hoa vào thời Tây Châu (khoảng từ năm 1122 – năm 771 trước tây lịch). Những di dân này đã đem đi với họ không những chỉ có các kiến thức về chế tạo đồng, họ còn đem tới nghệ thuật kỷ hà mới với các đường thẳng, đường xoắn ốc, tam giác cùng hình người và thú vật.

Nghệ thuật này đã được ứng dụng trong toàn vùng Đông Nam Á được cả hai ông ROBERT HEINE-GELDERN và BERNHARD KARLGREN (môt học giả Thuỵ-Điển) gọi là nền văn hóa ĐÔNG SƠN theo tên Đông Sơn, một địa điểm ở miền bắc Việt-Nam, phía nam Hà-Nội, nơi mà các trống đồng lớn cùng các cổ vật khác được tìm thấy. Hai ông HEINE-GELDERN và KARKGREN đều cho rằng người dân Đông Sơn đã đem đồng và nghệ thuật trạm trổ kỷ hà vào Đông Nam Á.

Hình trống đồng ĐÔNG-SƠN được chế tạo từ thế kỷ thứ ba hay sớm hơn tại ĐÔNG-SƠN, phía nam HÀ-NỘI, bắc VIỆT-NAM.

Phần lớn thời tiền sử được tái tạo theo truyền thống đó nhưng có một đôi điều đã không phù hợp với truyền thống này. Thí dụ như một số nhà thực vật học nghiên cứu về nguồn gốc thuần hóa của cây cỏ đã đề xướng là Đông Nam Á là một trung tâm thuần hóa cây cỏ rất sớm.

Năm 1952, nhà địa chất học CARL SAWER đã đi một bước xa hơn. Ông CARL SAWER đã đưa ra giả thuyết là cây cỏ đầu tiên trên thế giới được thuần hóa ở Đông Nam Á. Ông SAWER đã phỏng đoán rằng cây cỏ được thuần hóa được mang tới do những người sống trong nền văn hóa trước thời kỳ văn hóa Đông Sơn xa. Những người dân sống trong trong một nền văn hóa nguyên thủy được biết đến như là nền văn hóa HÒA-BÌNH nhưng các nhà khảo cổ thời đó đã không chấp nhận lý thuyết này của ông CARL SAWER.

NHỮNG ĐẬP NƯỚC ĐÃ THÊM VÀO MỘT YẾU TỐ KHẨN CẤP

Khoảng những năm 1920, bà MADELEINE COLANI, một nhà thực học Pháp sau trở thành nhà nghiên cứu Cổ Sinh Vật Học và cuối cùng trở thành nhà Khảo Cổ là người đầu tiên đặt ra sự hiện hữu của nền văn hóa HÒA BÌNH. Bà COLANI căn cứ trên những khai quật của những hầm và động đá ở những địa điểm trong miền Bắc Việt-Nam, những hầm và hang đá này được tìm thấy trước tiên ở ngôi làng trong tỉnh Hòa-Bình.

Những cổ vật tiêu biểu trong những địa điểm này bao gồm những dụng cụ bằng đá hình bầu dục, hình tròn, hay hình tam giác được mài dũa một bên, một bên để nguyên. Những đá mài xinh sắn được tìm thấy ở phần lớn các địa điểm khai quật cùng với nhiều vụn đá. Những tầng trên của của các hầm và động đá thường để giữ các đồ gốm và một ít dụng cụ bằng đá khác với đầu để sử dụng thì sắc bén. Xương thú vât và một số lượng lớn vỏ sò cũng hiện diện.

Các nhà khảo cổ nghĩ rằng đồ gốm cùng với các dụng cụ của nền văn hóa HÒA-BÌNH xuất hiện ngẫu nhiên và do những người có một nền văn hóa cao hơn sống gần đó chế tạo có thể là những nông dân đã di cư từ miền bắc xuống. Các nhà khảo cổ cũng nghĩ rằng những dụng cụ đá mài được học từ người bên ngoài. Nhưng không có địa điểm nào của những nông dân phía bắc được tìm thấy.

Năm 1963, tôi (tiến sĩ SOLHEIM II) đã tổ chức một đoàn liên hợp khảo cổ cấp thời phối hợp giữa BỘ NGHỆ THUẬT THÁI-LAN và ĐẠI HỌC HAWAII để làm công việc cứu vớt khảo cổ ở những khu vực sẽ bị lụt do công việc xây dựng những đập nước mới trên sông CỬU LONG và những chi nhánh của sông này. Chúng tôi (tiến sĩ SOLHEIM II) phải bắt đầu làm việc trong miền bắc THÁI-LAN, nơi những đập nước đầu tiên được xây dựng.

Không có một hệ thống khảo cứu về thời tiền sử ở vùng này được HÒAn tất. Tôi (tiến sĩ SOLHEIM II) cảm thấy cần khẩn cấp bắt đầu hàng loạt khai quật trước khi vùng này chìm ngập dưới nước.

NHỮNG NGẠC NHIÊN ĐẾN TỪ MỘT GÒ ĐẤT KHÔNG ĐÁNG QUAN TÂM
Trong mùa khảo cứu dã ngoại đầu tiên chúng tôi (tiến sĩ SOLHEIM II) đã xác định vị trí của hơn hai mươi địa điểm, trong mùa thứ hai đoàn đã khai quật một vài nơi của các địa điểm này trong khi thử nghiệm các nơi khác; trong năm 1965-1966, chúng tôi (tiến sĩ SOLHEIM II) đã làm một cuộc khai quật chính ở NON NOK THA. Trong lúc thử nghiệm với đồng vị phóng xạ carbon-14 để xác định thời gian của các cổ vật hiện ra vài vấn đề, chúng đã đề xướng một cách mạnh mẽ là có dấu hiệu của sự liên tục về đời sống của con người (với vài sự ngắt quãng) đi ngược về thời gian trước năm 3500 trước tây lịch.

NON NOK THA là một gò đất rộng khoảng sáu mẫu Anh (acre) nhô lên các ruộng lúa bao quanh khoảng sáu bộ Anh (foot). Trong khi làm việc tại đó, chúng tôi (tiến sĩ SOLHEIM II) sống ở làng BAN NA DI, cách gò đất khoảng một hai trăm mét.

Chúng tôi (tiến sĩ SOLHEIM II) làm việc bốn tháng tại nơi khai quật đầu tiên. Ông HAMILTON PARKER thuộc đại học OTAGO, nước TÂN-TÂY-LAN chịu trách nhiệm trong năm đầu tiên. DONN BAYARD, một sinh viên học trò của tiến sĩ SOLHEIM II, trở lại NON NOK THA trong năm 1968 để làm cuộc khai quật thứ hai cho luận án tiến sĩ của ông ta. Từ đó hai đại học OTAGO và HAWAII đã liên tục yểm trợ cho công việc của đoàn liên hợp khảo cổ như một chương tình liên kết phối hợp với bộ NGHỆ THUẬT THÁI-LAN.

Những kết quả của các cuộc khai quật cho tới bây giờ (năm 1971: lời người dịch) đi vào năm thứ 7 đã làm kinh ngạc nhưng mới chỉ mở ra một cách chậm chạp khi những phân tích của chúng tôi tìm ra từ phòng thí nghiệm ở HONOLULU. Ngay khi chúng tôi (tiến sĩ SOLHEIM II) bắt đầu nhận kết quả đồng vị phóng xạ CARBON-14 định vị thời gian, chúng tôi bắt đầu nhận thức rằng địa điểm này là một địa điểm thực sự mở ra một cuộc cách mạng của ngành khảo cổ.

Trong một mảnh gốm vỡ vụn nhỏ hơn 1 inch vuông, chúng tôi đã tìm ra dấu vết của vỏ trấu. Từ thử nghiệm phóng xạ đồng vị CARBON ở một mức trên mảnh gốm này, chúng tôi (tiến sĩ SOLHEIMM II) được biết rằng hạt gạo này có niên đại ít nhất là 3500 năm trước tây lịch. Điều này chứng tỏ rằng lúa gạo đã được trồng tại đây trước cả Trung-Hoa hay Ấn-Độ, nơi một vài nhà khảo cổ cho rằng là nơi thuần hóa lúa gạo đầu tiên, cả ngàn năm.

Từ CARBON phóng xạ đồng vị của than liên hệ, chúng tôi (Tiến sĩ SOLHEIMM II) biết rằng những rìu đồng đúc trong những khuôn đôi bằng sa thạch được làm ra ở NON NOK THA sớm hơn 2300 năm trước tây lịch có thể là 3000 năm trước tây lịch. Đây là hơn 500 năm trước kỹ thuật đúc đồng ở Ấn-Độ, và 1000 năm trước khi đồng được biết đến ở Trung-Hoa. Địa điểm này cũng chứng tỏ là lâu đời hơn những địa điểm ở Cận Đông vẫn được coi là nơi chế tác đồng đầu tiên.

Khuôn chữ nhật mà chúng tôi (tiến sĩ SOLHEIM II) tìm thấy ở NON NOK THA đều theo cặp đôi, chỉ rõ ràng chúng được đặt chung với nhau ở nơi chúng tôi (tiến sĩ SOLHEIM II) tìm ra chứ không phải bị thất lạc hay vứt bỏ. Quan tâm toàn thể khu vực và những lò nấu kim loại bị hư hỏng và những cục đồng nhỏ vương vãi chúng tôi (đoàn tiến sĩ SOLHEIM II) không còn nghi ngờ gì nữa chúng tôi đã khai quật một khu vực đúc đồng, hay chính xác hơn một nhà máy làm rìu cổ.

Những phần của gia súc được chôn chung với những mộ cổ xưa ở NON NOK THA. Những phần này đã được nhận ra như gia súc tương tự như loái bò có u. Điều này chứng tỏ những gia súc đã được thuần hóa sớm ở Đông Á Châu.

CHESTER GORMAN, một sinh viên của tôi ở trường đại học HAWAII, là người xác định vị trí của NON NOK THA bằng cách tìm ra những mảnh gốm đã bị soi mòn trên gò đất. Năm 1965, anh ta trở lại Thái-Lan cho luận án tiến sĩ của anh ta. CHESTER GORMAN muốn thử nghiệm lại giả thuyết do CARL SAWER và các nhà khảo cổ khác cho rằng người dân thuộc nền văn hóa HÒA-BÌNH đã thuần hóa cây cỏ. Anh ta đã khám phá ra HẦM TINH THẦN (SPIRIT CAVE) ở xa về phía bắc biên giới Thái-Lan và Miến-Điện, tại đây CHESTER GORMAN đã tìm ra được những gì anh ta muốn tìm.

HẦM CỦA THẦN CHẾT LÀM VỮNG CHÃI CÁC NIÊN HIỆU

HẦM TINH THẦN (SPIRIT CAVE) trồi lên cao bên cạnh lớp đá vôi nhìn xuống dòng suối chẩy vào sông SALWEEN ở Miến-Điện. Hầm này được dùng như một hầm mộ do đó được mang tên là hầm mộ.

Khi khai quật sàn của hầm mộ, CHESTER GORMAN đã tìm thấy những phần còn lại của cây cỏ hóa than bao gồm hai hạt đậu Hòa-Lan, củ năng (water chestnut), hột ớt, nhũng đoạn dây bầu bí và dưa chuột tất cả những vật này kết hợp với những dụng cụ bằng đá đặc trưng của người dân có nền văn hóa HÒA –BÌNH.

Các mảnh xương của thú vật được cắt ra từng miếng nhỏ không thấy dấu vết cháy chứng tỏ rằng thịt đã được nấu chín tại đây chứ không phải nướng trên ngọn lửa, thịt được sào trong những đồ vật bằng tre xanh vẫn thấy dùng ở Đông Nam Á ngày nay.

Một loạt khảo nghiệm bằng đồng vị phóng xạ Carbon 14 cho thấy các vật liệu tìm ra ở đây có niên hiệu từ khoảng 6000 năm cho tới 9700 năm trước tây lịch. Vẫn còn những cổ vật xưa hơn nằm trong những lớp đất đào sâu hơn chưa xác định được thời gian. Vào khoảng 6600 năm trước tây lịch, các cổ vật này đã được đưa vào địa điểm này. Những cổ vật này bao gồm đồ gốm hoàn chỉnh, sắc xảo và được đánh dấu bằng những sợi dệt trong tiến trình chế tạo, cùng những dụng cụ bằng đá hình chữ nhật được đánh bóng và những lưỡi dao nhỏ. Các dụng cụ và cây cỏ được thuần hóa thuộc nền văn hóa Hòa-Bình được tiếp tục khám phá ra gần đây.

Chúng tôi (Tiến Sĩ SOLHEIM II) quan tâm đến những khám phá tại hầm TINH THẦN (SPIRIT CAVE) ít nhất như là bước khởi đầu để bổ sung cho giả thuyết của CARL SAWER, những cuộc thám hiểm khác đang thêm những chứng cớ của một sự trải rộng và phức tạp của nền văn hóa HÒA-BÌNH. Ông U AUNG THAW, giám đốc cơ quan khảo cổ Miến-Điện đã khai quật trong năm 1969 một địa điểm đáng lưu ý thuộc nền văn hóa HÒA-BÌNH tại những hầm mộ PADAH-LIN ở phía đông Miến-Điện. Địa điểm này chứa đựng nhiều vật khác trong đó có nhiều họa phẩm. Đây là địa điểm xa nhất về hướng tây thuộc nền văn hóa HÒA-BÌNH được báo cáo.

Những cuộc khai quật ở Đài-Loan do một đoàn thám hiểm hỗn hợp của ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA ĐÀI LOAN và ĐẠI HỌC YALE dưới sự hướng dẫn của giáo sư KWANG-CHIH-CHANG thuộc ĐẠI HỌC YALE đã tìm ra một nền văn hóa với những hình dây và những đồ gốm sắc bén, dụng cụ bằng đá đánh bóng, và những phiến đá mỏng được đánh bóng đã xuất hiện từ lâu khoảng 2500 năm trước tây lịch.

Hình nắp bình đựng tro người chết bằng đồng trong thế kỷ thứ hai trước tây lịch từ Vân-Nam, Trung-Hoa diễn tả dân làng trong một buổi lễ giết người tế thần.

VẤN ĐỀ KHÓ GIẢI QUYẾT ĐƯỢC SẮP XẾP PHÙ HỢP VỚI NHAU

Tôi (Tiến Sĩ SOLHEIM II) đã tóm tắt ý kiến về những cuộc khai quật mới cùng những niên hiệu tại đây và các nơi khác, tôi đã không chú ý tới việc nghiên cứu sự tái thiết thời tiền sử ở Đông Nam Á, trong một ngày nào đó có lẽ hai việc này cũng quan trọng ngang nhau. Trong một số bài viết được xuất bản, tôi (Tiến Sĩ SOLHEIM II) đã bắt đầu về việc này. Hầu hết những ý kiến đó, tôi (Tiến Sĩ SOLHEIM II) đề xướng ra như là giả thuyết hay phỏng đoán. Những giả thuyết hoặc phỏng đoán này cần được khảo cứu nhiều thêm để chấp nhận hay bác bỏ.

Trong số những giả thuyết này:

Tôi (Tiến Sĩ SOLHEIM II) đồng ý với SAWER là những người dân thuộc nền văn hóa HÒA-BÌNH là những người đầu tiên trên thế giới đã thuần hóa cây cỏ ở một nơi nào đó trong vùng Đông Nam Á. Việc này cũng chẳng làm tôi (Tiến Sĩ SOLHEIM II) ngạc nhiên nếu sự thuần hóa này bắt đầu sớm nhất khoảng 15000 năm trước tây lịch.

Tôi (Tiến Sĩ SOLHEIM II) đề nghị những dụng cụ bằng đá được tìm thấy ở miền bắc Australia được đo bằng phóng xạ đồng vị Carbon 14 có niên hiệu khoảng 20000 năm trước tây lịch thuộc về nền văn hóa HÒA-BÌNH nguyên thủy.

Trong khi những niên hiệu sớm nhất của những đồ gốm này được biết tới ở Nhật vào khoảng 10000 năm trước tây lịch, tôi (Tiến Sĩ SOLHEIM II) kỳ vọng rằng khi nhiều địa điểm với những đồ gốm chạm trổ hình dây được xác định niên hiệu, chúng ta sẽ tìm ra những người này đã làm ra những loại đồ gốm chắc chắn trước 10000 năm trước tây lịch, và có thể họ đã phát minh ra cách làm đồ gốm.

Truyền thống tái tạo thời tiền sử cua Đông Nam Á cho rằng các di dân từ miền Bắc đem những phát triển quan trọng về kỹ thuật đến vùng Đông Nam Á. Thay vào đó tôi (Tiến Sĩ SOLHEIM II) đề nghị nền văn hóa của kỷ nguyên thứ nhất tân thạch khí (sau thời đồ đá) ở bắc Trung-Hoa được biết đến như là nền văn hóa Yangshao thoát thai từ một nền văn hóa phụ thuộc văn hóa HÒA-BÌNH di chuyển lên phía bắc từ phía bắc của Đông Nam Á vào khoảng thiên niên kỷ thứ 6 hoặc thứ 7 trước tây lịch.

Tôi (Tiến Sĩ SOLHEIM II) đề nghị nền văn hóa sau đó được gọi là văn hóa Lungshan. Đã được phát triển từ nam Trung-Hoa và di chuyển về hướng bắc thay vì đã được giả thuyết là nền văn hóa này lớn mạnh từ văn hóa Yangshao và bùng nổ về hướng đông và đông nam. Cả hai nền văn hóa này đều thóat thai từ văn hóa HÒA-BÌNH.

Thuyền làm bằng thân cây có thể được sử dụng trên sông ngòi Đông Nam Á trước Thiên niên kỷ thứ năm. Có thể không lâu trước 4000 trước tây lịch cây cân bằng được phát minh ở Đông Nam Á thêm vào sự cân bằng cần thiết để đi biển. Tôi (Tiến Sĩ SOLHEIM II) tin rằng phong trào đi khỏi khu vực bằng thuyền bắt đầu khoảng 4000 năm trước tây lịch dẫn đến các cuộc du hành ngẫu nhiên từ Đông Nam Á tới Đài-Loan và Nhật-Bản, đem tới Nhật kỹ thuật trồng khoai môn và các hoa mầu khác.

Vào một khoảng thời gian nào đó trong thiên niên kỷ thứ ba trước tây lịch, những cư dân Đông Nam Á, bấy giờ là những chuyên viên sử dụng thuyền bè, đã đi tới những đảo ở Indonesia và Philippines. Họ đã đem cả một nghệ thuật kỷ hà gồm những đường soắn ốc, hình tam giác, hình chữ nhật trong những kiểu mẫu được dùng trạm trổ trong đồ gốm, đồ gỗ, hình xâm, quần áo bằng vỏ cây, và sau đó là vải dệt. Những mỹ thuật kỷ hà này được tìm thấy ở trên các đồ đồng ĐÔNG-SƠN và đã được giả thuyết là tới từ Đông Âu.

Người dân Đông Nam Á cũng di chuyển về phía tây tới Madagascar khoảng 2000 năm về trước. Điều này xuất hiện như là một cống hiến quan trọng của họ trong sự thuần hóa cây cỏ cho nền kinh tế Đông Phi Châu.

Cũng khoảng thời gian này, sự liên lạc giữa Việt-Nam và Địa Trung Hải bắt đầu có thể bằng đường biển như là kết quả của phát triên giao thương. Một vài đồ đồng khác thường được tìm thấy ở ĐÔNG SƠN đã được giả thuyết có nguồn gốc Địa Trung Hải.

QUÁ KHỨ CÓ THỂ GIÚP THẮP SÁNG HIỆN TẠI

Cách tái kiến trúc thời tiền sử Đông Nam Á được tôi (Tiến Sĩ SOLHEIM II) trình bày ở đây căn cứ trên dữ kiện từ một ít địa điểm khai quật và một sự giải thích lại dữ kiện cũ. Nhiều sự diễn giải khác có thể có được. Nhiều khai quật phong phú, nhiều niên hiệu phong phú ở các địa điểm khai quật đều cần thiết cho thấy nếu đây là cái sườn của công việc tổng quát căn bản này cho được gần hơn với sự tái kiến trúc của HEINE-GELDERN thời tiền sử ở Đông Nam Á. Burma và Assam tuyệt nhiên không được biết đến trong tiền sử, tôi (Tiến Sĩ SOLHEIM II) nghi ngờ chúng là một phần quan trọng của thời tiền sử Đông Nam Á.

Hầu hết những điều cần thiết là nhiều chi tiết hơn về những khu vực nhỏ có những đặc tính riêng biệt. Tăng cường sự khảo sát trong những khu vực nhỏ bằng cách hợp tác việc phát triển văn hóa địa phương và sự chấp nhận tiến hóa môi sinh tìm xem cách sống của người dân phù hợp với sườn của thời tiền sử. Sau cùng, đây là người dân chúng ta (Tiến Sĩ SOLHEIM II và đoàn thám hiểm cua ông) muốn tìm hiểu, và điều thăm dò này có thể giúp chúng ta vài sự thông suốt trong sự phản ứng giữa những người dân Đông Nam Á với nhau và với những đổi thay của họ trong vùng Đông Nam Á.

HOÀNG-HOA-NHÂN-KIỆT
Dịch xong lần đầu năm 1995, sửa chữa và hoàn tất ngày 24 tháng 4 năm 2002
Ánh Sáng Mới Trên Một Quá Khứ Lãng Quên * H.H. Nhân Kiệt
New light On a Forgotton Past * Wilhelm G. Solheim II, Ph.D.

BẢN DỊCH VIỆT NGỮ III

Ánh Sáng Mới Trên Một Quá Khứ Bị Lãng Quên
Loài người đã trồng cây và đúc đồng từ đâu trước ?
Các sử gia Âu Mỹ thường đưa ra lý thuyết cho rằng nền văn minh đầu tiên cuả nhân loại bắt nguồn từ vùng bình nguyên Luỡng Hà (Fertile Crescent) ở Cận Đông hoặc trên các sườn đồi trong khu vực.
Từ lâu chúng ta tin rằng con người sơ khai tại nơi nầy đã phát triển nông nghiệp, học cách làm đồ gốm và đồ đồng. Ngành khảo cổ cũng yểm trợ cho sự tin tuởng đó vì lý do vùng Lưỡng Hà là nơi được các nhà khảo cổ đào bới tích cực nhất.
Tuy nhiên, hiện nay các khám phá mới ở Đông Nam Á buộc chúng ta phải xét lại những truyền thống suy nghĩ nầy. Vật liệu đã khai quật được trong suốt năm năm qua và đem phân tích, chứng tỏ rằng con người tại đây đã trồng cây, làm đồ gốm và đúc đồ đồng cũng sớm như bất cứ nơi nào trên trái đất. Những chứng cớ phát xuất từ những điạ điểm khảo cổ trong vùng đông bắc và tây bắc Thái Lan, với sự yểm trợ từ các khai quật ở Đài Loan, Bắc và Nam Việt Nam, những vùng khác của Thái Lan, Phi luật Tân và ngay cả bắc Úc Châu. Những vật liệu đã được khám phá và định tuổi bằng Carbon 14 là những di tích văn hoá cuả những dân tộc mà tổ tiên của họ đã trồng cây, làm dụng cụ bằng đá mài và đồ gốm hàng ngàn năm trước những dân tộc sống ở Cận Đông, Ấn Độ hay Trung Hoa.
Tại một địa điểm vùng bắc Thái Lan, đồ đồng đã được đúc trong khuôn đôi vào thời điểm 2.300 năm trước Công Nguyên (2300 B.C.) - có thể còn sớm hơn nữa là 3.000 năm trước Công Nguyên (3000 B.C.). Như vậy nơi đây thực sự đã có những công trình sớm hơn ở Ấn Độ hoặc Trung Hoa và cũng có thể trước cả đồ đồng đầu tiên đúc ở Cận Đông, một địa bàn, cho đến hiện nay hầu hết các học giả đều đinh ninh rằng là nơi khởi thủy chế tạo đồ đồng.
Người ta cũng có thể đưa ra một câu hỏi hợp lý rằng : Nếu điều nầy quá quan trọng như thế, tại sao vai trò của Đông Nam Á trong thời tiền sử cho đến ngày nay vẫn chưa được biết đến ?
Có nhiều cách giải thích, nhưng lý do chính và đơn giản là rất ít sự nghiên cứu khảo cổ được thực hiện tại vùng nầy trước năm 1950. Ngay cả bây giờ công cuộc nghiên cứu chỉ mới bắt đầu. Các viên chức thuộc điạ đã không đặt trọng tâm vào việc khảo cứu tiền sử và chỉ vài người điều nghiên là có sự huấn luyện chuyên nghiệp. Không có một bản phúc trình đầy đủ về địa điểm khảo cứu có thể chấp nhận được theo tiêu chuẩn hiện hành, được công bố trước năm 1950.
Thứ hai, những gì họ tìm thấy được giải thích theo giả định rằng đây là luồng văn hoá chuyển dịch về hướng đông và hướng nam. Họ đặt ra lý thuyết cho rằng nền văn minh bắt nguồn từ Trung Đông, nở hoa tại Mesopotamie và Ai Cập sau đó tràn vào Hy Lạp và La Mã. Nền văn minh nầy cũng tiến qua phương đông vào đến Ấn Độ và Trung Hoa. Đông Nam Á xa hơn điểm xuất phát nên tiếp nhận nền văn hoá nầy sau.
Người Âu Châu tìm thấy những nét văn hoá tiến bộ ở Ấn Độ và Trung Hoa. Khi họ nhìn thấy những tương đồng trong kiến trúc và đời sống vương giả của những quốc gia nầy và Đông Nam Á, họ cho rằng Đông Nam Á chịu ảnh hưởng của Ấn Độ và Trung Hoa. Kể cả tên đặt cho vùng nầy là bán đảo Trung-Ấn (Indo-China) cũng phản ánh thái độ nầy rồi.
Di Dân và "Các Làn Sóng Văn Hoá"
Đối với mục đích cuả tiền sử học, điều mà chúng ta thường suy nghĩ về Đông Nam Á phải được triển khai như thế nào để bao gồm các nền văn hoá liên hệ. Đông Nam Á tiền sử, như thuật ngữ được dùng, gồm có hai phần :
- Phần thứ nhất là "Lục Điạ Đông Nam Á", trải dài từ Núi Tần Lĩnh, phiá bắc sông Dương Tử thuộc Trung Quốc đến Singapore và từ biển Nam Hải tiến về hướng tây, xuyên qua Miến Điện vào đến Assam.
- Phần thứ hai gọi là "Đông Nam Á Hải Đảo" là một vòng cung từ những đảo Andaman phía nam Miến Điện bao quanh đến Đài Loan gồm cả Nam Dương và Phi Luật Tân.
Robert Heine-Geldern, một nhà nhân chủng học ngươì Áo, năm 1952, đã xuất bản một kỷ yếu về Đông Nam Á thời tiền sử. Ông nhắc đến một loạt "các làn sóng văn hoá" - đó là các cuộc di cư cuả con người – đưa đến Đông Nam Á những dân tộc chính mà ta thấy hiện nay. Theo ông, làn sóng quan trọng nhất là lớp người đã chế tạo ra một dụng cụ bằng đá hình chữ nhật được gọi là adz từ miền bắc Trung Hoa vào đến Đông Nam Á và từ đó trải rộng khắp bán đảo Mã Lai, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Phi Luật Tân, Đài Loan và Nhật Bản.
Sau đó, Hein-Geldern đề cập đến sự xuất hiện của đồ đồng ở Đông Nam Á. Ông đặt giả thuyết rằng nguồn gốc xuất phát thời đại đồ đồng cuả Đông Nam Á là do di dân từ Đông Âu vào khoảng năm 1.000 trước Công Nguyên. Ông tin rằng các di dân này di chuyển về hướng Đông và hướng Nam vào đến Trung Hoa trong thời nhà Tây Chu trong khoảng 1122 – 771 trước Công Nguyên. Họ mang theo trong người không phải chỉ có kiến thức chế tạo đồ đồng mà còn có thêm nghệ thuật tạo hình mới mẻ. Họ đã trang trí đồ đồng với những mô thức kỷ hà học, hình trôn ốc, hình tam giác, hình chữ nhật cũng như là các quan cảnh hoặc hình người và thú vật.
Áp dụng vào Đông Nam Á, cả hai ông Heine-Geldern và Bernhard Karlgren, một học giả người Thụy Điển đều gọi đây là nền văn hoá Đông Sơn, một địa danh ở miền bắc Việt Nam, phiá nam Hà Nội nơi đó nhiều trống đồng lớn và các nghệ phẩm khác đã được đào lên. Cả hai ông đều cảm thấy cư dân Đông Sơn đã mang đồ đồng và hình thái nghệ thuật kỷ hà học vào vùng Đông Nam Á. Các nhà tiền sử học hầu hết đều noi theo sự tái dụng truyền thống nầy, nhưng có một vài sự kiện không phù hợp lắm. Thí dụ một vài nhà thực vật học - khi nghiên cứu về nguồn gốc cây cỏ đã được thuần hoá – đã gợi ý rằng Đông Nam Á đã từng là trung tâm thuần hoá thảo mộc rất sớm. Năm 1952, Carl Sauer, một nhà điạ lý học người Mỹ, còn đi xa hơn nữa. Ông đưa ra giả thuyết cho rằng sự thuần hoá thảo mộc đầu tiên trên thế giới xảy ra tại Đông Nam Á. Ông suy đoán rằng thuần hoá cây cỏ đã được thực hiện do những người sống trước cả thời kỳ Đông Sơn rất lâu. Những người mà nền văn hoá cổ sơ vẫn được biết đến là nền văn hoá Hoà Bình. Các nhà khảo cổ tức thời không chấp nhận lý thuyết cuả Sauer.
Những bờ đập làm tăng thêm yếu tố khẩn cấp
Sự hiện hữu cuả nền văn hoá Hoà Bình đã được nhắc đến lần đầu tiên năm 1920 do một nhà thực vật học người Pháp, bà Madeleine Colani, sau nầy trở thành nhà cổ sinh vật học và khảo cổ học. Quan điểm cuả bà căn cứ trên những khai quật từ nhiều hang động tại miền Bắc Việt Nam mà lần khai quật tìm thấy đầu tiên gần Hoà Bình.
Các nghệ phẩm tiêu biểu ở những điạ điểm nầy gồm có các dụng cụ bằng đá hình bầu dục, hình tròn hoặc hình tam giác không đều, chỉ được mài một bên và phiá bên kia để nguyên. Đá mài nhẵn được tìm thấy tại hầu hết các điạ điểm và nhiều mẫu đá mỏng khác. Ở tầng cao hơn bên trên là đồ gốm và một vài dụng cụ bằng đá hơi khác một chút với một đầu sắc bén. Xương thú vật và số luợng lớn vỏ sò cũng tìm thấy nơi đây.
Các nhà khảo cổ cảm thấy rằng đồ gốm được sắp xếp ngẫu nhiên với những dụng cụ của văn hoá Hoà Bình có thể do những cư dân văn minh hơn sống gần đó, có thể là những nông dân di cư đến từ phương bắc. Các nhà khảo cổ cũng cảm thấy rằng phần đá mài của dụng cụ bằng đá được học lại từ các cư dân bên ngoài khu vực. Tuy nhiên không tìm thấy bất kỳ một quang cảnh nào của nông dân đến từ phương bắc.
Năm 1963, tôi (tiến sĩ Wilhelm G. Solheim II ) tổ chức một phái đoàn liên hợp gồm Bộ Nghệ Thuật Thái Lan và Viện Đại Học Hawaii nhằm cứu vãn công trình khảo cổ trong các vùng có thể bị ngập nước bởi các đê đập mới trên sông Mê-Kông và các phụ lưu cuả sông này. Chúng tôi bắt đầu làm việc tại vùng bắc Thái Lan, nơi mà những đập đầu tiên được xây cất.
Trong khu vực đã không có một cuộc khảo sát qui mô nào về thời tiền sử được thực hiện. Tôi cảm thấy cần phải bắt đầu ngay một loạt khai quật trước khi nhiều phần trong vùng đất nầy bị ngập chìm dưới làn nước.
Những kinh ngạc từ một gò đất tầm thường
Trong suốt mùa đầu tiên làm việc tại hiện trường, chúng tôi xác định vị trí hơn hai mươi địa điểm. Qua muà thứ hai, chúng tôi đào bới vài địa điểm và trắc nghiệm một vài nơi khác. Và trong thời gian 1965 – 1966 chúng tôi thực hiện công tác khai quật chính tại Non Nok-Tha. Trong khi giám định niên đại bằng carbon 14, đã phát hiện một vài vấn đề gợi ý mạnh mẽ rằng nơi đây từ lâu đã có sự trú ngụ cuả con người (không liên tục) trước cả 3.500 năm trước Công Nguyên (3500 B.C.)
Non Nok-Tha là một gò đất diện tích khoản 6 mẫu Anh và nhô lên chừng 6 feet giữa những cánh đồng trồng lúa. Trong khi làm việc, chúng tôi sống trong một ngôi làng nhỏ người Thái-Lào tại Ban Na Di cách gò đất vài trăm thước. Chúng tôi dành ra bốn tháng cho việc khai quật đầu tiên. Ông Hamilton Parker thuộc trường Đại Học Otago, Tân Tây Lan phụ trách năm đầu tiên. Ông Don Bayard, một sinh viên tiến sĩ cuả tôi (TS W G. Solheim II) trở lại Nok Non-Tha năm 1968 tiếp tục khai quật lần thứ hai cho luận án tiến sĩ. Kể từ đó hai trường Đại Học Otaga và Hawaii tiếp tục yểm trợ công việc cuả chúng tôi tại Thái Lan như là một chương trình phối hợp với Bộ Mỹ Nghệ Thái Lan.
Kết quả cuả những khám quật đó, hiện đã bước sang năm thứ bảy, thật đáng ngạc nhiên, nhưng chỉ được phát hiện rất chậm theo sự phân tích những khám phá của chúng tôi trong phòng thí nghiệm tại Honolulu. Khi chúng tôi nhận được xác định niên đại bằng Carbon 14, chúng tôi bắt đầu nhận ra rằng đây là một địa điểm thực sự mở ra một cuộc cách mạng.
Trong một mảnh vỡ khoảng vài phân vuông từ một lọ bằng gốm, chúng tôi tìm thấy một ấn tích vỏ trấu cuả hạt luá, Oryza sativa. Do xác định niên đại bằng carbon cuả một vật bị chôn vùi ở tầng trên cuả lọ gốm nầy, chúng tôi biết rằng lọ gốm và hạt lúa được định tuổi, trễ lắm cũng phải 3,500 năm trước Công Nguyên ( 3500 TCN ). Nơi đây hạt luá đã có mặt hàng ngàn năm trước hạt lúa đã được tìm thấy tại Ấn Độ hoặc Trung Hoa, những nơi mà các nhà khảo cổ đã xác quyết rằng đã thuần hoá giống lúa trước tiên.
Từ việc xác định niên đại bằng carbon lớp than kết dính, chúng tôi biết rằng những rìu bằng đồng, được đúc trong khuôn đôi bằng sa thạch, đã chế tạo tại Non Nok-Tha sớm hơn năm 2,300 trước Công Nguyên – có thể trước năm 3000 trước Công Nguyên . Như vậy là 500 năm sớm hơn đồ đồng được biết lần đầu tiên đúc tại Ấn Độ và 1,000 năm sớm hơn đồ đồng được biết ở Trung Hoa. Điạ điểm nầy cũng chứng tỏ là cổ hơn các địa điểm ở vùng Cận Đông, khu vực mà từ trước tới nay vẫn được xem là nơi khởi phát chế tạo đồ đồng.
Các khuôn đúc hình chữ nhật mà chúng tôi tìm thấy ở Non Nok-Tha đều được xếp thành từng đôi chứng tỏ rằng họ đã đặt chúng sát nhau để không bị mất mát hay vứt bừa bãi. Xem qua các nồi nấu kim loại còn nguyên vẹn hay bị vỡ và rất nhiều mẫu đồng vụn rải rác chung quanh, chúng tôi tin rằng đã đào trúng một nơi đúc đồng – đúng hơn là một xưởng đúc rìu thời xa xưa.
Những mảnh cơ thể trâu bò cũng được vùi trong đất với những đồ vật mai táng trước kia tại Non Nok-Tha. Những phần cơ thể đó được xác định là những súc vật được gia hoá tương tự với nhóm bò Zebu (Bos Indicus). Điều nầy xác định rằng trâu bò được người chăn nuôi sớm nhất ở phía đông Á Châu. Ông Chester Gorman, một sinh viên của tôi ở trường Đại học Hawaii là người đã xác định đúng vị trí Non Nok-Tha bằng cách tìm ra các mảnh gốm vỡ đã bị xoi mòn từ gò đất.
Năm 1965, ông ta trở lại Thái Lan tiếp tục luận án tiến sĩ. Ông ta muốn thử nghiệm sự gợi ý của Carl Sauer và những người khác về sự thuần hoá cây cỏ cuả cư dân văn hoá Hòa Bình. Tại vùng cực bắc Thái Lan, gần biên giới Miến Điện, ông tìm thấy một Hang Thần – và đấy là điều ông đang tìm kiếm.
Hang Tử Thần tiết lộ những thời điểm kinh ngạc
Hang Thần đứng sừng sững trên sườn một gò đá vôi, nhìn xuống một dòng suối chảy vào sông Salween ở Miến Điện. Hang đã được người xưa xử dụng làm nơi an táng nên được đặt tên như vậy.
Đào sâu vào nền hang, Gorman tìm thấy những di tích thực vật đã bị carbon hoá gồm có hai hạt đậu, một hạt đậu giống như đậu Hòa Lan, một củ năng, một hạt tiêu, và những mẫu bầu bí và dưa leo, tất cả đều có liên hệ với dụng cụ bằng đá đặc trưng cuả văn hoá Hoà Bình.
Những di tích cuả xương thú vật, được chặt ra thành những mảnh nhỏ nhưng không bị đốt cháy, gợi ý rằng thịt ở đây được nấu, nấu nhừ chứ không phải thui hoặc nướng vào lửa, có thể thịt được bỏ vào trong một ống tre tươi – như vẫn còn thông dụng hiện nay ở Đông Nam Á.
Một loạt xác định bằng carbon 14 cho biết địa điểm nầy có niên đại trong khoảng từ 6.000 năm trước Công Nguyên trở lên đến 9.700 năm trước Công Nguyên, và dưới những tầng đất sâu hơn nữa, vật dụng càng xưa cổ hơn. Vào khoảng năm 6.600 trước Công Nguyên những yếu tố mới đã xuất hiện tại địa điểm nầy. Các yếu tố nầy gồm có những đồ gốm chế tạo khéo léo, đánh bóng, chạm trổ và được đánh dấu bằng những sợi dây dùng trong khi chế tạo. Những dụng cụ bằng đá hình chữ nhật một phần được mài nhẵn; những con dao nhỏ bằng đá phiến. Dụng cụ cuả nền văn hoá Hòa Bình và những di tích cây cỏ tiếp tục được tìm thấy với vật liệu mới mẻ hơn.
Chúng tôi có thể xem các sự kiện tìm thấy ở Hang Thần như là chứng tich đầu tiên cho giả thuyết cuả nhà nghiên cứu Carl Sauer, và những cuộc thám quật khác làm tăng thêm tính hiển nhiên về nền văn hoá Hòa Bình phức tạp và phân tán rộng rãi. Năm 1969, ông U Aung Thaw, Giám Đốc Viện Nghiên Cứu Khảo Cổ Miến Điện đã đào được một địa điểm đáng kể tại những hang động Padah Lin ở phiá đông Miến Điện. Địa điểm nầy có chứa nhiều hình vẽ trong hang, giữa những thứ khác. Đây là vùng xa nhất về phía tây mà nền văn hoá Hoà Bình được báo cáo.
Những cuộc khai quật ở Đài Loan do một phái bộ hỗn hợp Đại Học Quốc Gia Đài Loan và Đại Học Yale dưới sự hướng dẫn của giáo sư Kwang-chih Chang cuả trường Đại Học Yale đã cho thấy một một nền văn hoá với đồ gốm đuợc chạm trổ và có hình sợi xoắn, dụng cụ bằng đá mài, và các mũi đá mài nhọn đã tồn tại từ lâu trước cả năm 2.500 trước Công Nguyên.
Các câu đố bí ẩn bắt đầu ăn khớp với nhau
Căn cứ trên những thám quật mới và sự xác định niên đại mà tôi vừa tóm lược tại đây và những nơi khác có lẽ cũng quan trọng như nhau. Thật là lý thú khi suy nghĩ bằng cách nào thời tiền sử Đông Nam Á sẽ được tái tạo trong một ngày nào đó. Trong một số báo đã xuất bản, tôi đã bắt đầu công ố bviệc nầy. Hầu hết các ý tưởng đã đề xuất cần đuợc ghi nhận như là giả thuyết hoặc ước đoán. Những điều sau nầy cần được nghiên cứu kỹ lưỡng để xác minh hoặc phản bác, gồm có :
· Tôi đồng ý với Sauer rằng sự thuần hoá cây cỏ đầu tiên trên thế giới do con người thuộc nền văn hoá Hoà Bình trong vùng Đông Nam Á. Tôi cũng không ngạc nhiên nếu điều nầy bắt đầu từ năm 15.000 trước Công Nguyên.
· Tôi gợi ý rằng những dụng cụ bằng đá mài sắc cạnh được tìm thấy ở bắc Úc Đại Lợi và được xác nhận bằng carbon 14 có niên đại khoảng 20.000 năm trước Công Nguyên là phát tích cuả văn hoá Hoà Bình.
· Trong khi hiện nay các đồ gốm được định tuổi sớm nhất là đồ gốm Nhật Bản xuất hiện vào khoảng 10.000 năm trước Công Nguyên, tôi kỳ vọng rằng khi nhiều địa điểm thuộc văn hoá Hoà Bình với những đồ gốm được định tuổi, chúng ta sẽ nhận thấy rằng những đồ gốm do cư dân văn hoá Hoà Bình đã có từ trước cả 10.000 năm trước Công Nguyên và cũng có thể họ là những người phát minh đồ gốm.
· Sự tái tạo thời tiền sử Đông Nam Á theo truyền thống cho rằng những lớp di dân từ phương bắc đã đem những phát triển quan trọng về kỹ thuật đến Đông Nam Á. Thay vào đó, tôi đề xuất rằng thời tân thạch (sau thời kỳ đồ đá) cuả văn hoá Hoa Bắc được biết là Ngưỡng Thiều được nẩy nở từ nền văn hoá Hoà Bình di chuyển lên hướng bắc, khởi nguyên từ bắc Đông Nam Á vào thiên niên kỷ (millennium) thứ sáu hoặc thứ bảy trước Công Nguyên.
· Tôi cũng gợi ý rằng nền văn hoá tiếp theo sau gọi là văn hoá Long Sơn, được xem như phát khởi từ Ngưỡng Thiều ở vùng Hoa Bắc và nở rộ về phía đông và đông nam, thay vì phát triển vào Hoa Nam và chuyển lên hướng bắc . Cả hai nền văn hoá nầy đều phát nguyên từ nền tảng của văn hoá Hoà Bình.
· Các thuyền độc mộc có lẽ đã được xử dụng trên các sông ngòi ở vùng Đông Nam Á từ lâu trước thiên niên kỷ thứ năm. Có lẽ khoảng 4,000 năm trước Công Nguyên, rầm nách cập hai bên hông thuyền (outrigger) được phát minh ở Đông Nam Á, gia tăng phần vững chãi cần thiết khi di chuyển trên mặt biển. Tôi tin rằng sự ra đi bằng thuyền bắt đầu khoảng 4.000 năm trước Công Nguyên đưa đến những cuộc du hành bất ngờ từ Đông Nam Á đến Đài Loan và Nhật Bản, đem vào Nhật Bản nghề trồng khoai sọ và có thể những hoa màu khác nữa.
· Trong suốt thiên niên kỷ thứ ba trước Công Nguyên những dân tộc thiện nghệ xử dụng thuyền ở Đông Nam Á đã đi vào các hải đảo thuộc Nam Dương và Phi Luật Tân. Họ mang theo hình thái nghệ thuật kỹ hà – hình xoắn ốc và hình tam giác trong những mô thức dải băng – đã được dùng trong đồ gốm, chạm trổ trên gỗ, hình xâm và sau đó là vải dệt. Đây cũng là các phác hoạ về nghệ thuật kỹ hà đã được tìm thấy trên các trống đồng Đông Sơn và có giả thuyết là đến từ miền đông Âu Châu.
· Người Đông Nam Á cũng đi về hướng tây đến Madagascar vào khoảng 2.000 năm trước đây. Điều nầy cho thấy rằng họ đã đóng góp một số cây trồng quan trọng đã được thuần hoá cho nền kinh tế phía đông châu Phi.
· Cùng thời gian nầy bắt đầu có sự giao tiếp giữa Việt Nam và Địa Trung Hải, có thể là do đường biển mà kết quả là phát triển mậu dịch. Nhiều vật dụng bằng đồng khác, thường đã được tìm thấy ở Đông Sơn rất có thể phát nguyên từ miền đông Địa Trung Hải.
Quá Khứ Có Thể Gíúp Soi Sáng Hiện Tại
Sự tái tạo hiện nay về thời tiền sử Đông Nam Á mà tôi vừa trình bày trên đây được căn cứ trên các dữ kiện từ một vài địa điểm và từ sự tái diễn dịch các dữ kiện cũ. Những sự giải thích khác đều có thể nghĩ đến. Cần có thêm nhiều địa điểm khai quật và xác định niên đại để nhìn xem tổng quát khung cảnh nầy có đi sát với sự kiện đang xảy ra, hơn là sự tái tạo của ông Heine-Geldern. Trong lãnh vực tiền sử, Miến Điện và Assam hoàn toàn không được biết đến và tôi ngờ rằng các nơi đó có điều gì rất quan trọng trong thời tiền sử Đông Nam Á.
Cần nhất là phải có nhiều chi tiết hơn nữa tại các khu vực nhỏ, được xác định rõ ràng. Bằng vào sự tích cực khảo sát trong mỗi khu vực nhỏ có thể tìm thấy sự phát triển văn hoá địa phương và sự thích nghi với sinh thái để xem các cư dân đã hội nhập vào khung cảnh của thời tiền sử như thế nào. Sau cùng, con người là điều chúng tôi muốn tìm hiểu và những tài liệu nầy có thể cho chúng ta những suy nghiệm về sự giao tiếp giữa con nguời với nhau và với thế giới đang biến đổi tại Đông Nam Á . /
(New light on a forgotten past)
Tác giả : Wilhelm G. Solheim II, Ph.D.
Giáo sư nhân chủng học, Đại học Hawaii

***

Một vài ý cuả người dịch :
- Bài viết 'New Light on a Forgotten Past' đăng tải lần đầu tiên trên tạp chí National Geographic phát hành tháng 3 năm 1971 và hiện lưu trữ trên mạng, có giảm bớt một số hình ảnh minh chứng so với bản in, đó là: (1) Sơ đồ so sánh những khám phá cuả các học giả ngày trước với những tài liệu cuả tác giả đang tìm thấy cùng chung hạng mục (đá mài, ngũ cốc, đồ gốm, lúa gạo, đầu rìu bằng đồng ) có ước đoán về niên đại sớm hơn nhiều ngàn năm. (2) Hình chụp một lọ gốm có hoa văn xoáy trôn ốc do một nông dân người Thái Lan đào được gần Udon Thani, đông bắc Thái Lan có niên đại vào khoảng 4.700 trước Công Nguyên . (3) Hình chụp một chùm vòng đồng hoen gỉ còn giữ chặt bên trong một xương cánh tay, thu hoạch từ Non Nok Tha. Di tích được tìm thấy giữa những cơ thể khác có ít hoặc không có trang sức nên tác giả ước đoán rằng nơi đây vào thiên niên kỷ thứ hai trước Công Nguyên, đã là một xã hội được tổ chức hoàn chỉnh gồm nhiều giai tầng.
- Tác giả ( Wilhelm G. Solheim II ) là một nhà khoa học, ý tứ và văn pháp tế nhị, dè dặt, làm cho công tác chuyển ngữ vất vả khi cố gắng theo sát với nguyên tác .
- Từ thế kỷ trước đã có một số học giả tây phương và trường Viễn Đông Bác Cổ đưa ra những lý thuyết về một nền văn hoá Đông Nam Á với những chi tiết khác nhau.Vào thập niên 1960 trở về sau, nhiều học giả miền Nam như giáo sư Nguyễn đăng Thục, Nghiêm Thẫm, Lương kim Định, Bình nguyên Lộc… biên soạn nhiều tác phẩm thắp sáng lên văn hoá Đông Sơn, văn hoá Hoà Bình.
- Sách giáo khoa ' ANCIENT WORLD, Adventures In Time and Place ' dành cho học sinh trung học Mỹ cuả công ty Mc Graw Hill, phần nói về con người trên địa cầu dựa trên lý thuyết cuả Jonathan Leakey cho rằng người cổ sơ homo habilis phát khởi từ Tanzania, Phi Châu khoảng 2.2 triệu năm trước, và trong hành trình tiến hoá, con người chia thành ba nhóm đi về Âu Châu, Trung Á và Cận Đông. Từ Cận Đông con người tiếp tục phân đôi, một nhánh tiến lên Bắc Châu Á vượt qua eo biển Bering đổ vào Châu Mỹ từ Bắc xuống Nam, một nhánh đi vào Đông Nam Châu Á lan tràn đến các đảo Indonesia và Úc Châu.
- Sự sinh sống lâu dài cuả con người trong khu vực với những nét đặc thù về nhân hình được các nhà nhân chủng học nghiên cứu và phân chia thành nhiều chủng tộc, mỗi học giả một quan niệm. Johann Fredrich Blumenbach, giáo sư môn cơ thể tỷ giảo (comparative anatomy) của Đại học Gottingen (Đức quốc) trong tác phẩm "On the Natural Varieties of Mankind (1776) khảo sát về xương sọ, phân chia loài người thuộc năm chủng tộc liệt kê như sau : Caucasian hay là giống trắng, Mongolian hay là giống vàng, Malayan hay là giống nâu, Negroid hay là giống đen, American hay là giống đỏ. Lý thuyết nầy cũng được các nhà khoa học tiếp theo góp ý.
- Năm 2007, tiến sĩ Keith Dobney thuộc khoa khảo cổ Đại học Durham (Anh quốc) trong công trình nghiên cứu về gene giữa heo hiện nay ở Việt Nam và heo các hải đảo trong vùng nam Thái Bình Dương, nhận thấy có mối liên quan rõ ràng nên đưa ra nhận định rằng các cư dân sống trên các đảo nầy đến từ Việt Nam và mang theo gia súc.
Một sơ đồ trình bày ngôn ngữ trên thế giới (Language Family of the World) phát hành năm 1999 cuả hai giáo sư Joseph Greenberg và Meritt Ruhlen thuộc trường đại học Stanford đã xếp tiếng Việt và tiếng Khmer vào nhóm Austroasiatic, cùng ngữ tộc với các tiếng Tagalog, Malay, Javanese, Malagasy. Fijian, Samoan, Tahitian, Miaori, Hawaiian, Thái, Lào, Hmong, Miến, gồm 1175 ngôn ngữ và do 293 triệu người xử dụng.
- Như vậy, phần lục điạ phía đông Châu Á, từ xưa đã hiện hữu hai dòng giống Mongol và Malay. Khi tổ chức xã hội ngày càng hoàn chỉnh, sự sinh tồn trở nên phức tạp, người Mongol hay là Hán tộc đã xua đuổi người Malay hay là Bách Việt ra khỏi điạ bàn phì nhiêu, màu mỡ. Rời khỏi Trung Thổ , họ thành lập các quốc gia trong vùng Đông Nam Châu Á. Những nhà nghiên cứu nhân chủng không khỏi ngạc nhiên khi thấy một khu vực có vẻ hỗn tạp nhất nếu nhìn bên ngoài, lại cũng là nơi tương đối rất thuần nhất nếu đào sâu bới rễ bên trong. Thành phần dân số chính cấu tạo nên tập thể Đông Nam Á ngày nay đều bắt nguồn từ chủng tộc Bách Việt mà các nhà nhân chủng học tây phương khi phân loại thường gọi là Indonesian hay Malay.
Ngay trong địa phận Trung Hoa, hai tỉnh phiá nam là Quảng Tây và Vân Nam các sắc dân thuộc chủng tộc Bách Việt vẫn còn hiện diện đáng kể tại các khu tự trị. Tỉnh Quảng Tây, diện tích 236.700 km2, dân số khoảng 49 triệu người; gồm có Hán : 62% , Zhuang: 32% , Yao: 3% , Miao: 1% … Tỉnh Vân Nam với diện tích 394.000 km2 ( lớn hơn Việt Nam ), dân số khoảng 45 triệu người; gồm có Hán : 67% , Yi: 11% , Bai: 3.6% , Hani: 3.4%, Zhuang: 2.7% , Miao: 2.5% , Hui: 1.5% , …Tại đảo Hải Nam, dân số gốc Bách Việt gồm có ngươì Li 16% , người Miao và Zhuang 1% .
- Lịch sử Trung Hoa là một chuỗi chiến tranh chinh phục mở rộng bờ cõi về phương tây và phương nam. Con đường tơ lụa đã đi vào lịch sử; lãnh thổ hoang vắng, kín đáo, hiểm trở miền tây được xem là vành đai chiến lược - phòng ngự và tiến công - trong khi Đông Nam Á hiện ra một khu vực sinh động lôi cuốn sự quan tâm cuả toàn thế giới.
Trung Hoa ngày nay là một cường quốc cộng sản, tỏ ra khôn khéo trong chính sách ngoại giao với các nước Đông Nam Á, riêng đối với Việt Nam, một vị trí giao lưu quan trọng họ có sự sắp xếp, tính toán kỹ lưỡng.
Ngay sau khi nắm quyền thống trị toàn luc địa (1949), đảng cộng sản Trung Hoa áp dụng mọi phương cách lũng đoạn đảng cộng sản Việt Nam. Sự chi viện trong cuộc chiến tranh Việt Pháp, chiến tranh xâm chiếm miền Nam là cơ hội để Trung cộng :
+ Cài cắm tư tưởng và sách luợc Mao trạch Đông.
+ Bố trí nhân sự trong các cấp bộ cuá đảng cộng sản V.N.
+ Len lõi vào xã hội Việt Nam trên mọi phương diện và khắp nơi.
Các cơ quan truyền thông thường nhắc đến việc Trung cộng dùng vũ lực cưỡng chiếm quần đảo Hoàng Sa, một phần quần đảo Trường Sa và thái độ ngang ngược áp đảo cộng sản Việt Nam đối với chủ quyền về lảnh thổ, lảnh hải. Quốc tế cũng lưu ý theo dõi Trung cộng tăng cường hạm đội Nam hải, cả về phẩm chất lẫn số lượng; tồn trử hoả tiễn và vũ khí nguyên tử tại căn cứ Tam Sa, đảo Hải Nam giữ thế thượng phong trong việc tranh chấp vùng tây Thái Bình Dương bằng bất cứ phương tiện nào với bất cứ nước nào, cường quốc nào. (Ghi chú : khoảng cách từ Hải Nam đến Hà Nội ngắn hơn 1/3 khoảng cách từ Hải Nam đến Manila và từ Hải Nam đến Sàigòn gần hơn 1/2 đến Kula Lumpur ).
Tuy nhiên có những sự việc ít ồn ào nhưng thật sự là mối hiểm nguy đối với đời sống lâu dài cuả một dân tộc.
Hai sông lớn Hồng Hà và Cửu Long tạo nên hai đồng bằng bắc và nam Việt Nam đang gặp nhiều tai họa từ lãnh thổ Trung cộng. Trầm trọng nhất là dòng sông Cửu Long đang bị các đập thủy điện của Trung Hoa, Thái, Lào chia nước đồng thời nhận lãnh những phế liệu kỹ nghệ và nông nghiêp từ thượng nguồn Vân Nam cuồn cuộn mang về gây ô nhiễm đất đai, nước ngầm, huỷ hại sinh vật và con người sinh sống từ đất liền đến ven biển nam phần Việt Nam.
Tin tức từ trong nước cho biết hiện nay có rất nhiều thanh niên gốc Hoa mua chuộc các cơ quan hành chánh và an ninh điạ phương để cư ngụ, cưới vợ, sinh con, làm ăn sinh sống như một công dân Việt Nam. Những thế kỷ trước, các làn sóng di dân cuả người Hoa đến các nước Đông Nam Á và Việt Nam do nhu cầu mưu sinh cá nhân và gia đình, nhưng dần dà cũng tạo nên một thế lực chính trị vững mạnh đáng kể làm cho những người quan tâm đến tình hình chung lo ngại đến một kế hoạch trường kỳ do Bắc Kinh điều khiển.
Một quốc gia được xác nhận với ba yếu tố : dân chúng, lãnh thổ và chính quyền. Chính quyền do dân chúng tự do chọn lựa và bầu cử. Chính quyền có nhiệm vụ điều hành các hoạt động trong xã hội đúng theo những nguyên tắc dân chủ để bảo vệ sự sinh sống của người dân và sự toàn vẹn của lãnh thổ và tài nguyên.
Tại Việt Nam hiện nay, người dân bị đảng cộng sản cưỡng bức làm công việc bầu cử tượng trưng "đảng cử dân bầu", hợp thức hoá sự cai trị của một băng đảng quốc tế xảo quyệt và tàn bạo. Từ đó, đối với đảng cộng sản Viêt Nam và chính quyền cộng sản cuả chúng, yếu tố lãnh thổ và dân tộc không còn là đối tựơng tôn kính và hiến thân phục vụ nữa mà chỉ là những món hàng để xoay xở làm ăn kiếm tư lợi.
Sự trường tồn của con người Việt Nam và vùng Đông Nam Á trước nạn Hán tộc trong thời kỳ toàn cầu hoá sẽ gặp nhiều rũi ro nếu không chịu đựng gian khổ kể cả hy sinh để xây dựng thành công một chính thể dân chủ đúng nghiã./.
Đỗ hữu Long
_________________________
Nguồn : bacninh75@gmail.com

vBulletin® v3.8.7, Copy

2. WILHELM G. SOLHEIM II

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE

DONGSON CONCEPT

Received 6 July 1989

THE TERM DONGSON brings to mind the (p.23) large bronze drums that have taken the name of Dongson drums. The Typical drum, with decoration on its tympanum and sides showing boats loaded with people wearing spectacular feather head dresses , hasbe-come the symbol of VietNam and is displayed in many public places. These drums have been central to the Dongson concept since its beginning.

For over100 years from the first display. If these drums at exhibitions in Europe, they were a mystery.No one knew their place of origin, whether from Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, or Asia. Finally, in1902, a book by Franz Heger located them as coming from Southeast Asia. The first excavated drums came from the site of Dong Son, in Thanh Hoa Province south of Hanoi, excavated by M.Pajot in 1924 and reported by V. Goloubew in 1929. Goloubew (1929:11,1932:139; Karlgren 1942:2-5;van Heekeren 1958:92-93) dated the early type of drum (Heger Type1) to the middle or the second half of the first century A.D. Once it became known where they came from numerous Dongson bronze drums were reported from South ChinaThailand, Laos,West Malaysia, and Indonesia as far east as western Irian Jaya. The largest concentration of the drums is from northern VietNam (Kempers1988).

Argument soon developed over the dating of the Dongson Culture and of its origins.The primary protagonists were Robert Heine-Geldernand Bernard Karlgren. I have analyzed this disagreement in some detail before (Solheim1979:69-172,1980a), so I present no more than a brief summary of it here. Heine-Geldern hypothesized that" elements of the Dongsonian and of the late Chouart style originated in eastern Europe in the Hallstatt Cultures of the Bronze and early Iron Age of the Caucasus, and the Bronze Age of Transylvania and eastern Hungary"(1937:186-191); that" these elements were brought to the Orient by Thraco- Cimmerian tribes between about 800 and 600B.C."(1937:191-194); and that"the Dongsonian art style (the ornamental art style) was introduced into Indonesia by a colonization of the Yueh of South China and/ northern Vietnam; from there it continued to be spread by Indonesian tribes"(1937:197; see Solheim 1979:170).

Karlgren disagreed with both this dating and origin, hypothesizing instead that

(p.24)

Wilhelm Solheim is a professor in the Departmentof Anthropology, University of Hawaii-Manoa, Honolulu.

Asian Perspectives Vol.28,no.1.©1990 by UniversityofHawaii Press. All rightsreserved. 24 Asian Perspectives XXVIII (1),1988/>-1989

the early Dongson Culture dated to the fourth-third century B.C.(1942:5-25) and that"
the mearly Dongson culture was neighbor of and closely related to certainly to a large extent influenced by-the Huai style of Central China"(1942:25). While both arguments, in their differing interpretations,were based on the style of decoration and the geometric elements of this decoration as it appeared on the Dongson bronzes, both were inagreement that the knowledge of bronze manufacture entered the Dongson Culture with the art style. Olov Janse made several excavations at the Dongson site from1934 to1939, but the final report on these excavations, in three volumes,did not come out until after World WarII (Janse1947, 1951,1958).

While these publications presented a great quantity of new data on the Dongson Culture, they settled neitherthe dating nor the origin problems. Janse excavated a number of brick tombs which contained artifacts obviously datingto the early Han dynasty of China (vol.1). Several apparently earlier tombs were also excavated, some of these containing typical Dongson bronze artifacts, including drums. Janse noted similarities between the Dongson decoration and the Huai art style, as referred to by Karlgren,but he also noted the Dongson decoration's similarities with the Hallstatt Culture as pointed out by Heine-Geldern (Janse 1958; Malleret 1959). He did not take a stand on either side of the argument. Excavations in Island Southeast AsiaVietNam, and Thailand since the early1950s have required totally different interpretations of both the origins ofthe Dong-son Culture and its dating.The first threat to either suggestion for dating of the Dongson Culture came from excavations in the Philippines.

There a distinctive pottery tradition became evidentthat incorporated the style and many elements of decoration of the Dongson bronzes. It soon became evident that this pottery tradition started earlier in the Philippines than the earliest dating for Dongson proposed by Heine-Geldern(Sol-heim1959a1959b,1964, 1967,1980a; Fox1970).It became apparent that this the geometric decoration and the style of its use as shared by the pottery tradition and the Dongson bronzes to hypothesize both the dating and relationships of the Dongson Culture to the Hallstatt Culture or the Huai art style of China.

All publications on the spread of Dongson into the rest of Southeast Asia from northern VietNam had used this art style as their basis for hypothesizing the Dongson spread-but here it was as part of the Sa-huynh-Kalanay Pottery Tradition, already wide spread in the Philippines and much of Island Southeast Asia (Solheim1979:180-184) before the hypothesized beginning of the Dongson Culture.It became apparent, to me at least,that the art style and the geometric elements used in it required a common ancestor of the styles as found on the pottery and on the Dongson bronzes (Solheim 967:172,n.d.). The final blow to both sets of hypotheses came from excavations in Thailand and VietNam. Excavations at Non NokTha, in northeastern Thailand, produce devidence both for local manufacture of bronze and for an art style on pottery that could logically be ancestral to the art style of the pottery and of the Dongson bronzes, long before

These dates are still controversial, but the dating indicates that bronze manufacture in Thailand was under way before the end of the third millennium (Ha1974;Davidson M1975:88-93;Van1979; Nguyen1979;Solheim1980b:15) in a cultural sequence that led to the Dongson Culture. It thus became obvious that both the tradition of bronze manufacture and the art style expressed on the Dongson bronze drums and other bronze artifacts had been present in Southeast (4 pictures a,b,c,d- p.26)

PI. II. Bronze artifacts from Shizhai Shan (a, b, d) and Dong Son (c): a, model of house on piles with activity on verandah and on ground at base of house piles; band d, depiction of torture or punishment, a subject never seen on Dongson artifacts; rare Dongson artifacts, however, show copulating couples and other possible fertility symbolism, not found at Shizhai Shan; c, front and back of dagger handle, distinct from Shizhai Shan handles, as in Figure 2. (Photos by Solheim.) (p.26)

Asia long before the Dongson Culture.The origin of the Dongson Culture was right there in northern VietNam. The date of this origindepends on the definition of the Dongson Culture,but its ancestry certainly goes back in VietNam and neighboring areas into the fourth and fifth millennia B.C.,and no doubt much earlier. A series of sites inYunnan, South China (Rudolph1960),define the Tien Cul-

(p.27)

-2 picturers a, b- Fig. 1. Typical decoration on a tympanum (a) and ide of a fully decorated drum (b). These ex-amples of decoration are from a drum known as the Ngoc-Iu drum, after Karlgren (1942: PI. 4)(p.28)(p.28- 4 pictures a, b,c,d)(PIs. I-II, >Figs. 1-2). PI.I.a,Typical tympanum of Dongsondrum from DongSon,in ThanHoa Museum,VietNam.

b-d,bronze artifacts from Shizhai Shan,

Yunnan:b-c, small drums with attached figures, andd,ceremonial pillow(?),all in the YunnanProvincial Museum, Kunming,People'sRepublic of China.(Photos bySolheim.) 251988).

(p.28).
Fig. 2. a, Unusual Dongston-style drum with typical geometric patterns bordering bands of Shizhai> Shan style decoration on side; drum >from Thach Trai Son, Shizhai Shan, adapted from Pham et al. (1987: 19). b-d, Bronze daggers from Shizhai Shan adapted from Anonymous (1959):
b, after Fig. 13 (p. 45), c, after Fig. 1 (p. 30), and d, after 3 of Plate (p. 15). Handle on d is hollow with cutouts, similar to a dagger from Dong Son I have seen at the Thanh Hoa Museum.Fig. 2. a, Unusual Dongston-style drum with typical geometric patterns bordering bands of Shizhai Shan style decoration on side; drum from Thach Trai Son, Shizhai Shan, adapted from Pham et al. (1987: 19). b-d, Bronze daggers from Shizhai Shan adapted from Anonymous (1959): b, after Fig. 13 (p. 45), c, after Fig. 1 (p. 30), and d, after 3 of Plate (p. 15). Handle on d is hollow with cutouts, similar to a dagger from Dong Son I have seen at the Thanh Hoa Museum.

(p.29) ture, as it is known to this time.It is obvious that this culture and the Dongson Culture are closely related, and may possibly be variants of one culture. The paper following this one, by John Tessitore, examines the relationship of the two cultures.My paper is meant to be an introduction to Tessitore's, for those who are either not acquainted with the Dongson M Culture or not knowledgeable about the recent findings ontheDongson Culture in VietNam.As Tessitore's paper has illustrations of either Tien or Dongson bronzes I include a few to show similarities and differences between thebronzes and cultures of the two

The art style was in place in northeastern Thailand by the end of the fourth millennium B.C.
(White1982).

REFERENCES

ANONYMOUS

1959Yiin-nan Chin-ning Shih-chai-shan ku mu ch'iin fa-chiieh pao-kao. Peking: Wen Wu Press. (In Chinese.)

BAYARD, DONN T. 1972

Early Thai bronze: analysis and new dates. S 176: 1411-1412.

DAVIDSON, JEREMY H. C. s. 1975 Recent archaeological activity in Viet-am. ]HKAS 6: 80-99.

Fox, ROBERT B. 1970 The Tabon Caves. National Museum Monograph 1. Manila.

GOLOUBEW, V. 1929 L' Age du bronze au Tonkin et dans Ie Nord-Annam. BEFEO 29: 1-6. 1932 Sur l'origine et la diffusion des tambours metalliques, in Praehistorica Asiae Orientalis: 137-150. Hanoi: I'Ecoie d'Extreme-rient.

HA, VAN TAN 1974 There was an early Vietnamese civilization. Hoc Tap 1 :48-57.

VAN HEEKEREN, H. ROBERT 1958 The Bronze-Iron Age of Indonesia. Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land-en Volkenkunde 22. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.

HEGER, FRANZ 1902 Alte Metalltrommeln aus Sudostasien. Leipzig.

HEINE-GELDERN, H. ROBERT 1937 L'art prebouddhique de la Chine et de I' Asie Sud-est et son influence en Oceanie. Revue des Arts Asiatiques 11(4): 177-206.

JANSE, OLOV R. T. 1947 Archaeological Research in Indo-China I. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Yenching Institute. 1951. Archaeological Research in Indo-hina II. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Yenching Institute. 1958 Archaeological Research in Indo-China III. Bruges: Institut Beige des Hautes Etudes Chinoises.

KARLGREN, BERNARD 1942 The ate of the early Dong-so'n Culture.

BMFEA 14: -128. KEMPERS, A. J. BERNET 1988 The Kettledrums of Southeast Asia: A Bronze Age World and its Aftermath.

MQRSEA 10. MALLERET, LOUIS 1959 La civilisation de Dong-son d'apres les recherches archeologiques de M. Olov Janse. France-Asie 160-161: 1197-1208.

NATAPINTU,SURAPOL 1988 Current research on ancient copper-base metallurgy in Thailand, in Prehistoric Studies: The Stone and Metal Ages in Thailand. Papers in Thai Antiquity 1. Bangkok: Thai Antiquity Work-ing Group.

NGUYEN, Duy Ty 1979 The appearance of ancient metallurgy in Vietnam, in Recent Discoveries and New Views on Some rchaeological Problems in Vietnam. Hanoi: nstitute of Archaeology, C

Institute of Archaeology, Committee for Social Science of Vietnam. Archaeological Problems in Vietnam. Hanoi: Institute of Archaeology, Committee for Social Science of Vietnam.

PHAM,MINHHUYEN,NGUYENVANHUYEN,ANDTRINHSINH1987TrongDongSon.HaNoi:Nha
XuatBanKhoaHocXaHoi.

PIGOTT,VINCENTC.1984 TheThailand

Archaeo metallurgy Project1984:survey of base-metal resource exploitation in Loei

Province,northeastern Thailand.Southeast

Asian Studies Newsletter

17:1-5.1985 Pre-industrial mineral exploitation and metal production inThailand.

MASCA Journal 3 (5, archaeometallurgy Supplements): 170-174.

RUDOLPH, RICHARD 1960 China mainland. AP 4:41-54.

SOLHEIM, WILHELM G. II
1959a . (Editor) Sa-huynh pottery relationships in Southeast Asia. AP 3(2): 97-188.

1959b .Sa-huynh related pottery in Southeast Asia. AP 3(2): 177-188.

1964 .Further relationships of the Sa-huynh-Kalanay Pottery Tradition. AP 8(1): 196-210.

1967.The Sa-huynh-Kalanay Pottery Tradition: past and future research, in Studies in Philippine An-thropology: 151-174, ed. Mario D. Zamora. Quezon City, Philippines: Alemar Phoenix. 1968.Early bronze in northeastern Thailand. CA 9(1): 9-62.

1979.A look at "L'art prebouddhique de la Chine et de I' Asie du Sud-Est et son influence en Oceanie" forty years after. AP 22(2): 165-05. 1980a. New data on late Southeast Asian prehistory and their interpretations. Saeculum 31 (3-4): 275-44, 409 (in German).

1980b. Review article: Recent discoveries and new views on some archaeological problems in Viet-nam. AP23(1): 9-16.
nd. needed research on the origins of the Lapita Culture in eastern Indonesia. Paper for Fifth Na-tional Archaeological Seminar, 4-7 July 1989, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

VAN, TRONG 1979 New knowledges [sic] on Dong Son culture from archaeological discoveries these twenty years, in Recent Discoveries and New Views on some Archaeological Problems in Vietnam. Hanoi: Institute of Archaeology, Committee for Social Sciences of Vietnam.

WHITE, JOYCE C. 1982 Ban Chiang Discovery oj a Lost Bronze Age. Philadelphia: The University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, and The Smithsonian Institution
http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10125/16961/AP-v28n1-23-30.pdf?sequence=1

3. I. Eastern Asia and Oceania
WILHELM G. SOLHEIM II
FAR-EASTERN PREHISTORY ASSOCIATION MEETINGS

Two business meetings were held by the Far-Eastern Prehistory Association
uring the Tenth Pacific Science Congress. The primary business was the election

of Council Members and the Executive Council for FEPA. After brief discussion

it was decided to elect, where known, or find where the area was unknown, a

council member to represent every country within our area of interest. For Japan,

Australia, and the V nited States it was decided to elect more than one council

member in recognition of their proportionally greater number of archreologists

who are working within our area. The new Council Members of FEPA are as

follows: on the Executive Council-Wilhelm G. Solheim II (V.S.A.) as Chairman,

Roger Duff (New Zealand) as Secretary, and Ichiro Yawata (Japan), Douglas

Osborne (Micronesia-V.S.A.), and Jack Golson (Australia), with Bernard Groslier

(Cambodia) the previous Chairman as ex-officio; Council Members-A. P.

Okladnikov* (Northeast Asia), Yu-ho Toh* (North Korea), Che-won Kim (South

Korea), Namio Egami (Japan), Hsia Nai* (China Mainland), Li Chi (China,

Formosa), F. S. Drake (Hong Kong),--(North Vietnam), Nghiem Tham (South

Vietnam), Georges Condominas (Laos), Prince Dhani Nivat (Thailand), V Aung

Thaw (Burma), Alastair Lamb (Malaya), R. Soekmono (Indonesia), Barbara

Harrisson (British Borneo), Antonio de Almeida (Timor and Macao), Alfredo

Evangelista (Philippines), Takeo Kanaseki (Ryiikyiis), Kenneth Emory (Hawaii),

Bengt Danielsson (French Polynesia), Jacques Barrau (New Caledonia and New

Hebrides), C. A. Leembruggen (Fiji),--(Netherlands New Guinea), F. D. McCarthy

(Australia), Chester Chard, Alexander Spoehr, Clement Meighan (V.S.A.),

Gonzales Figueroa (Chile), Pierre Verin (Madagascar), and H. R. van Heekeren*

(Europe) (*Acceptance not yet received.)

There was discussion on the financial· position of FEPA and the contents of

Asian Perspectives; it was generally agreed that in both areas we would continue as

in the past, with the assistance of a finance committee. The question of a constitution

and by-laws came up and the concensus of opinion was that we should continue

to be as flexible as possible, without a formal organization.

Three permanent committees were set up, these being a Resolutions Committee,

Finance Committee, and a Committee for the Standardization of Methods. The

latter committee is to work on the standardization of field, laboratory, writing and

publication techniques for our area as a whole. This would be on such things as

different scales for mapping, and general organization of excavation and its presentation

so that each area would be more easily understandable in reference to the

surrounding areas. The members of these committees are as follows: Resolutions

6 ASIAN PERSPECTIVES 5, 1961

Committee-Douglas Osborne, R. P. Soejono (Indonesia), Roger Duff, Ichiro

Yawata, and Wilhelm G. Solheim II; Committeefor the Standardization of Methods

-Bill Mulloy (U.S.A.), Roger Green (New Zealand), Richard Shutler, Jr (U.S.A.),

Ichiro Yawata, and Pierre 'lerin; Finance Committee-Alexander Spoehr, Richard

K. Beardsley (U.S.A.), Saul Riesenberg (U.S.A.), Arnold Pilling (U.S.A.), and

Tom Harrisson (Sarawak).

The Resolutions Committee prepared two resolutions which were presented,

discussed, amended, and approved by the members present at the second meeting.

They were presented at the resolutions meeting of the Section of Anthropology and

Social Sciences, and approved for presentation to the Congress as a whole. The

FEPA also supported the Pacific Area Archreological Program in the resolution it

presented. These three resolutions were approved by the Council of the Pacific

Science Association and adopted at the Closing Plenary Session of the Congress on

September 2, 1961.

Resolutions of the Tenth Pacific Science Congress

Resolution Number 2 on Pacific island archreology is presented in Section 13

on 'Oceania.'

Resolution Number 3: 'Southeast Asia and the adjacent is.lands constitute a

major source of information about the peoples and cultures of the Pacific islands,

as does South America on the other side of the Pacific, where research has advanced

more rapidly.'

RESOLVED that all possible assistance be given to institutions or projects

concerned with the archreology of this area with the express hope that when the

next Pacific Science Congress is held there will be enough trained personnel and

enough interested institutions and governments to develop a coordinated plan for
seen the
recent work on this area and is therefore very out of date. He has apparently not seen the C-I 4
dates for Pol
Southeast Asia and the islands of Indonesia, Borneo, the Philippines, Taiwan, and
the Ryukyus.
Resolution Number 4: 'A coordinated program which is underway for the
development of the Lower Mekong Valley in Southeast Asia will impound large
reservoirs for hydroelectric power, navigation, irrigation, drainage, and flood
control of the Lower Mekong and its tributaries. The present, research stage of
this project, which will soon be completed, includes technical studies on geography,
geology, hydrography, meteorology, climatology, and biology, but does not include
a study of the culture and prehistory of the people of the area, which has been
inhabited for hundreds of thousands of years and was once part of the great Funan,
Kambudja, and Siamese empires. Precedents for archreological studies under
similar circumstances are the River Basin Survey program in the United States of
America and the Aswan Dam Project in Egypt (United Arab Republic).'
RESOLVED that a strong effort be made to institute as soon as possible a
coordinated archreological salvage program in the Lower Mekong Valley before
many of the remains are permanently lost to science. Further resolved that an
equally intensive research program be devoted to the study and recording of the
local traditional cultures of the Lower Mekong Valley before disruption occurs.
EASTERN ASIA AND OCEANIA w. G. SOLHEIM II 7
Other resolutions of interest are as follows:
I. The Congress commends the interest in museum undertakings being
exhibited in Thailand, Burma, Malaya, Laos, Tahiti, and Palau and recommends
that the governments of those areas encourage and support museums as basic
elements in the educational system and in the preservation of national treasures and
recognize their activities as appropriate and desirable government functions.
RESOLVED that the Congress endorses the recommendation of the AsianPacific
Area seminar on The Role of the Museum as a Cultural Center in the
Development of the Community (Tokyo, 1960, under the auspices of UNESCO
and the Japanese Government) "that UNESCO consider cooperation with a
member state in establishing a pilot project for the training of museum staff in the
Asian-Pacific area." Resolved further that the Congress recommends that financial
support for this center should not be the sole responsibility of anyone government
but be shared by international agencies and by the governments of those Asian and
Pacific countries which would utilize the facilities of such a center.
5. Current research on Austronesian and Papuan languages is inadequate for
scientific needs, and some of them face imminent extinction unless prompt action
is taken. Though estimates place the number of languages in the area close to a
thousand, approximately a fourth or a fifth of the total for the entire world, only a
few of the world's small group of linguists have worked in the Oceanic area. As
prehistoric population movements in Oceania have been a major interest of this
Congress, and as linguistic information constitutes a principal line of evidence
toward the reconstruction of population movements, large-scale expansion of both
descriptive and comparative linguistic studies is essential to the efficient exploitation
of linguistic evidence.
RESOLVED that all possible steps be taken to expand research on Pacific
languages.
6. Further linguistic surveys in Southeast Asia are needed.
RESOLVED that every possible assistance and encouragement be given to
institutions of the new nations of Southeast Asia wishing to make linguistic surveys
of their peoples.
7. The New Guinea-Melanesian area, one of the few remaining Pacific localities
with societies relatively unaffected by foreign contact, is of increasing anthropological
importance.
RESOLVED that anthropological research in this area be encouraged to provide
essential data on the operation of small, independent societies and to establish
base lines for eventual long-range study of change under foreign contact.
THE GOLDEN JUBILEE CONGRESS, UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG
In honour of the fiftieth year of its founding in 191 I, the University of Hong
Kong held its Golden Jubilee Congress in September 1961, at which a number of
symposia were organized. Of interest to archreologists was the symposium on
'Historical, Archreological and Linguistic Studies on Southern China, South-East
Asia and the Hong Kong Region', organized by Professor F. S. Drake.
8 ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
The general plan of the symposium was to have papers presented in the mornings
and to have the afternoons available for field trips to sites of archreological and
historical interest. The sections of the programme 9f particular interest to our
Asian Perspectives are:
September II. 'Archreology and pre-historic migrations in S.E. Asia', with Wolfram
Eberhard as chairman.
A. General
I. Selected Aspects of Neolithic Adze Typology of S.E. Asia and PolynesiaRoger
Duff, Canterbury Museum, Christchurch, New Zealand.
2. Two Late Prehistoric Pottery Traditions in S.E. Asia-Wilhelm G. Solheim
II, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii,
U.S.A.
3. The Bronze Drums and the Dong-son Culture-So Mizuno, Research
Institute for Humanistic Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
4. Persistance culturelle de Substrat-Indonesien chez les Vietnamiens actuelsNghiem
Tham, Musee Nationale, Saigon, Vietnam.
B. Local. (Second Session, afternoon)
5. A Survey of Prehistoric Sites in the Hong Kong Region-S. M. Bard,
University Archreological Team, University of Hong Kong.
6. The Man Kok Tsui ~ fi:J Pll Archreological Site No. 30 on Lantau IslandE.
Maneely, University Archreological Team, University of Hong Kong.
7. Some Problems raised by Excavations in S.E. Asia-Olov R. T. Janse
Honorary Member, Ecole Franyaise d'Extreme-Orient, Hanol-Paris.
Following an interval for tea a visit was made to the University Museum (in the
Fung Ping Shan Library, the Chinese Library of the University) where were
presented the Maglioni Collection, the Finn Collection, a collection from Man
Kok Tsui ~ ft3 Pll, and artifacts from Malaya, Cambodia, Borneo, Philippines,
and New Zealand. This was followed by cocktails in the New Library Building.
September I2th. 'The Racial Groups of South China and South-East Asia, their
languages and their movements.'
A. Examples
I. Thai Migrations-Prince Dhani Nivat, President of the Siam Society,
Bangkok, Thailand.
2. A Study of the Miao fB People-Ruey Yih-fu J*j ~7c, Academia Sinica,
Taiwan.
3. The Ethnological Problems connected with Nan-chao-M. Blackmore,
Department of History, University of Hong Kong.
4. The Lo-Io 1*1* Calendar-H. L. Lo BW1*, Department of Chinese,
University of Hong Kong.
EASTERN ASIA AND OCEANIA w. G. SOLHEIM II 9
5. Mo-So Sound and Tone Chart-Li Lin-ts'an *~~, National Museum,
Taiwan; Chang K'un ~ IJ£, University of Washington, Seattle, U.S.A. ; and
Ho Ts'ai ~:t, National Museum, Taiwan.
6. Two Thai Manuscripts on the K'un-Iun Kingdom-K. Sukhabanij,
National Library, Bangkok, Thailand.
7. The Earliest Settlement of the 'She' :

#39; People in the Han River Basin,
Kwangtung-T. I. Jao ~*~~, Department of Chinese, University of
Hong Kong.
8. The Manufacture of Bronze Drums by the Yiieh ~ Tribes and their Uses
-H. L. Lo ftW*,*, Department of Chinese, University of Hong Kong.
9. The Chuang People of Kwangsi-Hsii Sung Shek ~fl;fi, Hong Kong
Baptist Theological Seminary, Hong Kong.
10. A Historical Study of the Boat People of South China-Ho Kaak Yan 1iiJ f~ I~,
Evening School of Higher Chinese Studies, Hong Hong.
I I. Wongchuk== Left, Wongma== Right? A possible clue to one of the local
pre-Chinese languages-K. M. A. Barnett, Census Department, Hong
Kong Government, Hong Kong.
B. Vestiges of prehistorical peoples in the Hong Kong region. (afternoon)
Group (a). Launch trip to archreological sites on Lamma Island, Man Kok
Tsui, etc., led by members of the Archreological Team-S. M. Bard, E.
Maneely, J. W. Hayes and others.
Group (b). Bus trip to typical Boat People centres-Aberdeen, Stanley, etc.,
led by K. Y. Ho, H. C. Wan, H. L. Lo, F. L. Chan, H. L. Chan, L. Y. Chiu
and others.
September I]th. 'The Southward Expansion of the Han Chinese In historical
times.'
A. Morning
I. Chinese Penetration to the South during the Han Period (from literary
sources)-Michael Loewe, School of Oriental and African Studies, University
of London.
2. The Kingdom of Nan Yiieh in the Former Han Dynasty and the Han Tomb
at Li Cheng Uk-F. S. Drake, Department of Chinese, University of Hong
Kong.
3. The Civilization of Kweichow Jt 1'1'-1 in the Han Dynasty-C. S. Wang .:E fN iM,
Arts Faculty, Baptist College, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
4. Sung Poets in Canton-Yoshikawa Kojiro B)1I $ *~~, Faculty of Letters
and Literature, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
5. Migration and Social Mobility of South China Families-Wolfram Eberhard,
Department of Sociology and Social Institutions, University of
California, Berkeley, U.S.A.
10 ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
6. The Southward Expansion of Chinese Civilization and the Development of
Learning in Kwangtung-H. L. Lo ~ ~ if*, Department of Chinese, University
of Hong Kong.
7. The Claim of Domination of the Manchu Emperors towards Annam-K.
Marling, Juristisches Referendarexamen, University of Cologne.
8. Cities in North and South China-F. W. Mote, Oriental Studies Program,
Princeton University, N.J., U.S.A.
B. (Afternoon)
Visit to the Han Tomb at Li Cheng Uk *~.ffi and other historical places in
the New Territories connected with the settlement of the 'Han' Chinese in the
region; T'ang, Sung and Yuan sites, Walled villages, Hakka settlements, etc.,
led by H. L. Lo and others.
September I4th. 'The sea-routes between India, S.E. Asia and China, and the
origin and development of the S.E. Asian states', with B. P. Groslier as
chairman:
I. The Earliest Chinese Account of Navigation in the Southern Seas (Han-shu
Ti-li chih)-F. S. Drake, Department of Chinese, University of Hong Kong.
2. Intellectual Atmosphere in Ling-nan at the time of the Introduction of
Buddhism-G. E. Sargent, Department of Chinese; University of Hong
Kong.
3. Indianized Settlement in the Malay Peninsula-Alastair Lamb, University
of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaya.
4. Routes across the Siam/Malay Peninsula-Alastair Lamb, University of
Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaya.
5. Notes on Studies of Ancient Malaya-Hsu Yun-ts'iao m:~~, Nan-yang
University, Singapore.
6. Origin of Khmer Civilization-B. P. Groslier, Conservation des Monuments
d'Angkor, Siem-Reap, Cambodia.
7. Historical Remains of Mohammedanism in Canton during the Sung
Dynasty-H. L. Lo W~**, Department of Chinese, University of Hong
Kong.
8. British Quest for China Trade via the Routes across Burma-Thaung
Blackmore, Department of History, University of Hong Kong.
9. Some New Material form the Yung-lo Ta-t'ien on South-East Asian Communications-
T. I. Jao ~~W1l, Department of Chinese, University of
Hong Kong.
10. Places in S.E. Asia visited by Cheng Ho ~~ fO and his Companions (A.D.
1405-143I)-Su Chung-jen ~~1=, Graduate, University of Hong Kong.
I I. Diplomatic relations between China and Java during the Ming DynastyL.
Y. Chiu m%~, Graduate, University of Hong Kong.
EASTERN ASIA AND OCEANIA w. G. SOLHEIM II II
12. The Smuggling Trade between China and the S.E. Asian States during
the Ming Dynasty-John C. Chan ~ l$:, Graduate, University of Hong
Kong.
Afternoon session on 'Portuguese, Spanish, and English Linguistic Studies'.
Late afternoon reception by the Department of Chinese in the Tang Chi Ngong
School of Chinese ~~ ~ ~ g:t Y:.. ~ ~ •
September Isth. 'The Hong Kong and Macao region and S.E. Asia in Chinese and
Far-Eastern scholarship' with papers not of specific archreological interest.
The Congress banquet, held in the evening in Loke Yew Hall was a great success.
The ample liquid refreshments served previous to the fine food put the company
in good mood for the very enjoyable speeches which followed.
Papers of interest to archreologists were not confined to this symposium. In the
symposium on 'Land Use and Mineral Deposits in Hong Kong, Southern China
and South-east Asia' (organized by Professor S. G. Davis), there were two papers
entitled: 'The Development and Spread of Agricultural·· Terracing in China'
presented by J. E. Spencer (U.S.A.), and 'Archreological Land-use on Lamma
Island' presented by Wong Kwan Yiu =Jfi i~ ~ (Hong Kong).
Not the least memorable episodes of the Congress were the small evening social
gatherings which made use of Hong Kong's wonderful variety of Chinese restaurants.
When not taking advantage of these, good food was available in the University
of Hong Kong Halls where the visiting members of the Congress stayed. The
Congress proceeded smoothly and congratulations are certainly due to Professor
Drake and the many other organizers who must here go unmentioned.
NORTH VIETNAM
Chester Chard sends in the following note on a report in Sovetskaia Arkheologiia,
1961,4: 287; P. I. Boridkovskii [noted Soviet Palreolithic specialist] participated as
a consultant during 1960 in the investigation of stone-age sites in the province of
Thanh-hoa, Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Noteworthy discoveries were made.
An ancient Palreolithic locality was discovered on Mount [Nui] Do, the material
from which is reminiscent of similar sites in India, the Caucasus and other areas.
It is dated to the Chellean and Acheulian periods [on what basis?]. Thanks to this
discovery it is established for the first time that the territory of Vietnam was settled
by man initially at this early time. In addition, a Neolithic workshop for fabricating
stone (Dong-hoi) was discovered 3 km. from Mount [Nui] Do in a different geological
setting. This is also a new type of site previously unknown in Vietnam, where the
Neolithic has been represented only by caves and shell heaps. A reconnaissance of
caves in Hoabin province and the Bacson mountain massif also yielded significant
results. This represents the first field research by Vietnamese archreologists devoted
to the Hoabinhian and Bacsonian cultures.
12 ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
TRANS-PACIFIC CONTACTS
The publication of 'A Complex of Traits of Probable Transpacific Origin on
the Coast of Ecuador' by Emilio Estrada and Betty J. Meggers, AA, 65 (5), Part 1:
913-939, is a major break through in the subject of Trans-Pacific contacts. While
it does not consider as proven that contact actually took place between Ecuador
and Asia, it presents a very strong likelyhood that this may have happened between
about 200 B.C. and A.D. 500•
This dating is very close to the period for the great spread of the Sa-huynh-
Kalanay pottery tradition in Southeast Asia which has already been equated with
possible Asian-American contacts [750 B.C. to A.D. 200; Solheim, Wilhelm G.
II, 'Sa-huynh related pottery in Southeast Asia', AP, 3 (2): 187]. Does the Sahuynh-
Kalanay pottery bear any resemblance with the pottery of Ecuador? The
pottery pictured by Estrada and Meggers is of all complete or relatively complete
house models (with saddle-roof construction similar to roof types found in Southeast
Asia), neck rests, and figurines, with no illustrations of ordinary pottery
vessels or sherds. However, Izumi and Terada illustrate pottery forms and decoration
from their excavations in Peru (Seiichi Izumi and Kazuo Terada, 'Excavations
in the valley of Tumbes, Peru', Zinruigaku Zassi, 68: 727, 201. This pottery is
different than anything previously found in Peru, but some of it is similar to pottery
from Ecuador. A carbon-14 date for this pottery is A.D. 220±70 (Izumi and Terada,
204). Comparison of this pottery both in form and decoration with that illustrated
for the Sa-huynh-Kalanay pottery tradition AP, 3 (2) shows many close similarities
and only few differences.
In 1958 Michael D. Coe, AA, 62 (3): 363-393, reported on 'Archrelogical
Linkages with North and South America at La Victoria, Guatemala'. In conclusion
Coe stated that: 'There is abundant ceramic evidence that the region of La Victoria,
on the Pacific coast of Guatamala near the Mexican border, and the Guayas area
of coastal Ecuador were in close contact through sea trade during the Formative
stage' (p. 390). In Ecuador the Valdivia culture appears to be the earliest of the
formative stage cultures; with a C-14 date of 2,100 B.C. (p. 383). Though not
included in the first article by Estrada and Meggers, there is an earlier archreological
horizon in the same area of Ecuador with artifacts, both ceramic and stone, having
a distinctly Middle Jomon appearance and with a C-14 date of '4,450 ± 200 years
ago (U.S. Geological Survey sample No. W-631), making it one of the earliest
dated occurrences of pottery in the New World' (Estrada and Meggers, Possible
Transpacific Contact on the Coast of Ecuador, Science, 135, 2 Feb. 1962 : 371-72).
Coe points out a possible ultimate derivation of the earliest formative stage pottery
in Guatamala from the Early Woodland of North America. The similarities of Early
Woodland pottery of North America to the pottery of Siberia, and Jomon pottery,
is well known. It would appear at present that the Early Woodland pottery of
Siberian origin was introduced about 1,500 B.C. Assuming that they are not of
independent invention, which way did the diffusion go?
This brief note is not meant to present new evidence or arguments but just to
make a few observations of a possibly controversial nature which would be well
worth investigating.
EASTERN ASIA AND OCEANIA W. G. SOLHEIM II 13
KOKOGAKU-TAIKEI (WORLD ARCHlEOLOGY)
The Series Kokogaku-Taikei (World Archreology) in 16 volumes is edited by
Professor N. Egami, S. Mizuno, and others, and published by the Heibonsha
publishers in Tokyo since 1958. It covers the whole world, from prehistory, and
protohistory to the beginnings of ancient history. This series has been written by
over 60 specialists in Japan.
Twelve volumes so far have appeared and cover: Japan (1-4), East Asia (1-3),
Europe and Africa (1-3), America and Oceania (I), and West Asia (I). The four
volumes still in preparation are on South Asia (1), Central and North Asia (1),
West Asia (2), and Generality (1). The volume on South Asia, edited by Mizuno
is soon to appear.
The greatest difficulty in preparation of this series was to achieve a balance
among the localities, because archreological research and exploration and excavation
are so varied for the different areas. The next difficulty was that of collecting
the archreological news, especially photos newly taken. Each volume contains
approximately 6 colour plates, 96 monochrome-plates, 400 to 500 illustrations, a
text of about 170 pages, one general map, 2 chronological or typological tables and
bibliography. Each volume is a speciality in itself. The volumes on Japan, in particular,
contain the latest knowledge of the pre-Jomon researches and the abundant
unpublished materials of the recent excavations in the historic sites. The volumes
on China are well illustrated with new photos presented by the research institutes
in China. The last volume will appear in the summer of 1962. The price of each
volume in Japan is less than US$3·00 (1,000 Yen). Even to the non-Japanese reader
the illustrations alone are more than worth the price of the volume.
BOOK REVIEW
World Prehistory-An Outline. Grahame Clark. Cambridge, At the University Press, 1961. 284
pp., 12 pIs. 7 maps, index, $6·00 cloth, $2·45 paper.
Grahame Clark has done a great service to University professors by presenting introductory courses
in World Prehistory. Here is a clear and simple account of the evolution of man, both physical and
cultural, from his earliest beginnings as man up to the beginnings of history. Some parts are weaker
and others stronger but it could not be otherwise.
Chapter One 'Man's Place in Nature' presents the geological and climatological picture of the
Pleistocene and has a brief summary of biological evolution from the primates to Homo sapiens and
modern races of man. In Clark's time scale it is interesting to note that he uses c. 1,000,000 years
for the duration of the Pleistocene. It will be worth seeing what the recent dating of Zinjanthropus
does with this.
Chapters Two and Three cover 'Lower Palreolithic Cultures and their Survivals' and 'Advanced
Palreolithic and Mesolithic Cultures' for the world as a whole. Clark has not yet seen the Special
Palreolithic Issue of Asian Perspectives for he does not include the latest information for Asia presented
therein. From our work, AP, 2(2), I should hazard a guess that it will be necessary to slightly
alter Clark's map (18) showing 'The prehistoric world to the end of the Middle Pleistocene'. He
uses Wallace's Line as the eastern boundary, excluding all the Philippines, except possibly Palawan.
Von Koenigswald's work in the Cagayan Valley of northern Luzon (1960) shows that this line will
probably have to be moved to the east of Luzon, if not east of all the Philippine Islands.
Chapters Four to Seven cover the Neolithic and later prehistoric times in the Middle East, Egypt
and Africa, northern Europe and the Mediterranean, through the Roman Empire. Chapter Nine is
on the New World, while Chapters Eight and Ten cover 'India and the Far East' (180-21 I) and
'Australasia and the Pacific' (240-252).
Discussion of China from pages 191 to 201 is simple and direct. From the hunters and fishers,
through the slash-and-burn agriculturalists and the beginnings of Chinese history down to Han
times, I take only very minor exceptions. Use is still made of 'Yang-shao' and 'Lung-shan ware',
and iron may be introduced a bit late according to recent research, but otherwise I can not disagree.
ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
Enough information is included in this space to make it useful as a general introduction to a course
on Asian archreology.
Southeast Asia to Melanesia (201-206) is dealt with at the same level of ,scholars~ip. I!ere, a few
more exceptions may be taken, but agai!l' for the most p~r!, these,are on POlI~ts of mInor Importance
at this level of presentation. Justly cautIous about the orIgIns of rIce cultIvatIon, Clark possIbly goes
a bit far in accepting the impressions of rice husks in a sherd from Y~ng-s~ao village as indicati~g
rice 'cultivation' from the 'middle or earliest half of t?e second mI~le?nIUm B.C.' (ZO~), ~hat IS,
assuming that he means irrigated !ice and ~ot dryland rIce, t~o~gh thIS IS not stated: It IS vIrtually
impossible to detect from impreSSIons the dIfference between IrrIgated and dryland rIce., Th~ use C?f
Bacsonian and Hoabinhian is not clear, but this is really not Clark's fault as the subject Itself IS
exceedingly hazy. I would not consider the lenticular adze as 'aboun~ing in the Philippines, ~orneo
...' (z0 3); though it is present, it is not nearly as abundant a~ thIS term would suggest. FIn~lly,
I have heard rumours of the radio-carbon date for Lengong In Perak but have never seen It In
writing and would very much like to know the source of this date.
The brief discussion of Japan (z06-z09) fails to mention the recent work on the pre-Jomon or
the early C-I 4 dates for Jomon pottery. This dating is presented obliquely in the two pages on
Northeast Asia where it takes the Jomon people 'possibly as far back as the fifth millennium B.C.'
(ZI I). Possibly it is better in a survey of this sort not to bring up the problem.
The section on Australia and Tasmania (z40-249) is of the same quality, with the same minorqualifications. However, the one and a half pages on the Pacific are deficient. Clark has not
ynesia as he puts the occupation of Micronesia east of the Marianas, and Polynesia
'towards the end of the first millennium A.D.' (z50). In the same place he appears to place the first
occupation of the Philippines in the second millennium B.C. This is most likely several hundred
thousands of years too late. He also still makes the statement that pottery failed to spread to
Polynesia (z50).
The short bibliographies which follow each section make it easy for the beginner to go to the
larger works. It is a pity that neither the publications of the Council for Old World Archreology
and Asian Perspectives appear in the bibliography; they do help one in keeping Up to date in Asian
Archreology.
W.G.S.
RVDH, HANNA
1959 Rang Mahal, The Swedish Archceological Expedition to India I953-I 954, with contributions
by Holger Arbman, K. Gosta Eriksson et ai, Acta Archceologica Lundensia, Ser. 4,
NO.3, 218 pp., Iz6 figs., 86 pIs. (Lund, Sweden, CWK Gleerup), Sw. cr. 100.
Rang Mahal is an archreological site, located in the Bikaner region in N. W. India, once included
in the ancient Kushan Empire; it belongs mainly to a period which runs from A.D. zoo to 600. It
was excavated by Dr Rydh under the auspices of the Archreological Survery of India and the University
of Lund, Sweden. The expedition was organized by a committee in Stockholm under the
gracious patronage of H.M. King Gustaf Adolf, one of the foremost orientalists of our time; Prime
Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Dr G. Jarring, then Ambassador of Sweden to India, gave it their
active Support.
This is a comprehensive expose of the results obtained by the expedition. Besides numerous
metallic tools, beads and coins, the excavations yielded a large amount of ceramics, among which were
a great many polychrome vessels, mostly black on red. The various patterns comprise geometrical,
floral and zoomorphic designs, executed with great skill and taste. Forms and decor are in quite a
few cases reminiscent of the ceramics discovered at Harappa and Mohenjodaro. In spite of the great
interval, which separate these cultures from the Rang Mahal findings, the similarities may be taken
as evidence of the survival of ancient local traditions. [See for instance Dr Rydh's article 'The Rang
Mahal pottery (Kushan-Gupta time) with special consideration to its possible Harappa elements'.
Report from the Indologen-Tagung, Essen-Bredeney, July 1959, Ed. Ernst Waldschmidt, Pub!.
Vanderhoele & Ruprecht, G6ttingen.] Moreover it is interesting to note, what the author says, that
some of the crafts typical of the Rang Mahal culture, have survived to present times in nearby
localities.
Some of the findings show, as could be expected, Hellenistic influence. The Kushans ruled over
territories such as Bactria and Gandhara, where Hellenistic traditions had been kept alive a long
time after Greek civilization had started to decline in Europe.
As we have pointed out elsewhere (Les dernieres decouvertes archeologiques en Inde, FranceAsie,
x64, 1570-1571; and Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, in press), several of the Rang Mahal
objects have great similarities to finds in southern Vietnam. This is not surprising in view of the
close connections which existed .between the Kushana and Funan (see V. Goloubew, Cahiers de
l'Ecole Franfaise d'Extreme-Orient, 20--23, 1939-40: 23ff, 38ff).
The results of Dr Rydh's work are of great value not only in regard to Indian archreology, but
also to the study of the Eurasian cultural complex.
I t should be noted that the Indian Government has generously given to the Mediterranean
Museum, Stockholm, a large share of the Rang Mahal findings.
O. JANSE
EASTERN ASIA AND OCEANIA w. G. SOLHEIM II
Reference
KOENIGSWALD, G. H. R. VON "
1960 Preliminary report on a newly-discovered stone age culture from Northern Luzon,
Philippine Islands, AP, 2(2): 69-70.
2
Northeast Asia
CHESTER S. CHARD
Received I4 August I96I
FIELD WORK
At the time of writing no reports have yet come to hand of 1960 archreological
field work in Siberia. However, Prof. A. P. Okladnikov in a letter tells of his
expedition in Outer Mongolia; further information was subsequently supplied
by his colleague V. E. Larichev. The first real excavation of a Palreolithic settlement
in Mongolia was carried out near the old Mongol capital of Karakorum. This rich
and extensive site proved to contain at least four cultural horizons representing
many thousands of years. The oldest level yielded archaic-looking tools considered
to date from the end of the Mousterian or very early stages of the Upper Palreolithic
when Mousterian industrial traditions still survived. This made it seem likely that
genuine Mousterian sites existed in Mongolia, and their discovery became a major
goal of the investigators. Ultimately, on the southern edge of the Gobi Desert,
their efforts were crowned with success: a Levallois-Mousterian site was located
at the frontier post of Ottson-Maintl on the border of China. Of great interest was
their re-examination of the famous Shabarakh-usu site. It was established that there
were two cultural horizons separated by a layer of sand, and that the lower of these
does not contain a purely 'Mesolithic' culture as N. C. Nelson erroneously believed.
This confirms Okladnikov's 1949 observations at the site. Thirteen distinct settlement
complexes were identified and some of them sampled with test pits. Stone
artifacts and pottery can now be studied as complexes associated with definite
settlements rather than in isolation as heretofore.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The first issue of the new translation series of the Arctic Institute of North America (renamed
Anthropology of the North: Translationsfrom Russian Sources) is S. I Rudenko's The Ancient Culture
of the Bering Sea and the Eskimo Problem, translated by Paul Tolstoy (186 pp, 38 pIs. University of
Toronto Press, 1961. $3.00). It is a pleasure to report that the high expectations held out for this
admirably-organized project have been more than fulfilled. The Editor of the series, Dr Henry N.
Michael, and the Chairman of the Advisory Committee, Dr Henry B. Collins, are to be congratulated
on the happy outcome of their efforts. Further publications scheduled for 1961-62 include a collection
of papers on ethnogenesis, a collection of papers on Siberian archreology, M. G. Levin's important
work Physical Anthropology and Ethnogenetic Problems of the Peoples of the Far East, and A.
P. Okladnikov's eagerly-awaited Distant Past of the Maritime Territory.
The National Research Council of Canada has undertaken to publish an English translation of
the Russian serial Problemy Severa ('Problems of the North'), which occasionally contains articles
relevant to Siberian prehistory. For instance, NO.1 includes 'The Earliest Traces of Man on the
Olenek River' by Okladnikov and Puminov.
American Antiquity has stepped up its publication of translations of recent Russian papers on the
archreology of Northeastern Asia. The schedule for 1961-62 announced so far comprises: A. P.
Okladnikov, ~The Palreolithic of Trans-Baikal' (26, 4); A. A. Formozov, 'Microlithic cultures of the
Asiatic U.S.S.R.' (27, I); S. I. Rudenko, 'The Ust'-Kanskaia Palreolithic Cave Site' (27, 2); V. E.
Larichev, 'On the Microlithic Character of Neolithic Culture in Central Asia, Trans-Baikal and
NORTHEAST ASIA CHESTER S. CHARD
Manchuria' (27, 3); A. P. Okladnikovand I. A. Nekrasov, 'Ancient settlements in the valley of the
Main River (Chukchi Peninsula), (27, 4); V. E. Larichev, 'The Neolithic of Manchuria and its
relationships with the Stone Age Cultures of Northeastern Asia' (28, I).
Bibliographers will note with relief that the Institute for the History of Material Culture (Institut
Istorii Material'noi Kul'tury), better known as IIMK, will henceforth be known as the Institute of
Archreology (Institut Arkheologii).
Below are listed publications on Northeast Asia not previously noted which appeared prior to
196I. A few titles on Outer Mongolia are included.
BOOKS AND ARTICLES
ABRAMOVA, Z. A.
1960 Elementy Odezhdy i Ukrashenii na Skul'pturnykh Izobrazheniiakh Cheloveka Epokhi
Verkhnego Paleolita v Evrope i Sibiri (Elements of clothing and ornament on sculptured
human figures of Upper Palreolithic Age in Europe and Siberia), Materialy i Issledovaniia
po Arkheologii SSSR, 79, 126-149, Moscow-Leningrad.
A study of the available figurines to extract any evidence for clothing, hair styles and ornaments,
with the help of ethnographic analogies. It concludes that tailored skin clothing was in use in the
Upper Palreolithic.
ALEKSEEV, V. P.
1960 a Cherepa iz Musul'manskikh Pogrebenii v Tuve (Crania from Moslem Graves in Tuva),
Uchenye Zapiski, Tuvinskii Nauchno-Issledovatel'skii Institut IAzyka, Literatury i Istorii,
8, 220-223. Kyzyl.
Description of five crania from the 12th century Saadak-Terek cemetery excavated in 1926 by
S. A. Teploukhov. Four are of European type, one Mongoloid.
1960b Materialy k Paleoantropologii Zapadnoi Tuvy (Palreo-anthropological materials from
Western Tuva), Trudy Tuvinskoi Kompleksnoi Arkheologo-Etnograficheskoi Ekspeditsii,
I, 284-316. Moscow-Leningrad.
First data from a hitherto unstudied area. Comprises 12 crania from the Scytho-Sarmatian period,
5 from the Turkic period, 2 from the first centuries of the 2nd millennium A.D., 2 from the 16th18th
centuries and 9 modern.
ANDREEV, G. I.
1960 Nekotorye Voprosy Kul'tur Iuzhnogo Primor'ia 111-1 Tysiacheletii do n.e. (Certain
problems of the cultures of the Maritime Territory in the 3rd to 1st Millennia B.C.),
Materialy i Issledovaniia po Arkeologii SSSR, 86, 136-161. Moscow-Leningrad.
Describes materials from Neolithic sites discovered during a reconnaissance of the coast region
south of Vladivostok in 1957, which the author believes represent a number of different cultures
over a considerable period of time. The earliest he would place ca. 2500-2000 B.C. With a further
component moving in apparently from Northeastern China, these developed into the previouslyknown
coastal Neolithic as represented at Zaisanovka I (Gladkaia I), dated ca. 1500-1200 B.C. The
author concludes by questioning the age of the smooth-ware sites which Okladnikov has considered
to be the earliest in this area, and also points out that the core and blade technique persists into the
Neolithic and is not restricted to pre-pottery times as Okladnikov implies. Finally, Andreevquestions
the applicability of the term 'Shell Mound Culture' for the important ensuing culture stage of the
1st millennium B.C., since association with shell middens is not a definitive diagnostic criterion.
ANDREEVA, ZH. V.
1960 Poseleniia Rannego Zheleznogo Veka v Ol'ginskom i Lazovskom Raionakh Primorskogo
Kraiia (Settlements of the Early Iron Age in Olginsk and Lazovsk Raions of the Maritime
Territory), Materialy i Issledovaniia po Arkheologii SSSR, 86, 127-135. MoscowLeningrad.
Describes settlements excavated during 1958 in the Southeastern part of the Territory. The
material indicates that the settlements represent two probably contemporary cultural components:
those of the type of Sokol'chei, and those at Sinyi Cliffs and Krasnaia Cliff. Both retain a number of
features from the earlier Shell Mound culture, but different ones in each case. The question remains
what role these cultures played in the formation of later ones and what their relationships were with
the neighbouring cultures of North Korea and Northeast China.
BEREGOVAIA, N. A.
1960 Paleoliticheskie Mestonakhozhdeniia SSSR (Palreolithic sites of the U.S.S.R.), Materialy
i Issledovaniia po Arkheologii SSSR, 81, Moscow-Leningrad.
A gazetteer of the 966 Palreolithic and Mesolithic sites recorded to date in the Soviet Union,
grouped by regions. A brief description of each site and the principal finds is given, with bibliographic
citations. All are located on the maps.There is an alphabetical index of sites and a 37-page bibliography.
18 ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
CHARD, CHESTER S.
1960a Additional Materials from Lake El'gytkhyn, Chukchi Peninsula, Anthropological Papers
of the University of Alaska, 9 (I), I-10. College, Alaska.
Illustrated summary of further collections retained in the Anadyr Regional Museum from the
Neolithic site described by Okladnikov and Nekrasov in American Antiquity, 2S (2).
1960b First Iron Artifact from the Old Bering Sea Culture, Anthropological Papers of the
University of Alaska, 9 (I), 57. College, Alaska.
Brief note on 1959 find in the Velen cemetery, Cape Dezhnev.
CHLENOVA, N. L.
196o Drevniaia Bronza Zapadnykh Saian (Ancient bronze artifacts from the Western Sayan
Mountains), Uchenye Zapiski, Tuvinskii Nauchno-Issledovatel'skii Institut IAzyka,
Literatury i Istorii, 8, 224-228. Kyzyl.
Descriptions and comparisons of the six bronze artifacts known from this area.
CHUBAROVA, R. V. see KOZYREVA
1960 Arkheologicheskie Pamiatniki na Severe Sakhalina (Archreological remains in Northern
Sakhalin), Materialy i Issledovaniia po Arkheologii SSSR, 86, 162-182. MoscowLeningrad.
Final report on 1956 reconnaissance. Of seven badly-eroded sites examined on the Northwest
coast, two are late (ca. A.D. 1100) and ascribed to the Gilyak; they show similarities with late sites
in southern Sakhalin and especially with materials from the lower Amur. The remaining sites are
neolithic, as are the seven better-preserved sites on the Northeast coast at Nogliki and Val, with
pit-house remains. These are thought to date no earlier than ca. 15°° B.C., and differ considerably
from those in South Sakhalin, showing closest affinities with the lower Amur.
D'IAKONOVA, V. P.
196o Pozdnie Arkheologicheskie Pamiatniki na Territorii Zapadnoi Tuvy (Late archreological
sites on the Territory of Western Tuva), Trudy Tuvinskoi Kompleksnoi ArkheologoEtnograficheskoi
Ekspeditsii, I, 151-17°. Moscow-Leningrad.
Describes seven burials of the 18th-20th centuries excavated in 1957-58.
EVTIUKHOVA, L. A.
1959 Drevnekitaiskaia Keramika iz Karakoruma (Ancient Chinese Pottery from Karakorum),
Sovetskaia Arkheologiia, 1959,3, 179-193. Moscow.
Describes some of the more interesting types recovered during Kiselev's excavations in the old
Mongol capital.
FRENZEL, BURKHARD
1959- Die Vegetations- und Landschaftszonen Nord-Eurasiens wahrend der letzten Eiszeit
196o und wahrend der postglazialen Warmezeit, Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur
in Mainz, Abhandlungen der Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Klasse. 1959, 13;
1960,6. Wiesbaden.
A reconstruction of the vegetation and geographic provinces of northern Eurasia during the
maximum of the Last Glaciation (18,000 B.C.) and the maximum of the Postglacial Warm Period
(4000 B.C.), based on all available sources. Includes a review of the chronology of the Palreolithic in
the V.S.S.R. A competent and valuable work.
GRACH, A. D.
I960a Arkheologicheskie Raskopki v Mongun-Taige i Issledovaniia v Tsentral'noi Tuve
(Archreological excavations in Mongun-Taigi and investigations in Central Tuva),
Trudy Tuvinskoi Kompleksnoi Arkheologo-Etnograficheskoi Ekspeditsii, I, 7-72. MoscowLeningrad.
Describes results of 1957 field work in the remote and unknown western region of Tuva as well
as in the central regions. Sites range from Scytho-Sarmatian to 18th century A.D.
1960b Arkheologicheskie Issledovaniia v Kara-Khole i Mongun-Taige (Archreological investigations
in Kara-Khol' and Mongun-Taigi), Trudy Tuvinskoi Kompleksnoi ArkheologoEtnograficheskoi
Ekspeditsii, I, 73-15°. Moscow-Leningrad.
Describes 1958 field work in western Tuva. The sites are mainly burials, Scytho-Sarmatian period
down to the 20th century.
GRACH, A. D. and L. G. NECHAEVA
1960 Kratkie Itogi Issledovanii Pervoi Gruppy Arkheologicheskogo Otriada TKEIE (Brief
summary of the investigations of the First Group of the Archreological Section of the
NORTHEAST ASIA CHESTER S. CHARD
Tuva Joint ArchreologicaI-Ethnographical Expedition), Uchenye Zapiski, Tuvinskii
Nauchno-Issledovatel'skii Institut IAzyka, Literatury IIstorii, 8, 185-192. Kyzyl.
1959 Field work: Scythian to 20th century materials.
GRIFFIN, JAMES B.
1960 Some prehistoric connections between Siberia and America, Science, 131 , 801-812.
Lancaster.
Summary of the characteristics and developmental sequence of the Siberian 'A?vanced Palreolithic',
as the author terms it. Outlines the settling of the New World, the Palreo-IndIan ~u~ture~, ~he
eastern U.S. Archaic and its Eurasian parallels, the Denbigh Complex (seen as of ASIatIC OrIgIn),
the Siberian Neolithic, the Early Woodland cultures of North America, and the question of the
Asiatic affinities of the Woodland ceramic tradition.
GRISHIN, Iu. S.
1960 Proizvodstvo v Tagarskuiu Epokhu (Production in the Tagar Period), Materialy i
Issledovaniia po Arkheologii SSSR, 90, 116-206. Moscow.
A study of economic life and manufacturing activities during the peak period of the Bronze Age
in the Minusinsk Basin of southern Siberia.
Khronologiia I Klimaty Chetvertichnogo Perioda (Chronology and climate of the Quaternary Period).
1960 Akademiia Nauk SSSR, Moscow.
Reports of the Soviet delegation to the 21st International Geological Congress, with English
summaries. Relevant papers include Lavrova and Troitskii on interglacial transgressions in northern
Europe and Siberia, Ravskii and Alekseev on the Pleistocene in Eastern Siberia, and Ganeshin and
Chemekov on Quaternary stratigraphy and palreography of northeastern and Pacific Siberia.
KOZYREVA, R. V.
1960 Drevneishee Proshloe Sakhalina (The ancient past of Sakhalin), IUzhno-Sakhalinsk.
The author (better known under her maiden name, Chubarova) summarizes in this 96-page
popular book her field work on the island. and gives her view of its prehistory, comparing this with
the theories of earlier Russian scholars. Most of the data have appeared previously in more accessible
publications. The author seems unaware of the considerable body of relevant Japanese literature.
KYZLASOV, L. R.
1960a Tashtykskaia Epokha v Istorii Khakassko-Minusinskoi Kotloviny (The Tashtyk period
in the history of the Khakass-Minusinsk Basin), Izdatel'stvo Moskovskogo Universiteta,
Moscow.
A comprehensive, definitive account of this important period (1st century B.C. to 5th century
A.D.) in the Minusinsk area of southern Siberia. 198 pages, 62 figs., 4 plates.
1960b Tuva v Period Tiurkskogo Kaganata (Tuva in the period of Turkic rule), Vestnik,
Moskovskii Gosudarstvennyi Universitet, Seriia Istoricheskaia, 1960, I.
6th-8th centuries A.D.
196oc Tuva v Sostave Uigurskogo Kaganata (Tuva under Uigur rule), Uchenye Zapiski,
TuvinskiiNauchno-Issledovatel'skii Institut IAzyka, Literatury i Istorii, 8, 144-157. Kyzyl.
Chapter covering the 8th-11th centuries from Volume One of the forthcoming History of Tuva.
1960d Novaia Datirovka Pamiatnikov Eniseiskoi Pis'mennosti (A new dating for the inscribed
monuments of the Yenisei), Sovetskaia Arkheologiia, 1960, 3, 93-130. Moscow.
The dating of the famous Turkic inscriptions of the Yenisei region has been debated for many
years. The author brings archreological evidence to bear on the question and shows that they fall
within the 7th to 13th centuries.
MARKOV, K. K. and A. 1. POPOV (Eds).
1959 Lednikovyi Period na Territorii Evropeiskoi Chasti SSSR i Sibiri (The Glacial Period on
the European Territory of the U.S.S.R. and Siberia), Izdatel'stvo Moskovskogo Universiteta,
Moscow.
A collection of papers. Relevant items include Vaskovskii on the vegetation, climate and Pleistocene
chronology of the upper Kolyma, upper Indigirka and north coast of the Okhotsk Sea; Voskresenskii
on the Pleistocene history of southwestern Cis-Baikal; Grichuk on the palreo-botany of Pleistocene
deposits in the Angara valley; Chebotareva et ale on Pleistocene stratigraphy of the middle Lena and
lower Aldan Rivers.
OKLADNIKOV, A. P.
1960a Paleoliticheskie Zhenskie Statuetki Bureti (Palreolithic female figurines from Buret'),
Materialy i Issledovaniia po Arkheologii SSSR, 79, 281-288. Moscow-Leningrad.
Detailed descriptions and illustrations of the five figurines found in one of the earliest sites near
Irkutsk.
20 ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
1960b Shilkinskaia Peshchera-Pamiatnik Drevnei Kul'tury Verkhov'ev Amura (The Shilkinskaia
Cave-an ancient site on the headwaters of the Amur), Materialy i Issledovaniia po
Arkheologii SSSR, 86, 9-71. Moscow-Leningrad.
Excavation report on an important Neolithic site in this hitherto unstudied and highly strategic
region. An English translation will appear in the Arctic Institute series.
OKLADNIKOV, A. P. and E. V. SHAVKUNOV
1960 Pogrebenie s Bronzovymi Kinzhalami na r. Maikhe, Primor'e (Burial with bronze
daggers on the Maikhe River, Maritime Territory), Sovetskaia Arkheologiia, 1960, 3,
282-288. Moscow.
First find of bronze artifacts in this region. Dated to middle or second half of first millenium B.C.
Closest affinities in Korea.
RUDENKo, S. I.
1960 Kul'tura Naseleniia Tsentral'nogo Altaia v Skifskoe Vremia (Culture of the Central Altai
population in the Scythian period), Akademiia Nauk SSSR, Moscow-Leningrad.
An important work by a distinguished authority, based on his 1950 and 1954 excavations of the
Bashadar and Tuekta kurgans and subsequent analysis of the materials recovered. A companion
volume to his classic Kul'tura Naseleniia Gornogo Altaia v Skifskoe Vremia (1953), which described
the frozen tombs of Pazyryk.
SHAVKUNOV, E. V.
1960a Klad Chzhurchzhen'skikh Zerkal (A hoard of lurchen Mirrors), Materialy i Issledovaniia
po Arkheologii SSSR, 86, 231-237, Moscow-Leningrad.
Description of specimens from a chance find in the Maritime Territory in 1956.
1960b Numizmaticheskie Nakhodki na Dal'nem Vostoke v 1956-1958 gg. (Numismatic finds
in the Far East in 1956-1958), Materialy i Issledovaniiapo Arkheologii SSSR, 86,
238-243. Moscow-Leningrad.
Descriptive catalogue of coins recovered during archreological work in Khabarovsk and Maritime
Territories.
VAINSHTEIN, S. I. and V. P. D'IAKONOVA
1960 Unikal'nye Nakhodki iz Raskopok Drevnikh Kurganov Tuvy (Unique finds from
excavations in Ancient Kurgans of Tuva), Uchenye Zapiski, Tuvinskii Nauchno-Issledovatel'skii
Institute IAzyka, Literatura i Istorii, 8, 192-203. Kyzyl.
Brief report of field work in the Khemchik River Basin, during which 29 sites (Bronze Age to
19th century A.D.) were investigated. The title refers to finds of wooden objects dating from the
Hunno-Sarmatian period.
VIATKINA, K. V.
1959 Arkheologicheskie Pamiatniki v Mongol'skoi Narodnoi Respublike (Archreological
remains in the Mongolian People's Republic), Sovetskaia Etnografiia, 1959, I, 93-106.
Moscow.
Observations on conspicuous prehistoric remains recorded by the ethnographic section of Kiselev's
expedition during their extensive surveys of 1948-1949.
VOLKOV, V. V. and E. A. NOVGORODOVA
1960 Karasukskie Priveski iz Mongolii (Karasuk pendants from Mongolia), Sovetskaia
Arkeologiia, 4, 155-160. Moscow.
Description of specimens in Mongolian museums, with comparative analysis and discussion of
significance.
ZABELINA, N. N.
1960 Iz Oblasti Srednevekovogo Iskusstva Dal'nego Vostoka (From the realm of the Medieval
Art of the Far East), Materialy i Issledovaniia po Arkheologii SSSR, 86, 214-224.
Moscow-Leningrad.
Comparative analysis of a sculptured tile found near Ussuriisk, Maritime Territory, depicting a
dragon.
3
Korea
KIM WON-YaNG
Received IO July I96I
Discoveries of prehistoric and historic sites along the Han river near Seoul by a
U.S. soldier (SFC D. W. Chase) and their publication inspired teams of students
to look for similar sites. It also led . to an excavation of a prehistoric site by the
National Museum in May 1961 (report in next issue).
On the other hand, five tombs of the historic period were excavated in the
southern part of the Republic of Korea.
FIELD WORK AND RESEARCH
I. Discovery of .a Neolithic site at Misari near Seoul.
A comb-pattern pottery site (of neolithic age) on the southern bank of Han
River to the east of Seoul was discovered and investigated by Sgt. Chase and W. Y.
Kim. The site is a vast deposit layer of about 60 em. thick on the alluvial sand
terrace. Kim returned to the site on November 6 and made a test dig.
The pottery is a classic type of Korean comb-pattern pottery decorated with
incised, grooved, pressed and scratched lines and dots. The clay is tempered with
mica and feldspar. Rims stand straight up and the bottom is either U or V shaped.
Majority of stone implements are unifacial flake tools made of river pebbles.
Similar industry occurs in a comb-pattern pottery site in North Korea near
Pyong-yang.
Cf. Won-yong Kim: A preliminary report on a comb-pattern pottery at Misari,
near Seoul. Yoksa Hakbo JM~~¥R (Korean Historial Review), 14 (April 1961),
133-145. English resume.
2. Excavation of a Sina Tomb.
A Sina stone-chamber tomb at Yakmok near Taegu in southeastern Korea was
excavated by the National Kyongbuk University. It was the University's first such
activity and the Government sent Mr H. S. Chin, then curator of National Museum's
Kyongju Branch to supervise the dig. Dr Sinder of Long Island College also
joined the excavation. The tomb mound has a boxcar-like funeral chamber built
with stone slabs. It is probably a tomb of a local high official of the Sina Dynasty
around the V-VI century A.D., it produced a considerable amount of pottery and
some personal ornaments in gilt bronze.
3. Excavations of two Paekche tombs.
Two Paekche tombs of around V-VI century located in Yongam, southwest
Korea, were excavated by a team of the National Museum led by Won-yong Kim,
with funds from the Korean Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. Hope for an
22 ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
undisturbed Paekche tomb was not realized although one tomb revealed a hitherto
unknown coffin-like chamber made of clay mixed with plaster. The other is a
mounded tomb which contained four jar coffins. The report is under preparation.
4. Excavation of a Silla tomb.
A huge Silla mounded tomb at Euisong, southeastern Korea was excavated by
the National Museum under the supervision of Dr Chewon Kim. It revealed two
burial chambers of rectangular shape built with irregular stones. They seemed to
have once been roofed with timber and may be an earlier form of later Silla tombs
in and around the Kyongju city. Pottery, personal ornaments including a gilt
bronze head-gear of unknown type were discovered at the chamber. The excavation
gave a valuable datum for the study of ancient Korean tombs. The report is under
preparation and will be put out in 1961 together with that of the Paekche tombs
mentioned above.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books and Articles
Misul Charyo ~mjlfl (Materials for art history)
A semi-biannual (June, December) magazine published by the National Museum. Korean text.
Size 10 X 7 inches. No. I, June 1960; NO.2, December 1960.
These thin pamphlets of about 30 pages contain short articles dealing with new and unpublished
materials in Korean archreology and art history.
CHOI, SUK-KYONG m$)t~
1960 Hanguk Choksu sokto eui yon-gu (_WJ1lif!EJJ~lm~)(A Study on semi-lunar Stone
Knives of Korea), Yoksa Hakbo ft~~¥Il (Korean Historical Review), 13, 23-53,
English resume.
In this master's thesis at the Ehwa Women's University, Miss Choi classifies 126 examples known
to that time into two groups.
I. Knives with single edged blade.
IA Convex blade
IB Straight blade
IC Triangular knife with blades on two sides.
II. Knives with double edged blade
IIA Convex blade
lIB Straight blade
I IC Triangular knife
lID Rectangular or oval knife.
Group I, especially IA is the type dominant all over Korea except northeastern Korea where
Group I I predominates. Korean stone knives are derived from northern Chinese specimens. The
upper limit date of Korean stone knives may be somewhere around the Warring States Period in
China. They were used in Korea down to the Kimbae period, i.e. one or two centuries after the
beginning of the Christian Era.
KIM, WON-YONG 4il5Gft
1960a Ulssan-gun Hasang-myon, Changhyon-ri ch'ul-t'o eui sokki t'ogi :ffI1J$r·Jmg§~dlJ!.m
ttl±~I:.E'~±~ (Stone implements and pottery from Changhyon-ri, Ulssan), Hwangeui-
ton Sonsaing Kohi Kinyom Sahak Noch'ong Ji~f.x7t~timg2~~~~~ (History
commemorating the 70th birthday of Professor Hwang Eui-ton), Seoul, pp. 85-102,
Korean text.
A report on the surface investigation of a late neolithic site near UIssan in southeastern Korea.
In destroyed deposit layer at the foot of a hill, were found polished stone axes, arrowheads, a stone
knife, a stone pommel head for a bronze dagger, and plain coarse pottery.
KOREA WON-YONG KIM 23
I960b Koguryo pyok-hwa kobun eui kiwon e tae-han yon-gu ~/pJB~llii:l:l~IJm$tOllti~
ijJf~ (Studies on the origin of Koguryo Tombs with mural paintings), Chintan Hakbo
_;ft~¥Il, 21, 40 - 106. English resume.
Research on Chinese influences upon ancient Korean art, carried out under a grant from the
Harvard-Yenching Institute. The author made a thorough comparative study of both Korean and
Chinese decorated tombs. Among his conclusions are:
During the fqurth century after the fall of the Lolang colony in A.D. 313 there were still many
Chinese living in the area (N.W. Korea) who continued to hold relations with the Eastern Chin
Dynasty (317-419) in China. These Chinese kept building Lolang-style brick tombs as well as stone
tombs very similar to those of the Liaotung peninsula in Manchuria. Such tombs have mural
paintings and probably were the direct models for Koguryo tombs.
A good example is the tomb of Tung-shou (dated A.D. 375) who was a Chinese general who fled
to Korea in 336. His tomb south of Pyong-yang shows close similarities in architectural detail to
the stone tomb at I-nan in Shantung Province.
4
Japan
ICHIRO YAWATA
Received 20 October I9 6I
EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION
This is the first report of our new Regional Editor for Japan. What form this
section should take in future is still undecided, since to cover adequately Japanese
archreology depends on our financial resources. For the moment a summary, in
some detail, of one or more important sites discovered within the year will be given.
If we had the money we should like to bring out a complete English translation of
the yearly Archteologia Japonica, the annual report of the Japanese Archreologists
Association. It would give us as complete a coverage as we could desire; it appears
however about six years late. One solution would be to give the information on the
most important sites and the reports of the current year and a separate translation
of the most recent Archteologia Japonica.
Thanks are due to Yosihiko Sinoto of the Bishop Museum in Honolulu for assistance
in preparing the following report. In particular, there was difficulty in the
use of the technical pottery terms. Therefore, it is planned, with the continued
assistance of Sinoto, to have an original article in the next news and bibliography
issue of Asian Perspectives defining, explaining, and illustrating the different types
of surface treatment of Jomon pottery.
ON THE PREHISTORIC FIND IN KOSEGASAWA ROCK-SHELTER,
NIIGATA, JAPAN
Japanese prehistorians are presently interested in the linkage between pre-Jomon
industries and the Jomon cultures. Several discoveries have been made recently
in connection with this problem, among which are the finds from the Kosegasawa
rock-shelter.
Kosegasawa is in the ravine of Muroyagawa, a tributary of Aga river which
flows westwards into the Japan Sea, and lies in the Higa-shikambara-gun, Niigata
prefecture, in Central Honshu. Here in a rock-shelter, some artifacts found by the
local people came to the attention of Mr Kozaburo Nakamura, a member of the
Nagaoka Municipal Museum. Nakamura excavated the site in 1958 and 1959 and
published his results in Research Report of the Department of Archceology, Nagaoka
Scientific Museum, NO.3, 1960, under the title 'Kosegasawa Cave'. This paper is a
description of those finds based on Nakamura's report.
The rock-shelter opens onto the steep slope of the left side of the Muroyagawa
at 80 m. above the base of the ravine. In front and inside of the shelter were found
five strata; the upper two layers contained no artifacts, but the lower three contained
JAPAN ICHIRO YAWATA
many fragments of pottery and a quantity of stone implements. These lower strata
were divided into three layers: III-the upper layer, IV-the middle. layer, and
V-the lower layer.
POTTERY
In these three layers were found 1,037 potsherds, 387 in layer III 37% (PI. I),
595 in layer IV, 57% (PI. IIa), and 55 in layer V, 5% (PI. lIb; see Table I).
The potsherds were classified into the following groups based mainly on the
techniques of ornamentation:
Plain, 331 pieces (3 2 0/0) through the three layers, and the largest number of
all the groups.
Jomon *m~, or cord marked, 191 pieces (18%).172 had pressed and 19 rolled patterns,
the former were dominant in layer IV, while the latter exists only in layer III.
String ornament, 197 pieces (19%). The ordinary string ornament is found on
155 pieces from all three layers, but only four of them came from layer V. Besides
the ordinary string ornament, there are three pieces of network string-ornament
and 39 pieces of coiled-string ornament.
Roller ornament, 27 pieces (3%). Sherds with the roller ornament are comparatively
scarce, and they were found only in layers III and IV.
Jomon and the string ornament originated in layer V, but increased greatly in
layer IV and also in layer III. It is possible that the increase of the Jomon and the
string ornament is correlated with the occurrence of the roller ornament, because
roller ornaments appeared in layer IV and increasingly in layer III.
The characteristic groups of pottery from Kosegasawa are comb-pattern and
nail pattern. The comb pattern is made up of short and long parallel straight lines
and looks like the Kamm-keramik which is distributed in northern Russia from
Neolithic times. The 'nail' is made up of crescent-shaped short lines, or fingernail
prints, and it is similar to the Kamm-keramik in Korea. I think both are probably
closely connected.
Of the 43 total straight-line patterned sherds 41 were found in layer IV. The
cresent patterned sherds were 32 pieces from layer III, 49 pieces from layer IV
and I I pieces from layer V. Basing myself on the fact that both groups were predominant
in layer IV, I consider that they reached their peak of development at
that time.
Another important group is punctured ornament pottery. 69 pieces of this group
came from layers III and IV. Five pieces with dotted ornament, a sort of puncture,
were discovered from the base of the layer IV. This dotted ornament is remarkably
similar to that of the pottery of the northern Russian Neolithic.
Potsherds with raised ribbon ornament amounted to 38 pieces, of which 7
were from layer III, 22 from layer IV, and 9 from layer V.
Potsherds with incised lines were found and the majority of the 38 pieces came
from layer III.
There are a few sherds which do not belong to any of the above described groups.
One sherd is ornamented with impressions of the Anadara shell. Another sherd
ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
has streaks which were marked by the same kind of shell. There are two rim sherds
which have round knobs on the outer surface along the orifice. The knobs were
formed by pressing with a stick from the inside. This ornamental technique has
been known as Grubchen-Ornamentik and was distributed over the northern Eurasian
continent and to North America in Neolithic times.
Nakamura reorganized the pottery groups and their stratigraphical positions
from Kosegasawa site as follows:
Upper Layer
a. Uppermost
Roller pattern, broad incised-line ornament, cord ornament, inciseddouble-
line ornament, reddish-brown plain pottery.
b. Midst
String ornament, short coiled-string pattern.
TABLE I. NUMBERS AND PERCENTAGES OF SHERDS OF THE DIFFERENT POTTERY TYPES
FROM THE THREE LOWER LAYERS IN KOSEGASAWA CAVE.
Layers III IV V Total
% % % %
Cord ornament 44 (I I) I44 (24) 3 (5·5) I9I (18)
pressed 25 144 3 172
rolled 19 - - 19
String ornament 78 (20) II5 (19) 4 (7) I97 (19)
ordinary 62 89 4 155
network - 3 - 3
coiled 16 23 - 39
Roller ornament 24 (6) 3 (0·5) - 27 (2·5)
Comb ornament 33 (9) 90 (IS) 12 (22) 135 (13)
straight I 4 1 I 43
crescent 32 49 II 92
Punctured ornament 31 (8) 40 (7) 3 (5·5) 74 (7)
punctured 31 35 3 69
dotted - 5 - 5
Raised ribbon 7 (2) 22 (4) 9 (16) 38 (4)
Incised line 32 (8) 7 (I) - 39 (4)
Plain 136 (35) 17I (29) 24 (44) 33I (32)
Other 2 (I) 3 (0·5) - 5 (0·5)
387 595 55 1,037
NOTE: This Table 1 was worked out of Nakamura's report and analyzed somewhat further by
Sinoto and Solheim. It does not completely bear out Nakamura's reorganization. However, it
illustrates even more clearly his conclusions, except in what concerns the punctured ornament.
Rolled ornamentation, absent in layer V, begins in layer IV (0· 5%) and increases to 11·6% (including
rolled-cord ornament) in layer III. String ornament and incised line also increase with time. In
disagreement with Nakamura, the punctured ornament changes very little from layer to layer; if
anything, increasing slightly from early to late but the numbers are so small this may not be significant.
The comb ornament (pressing) decreases consistently from lower to upper layers when both
varieties are taken together. Considering the crescent pattern by itself there is a big decrease from
layer V to IV (20% to 8%) and then no further decrease in layer III (8%). The raised-ribbon pattern
decreases consistently from lower to upper layers.
JAPAN ICHIRO YAWATA 27
Lower Layer
Dotted ornament, coiled-string pattern, network pattern, comb pattern,
ordinary string ornament.
On the stratigraphical tendencies, Nakamura concludes: 'In general, the pottery
from the upper layer is ornamented by the roller technique, while the pottery from
the middle and lower layers is ornamented by the pressing and the puncturing
techniques, except for the pottery with string ornament'.
Nakamura's statement that the pressing and puncturing series are earlier and the
roller series is later is very important. In order to clarify the time relations between
the pressing and puncturing series and the roller series, he excavated another cave.
STRATIGRAPHY OF MUROYA CAVE
Muroya Cave is situated on the upper stream of Muroyagawa about 8 km. south
of the Kosegasawa rock-shelter. It opens in a rhyolite cliff and is larger and broader
than the rock shelter of Kosegasawa. Nakamura explored the cave twice, the first
time in 1960 and the second in 1961. His preliminary report of the first exploration
appeared in the same publication as the Kosegasawa report and he gave me an
account on the second exploration in a letter.
At the first exploration, he excavated six layers (I-VI), and at the second uncovered
ten layers (I-X). The total depth was over two metres. There were well defined
horizons with characteristic artifacts.
I. (disturbed)
Earthen ware, Hajiki or a sort of the Tumulus Age pottery, Yayoi
pottery, stone implements.
II. (disturbed)
Earthen wares of the Historic Age, Hajiki, Yayoi pottery, Horinouchi
type of later Jomon pottery, a type of middle Jomon pottery, Kurohama
type of early Jomon pottery.
III. upper part
Lower-Hanazumi type and Sekiyama type of early Jomon pottery, Kayama
type and Shiboguchi type of earliest Jomon pottery, fragments of animal
bones, a human skeleton, its skull covered with a jar of lower-Hanazumi
type.
III. lower part
Pottery with shell ornaments which is parallel to Tokyo type of earliest
Jomon pottery, lower Tado type with pointed base, Unoki type with
rolled-lozenge pattern, Natsushima type with string ornament of the
earliest Jomon pottery.
IV. upper part-mainly
Natsushima type with string ornament of the earliest Jomon pottery, a
few sherds with cord ornament, fragments of animal bones.
V. Thin potsherds with cord ornament, stone flakes, a few fragments of
animal bones.
ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
VI. Scarce pieces of Kosegasawa II pottery.
VII-X. (Yellowish loam layers mingled with broken rock.) Hard, brownish-black
and thin-wall pottery with pressed-cord ornament. Its base is flat.
The pottery from Kosegasawa should correspond to that of layers 'III lower',
IV and V of Muroya, i.e. the string-ornamented pottery of 'III lower' and IV, and
the cord-ornamented pottery of the layers lower than IV. But it is uncertain whether
the pottery with pressed-cord ornament from the loam beds (VII-X) corresponds
with that of Kosegasawa. It might be expected that the pottery from the lower layers
of Kosegasawa would be found in the lower layers in Muroya Cave.
The so-called Natsushima type which belongs to the rolled series is considered
the earliest pottery in Kwant6 Plain of Honshu. Now, the pottery of the pressed
series from the lower horizons of Kosegasawa and of Muroya are presumably still
earlier than the Natsushima type in Kwant6 Plain.
STONE ARTIFACTS
There are 4,419 pieces of stone implements and 7,509 flakes from the Kosegasawa
site (see Table 2). Many implements cannot be clearly classified and I arranged
Mr Nakamura's classification as follows:
i. Javelin Points (PI. IlIa). 806 javelin points were discovered. Their length,
breadth, and thickness range greatly and although their shapes are too diverse to
TABLE 2. STRATIGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF STONE IMPLEMENTS
IN KOSEGASAWA CAVE
I II III IV V Total
----
shaped javelin point 14 337 4°° 55 806
-head 24 329 157 41 55 1
tte knife blade I 44 57 16 118
scraper with knob I 6 2 - 9
d scraper I 14 8 I 24
or side-scraper
I
II 67 94 II 183
r - I 2 - 3
e staff - 4 I - 5
2 5 5 - 12
e-shave' implement I 3 4 4 12
d knife - 3 4 - 7
ed knife - 13 II 2 26
ve side-scraper - - 5 - 5
41 III 156 27 335
- 7 2 - 7
ssified implements 137 797 95 1 3°7 2,192
ly-flaked stone axe - 32 59 3 94
polished axe and polished axe I 5 2 - 8
d stones - 2 - - 2
r I - - - I
er tools 3 15 5 - 23
LeafArrow
Grave
SideKeele
EndGrave
Squar
Awl
'Spok
Curve
Point
MassI
Blade
Core
UncIa
Rough
SemiGroun
Morta
Bould
JAPAN ICHIRO YAWATA
form a group, they are roughly divided into two main classes. Flat and broad leafshaped
blades with fine pressure trimming is one class and heavy and narrow-shaped
blades is another. Nakamura reported that the former was recovered primarily from
the upper layers and the latter from the lower layers. From layers IV and V were
collected 455 pieces of javelin points, which is more than half of their total number.
This evidence shows a correlation between the javelin points and the pottery with
the pressure ornaments. Here we can also consider some relation between these
points and the points of pre-Jomon industries. Most of the javelin points were
made of diabase, the rest were made of chert, graywacke, agate, slate, siliceous
tuff, etc.
ii. Arrow-heads (PI. IVc). It is difficult to distinguish between javelin points
and arrow-heads. Here, temporarily, I have classified small points from thin
flakes as arrow-heads. Such points amount to about 551 pieces and have various
forms, but they are divided into three groups, namely leaf-shaped, triangular and
tanged. The stratigraphical positions of the groups are not clear. They are trimmed
very finely on both faces of the flakes. These were made of chert, diabase, agate,
chalcedony, graywacke, slate, and obsidian.
iii. Gravette knife blades (PI. IVb). The blades are elongated rectangular in
shape. They look like javelin points cut off at both ends. Pressure trimming was
applied on both faces, partially worn by use, and the edges were trimmed in
serrulation. Nakamura thought these implements were used as the inserted blades
of the composite tools. More than a half of the 118 specimens were uncovered in
layer IV, and several blades were found close together in the same layer. They
were made of schalstein, chert, agate, and chalcedony.
iv. Knobbed side-scrapers (PI. IIIc). Scrapers with a knob are characteristic and
unique implements of Japanese neolithic industries. There are nine specimens,
five of oblong type, two of triangular type and two fragments. Seven of them were
from layer 'III upper'.
v. Keeled scrapers. 24 keeled scrapers of schalstein, chert, or graywacke were
found. Their forms are similar to the keeled scrapers of the pre-Jomon industry,
but smaller in size. Some of them look like 'Rostro-carinata' of the European
Palreolithic.
vi. End- and side-scrapers (PI. IIlb and IVa). This group consists of two types,
an end-scraper and an end-and-side scraper. Two round scrapers are also in this
group. The majority were found in layer V. Chert, diabase, agate, ferruginous
quartz, and especially chert, were used.
vii. Gravers. Gravers, or burins, are very scarce, and they are not typical in
form. They have undistinguished sliced oblique sides.
viii. Square-shaped implements. There are several implements that are square in
section. Their functions are unknown.
ix. Awls. A few awls, a short projected point with broad haft, were found.
3° ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
x. Concave scrapers. The implements are considered as a sort of concave scraper
or a kind of pointed knife. There are some similarities to the 'spoke-shave' implements
of the European Palreolithic.
xi. Curved or pointed knives. These can be divided into several groups, and
some of them should be admitted into another group. Their edges are trimmed
partially or all around, but in both cases formed as knives.
xii. Blades. The blade implements or narrow parallel-sided flakes, produced
by the punch technique, were recovered in quantity especially from layer IV.
Most are .irregular in shape. Materials are agate, chalcedony, chert, diabase, etc.
xiii. Massive side-scrapers. There are a few oblong implements like a hand axe
of Europe. They are 10 to 12 cm. long, weigh 380 grams, and are crudely chipped.
Their edges are trimmed, so they were possibly used as side-scrapers.
xiv. Cores. Although there is a great quantity of flakes and wastes, cores are
very scarce. There are only two prismatic cores of chert and a tortoise core of
diabase, but they are not in typical forms.
xv. Unclassified implements. Large numbers of unclassified chipped implements
were discovered in all the layers.
xvi. Roughly-flaked axes. There are 94 specimens of this type and their materials,
sizes, and shapes are varied. Some of them are similar to the ordinary flaked axes
of the Middle Jomon Period.
xvii. Semi-polished axes. Some of the roughly-flaked axes are partially ground
or polished on their surfaces. One complete graywacke axe of this type is 20 cm.
long and weighs 619 grams.
xviii. Polished axes. A completely polished specimen was found. This is a fine
small serpentine axe, but it has a cutting edge like an adze blade. Fragments of
larger specimens were also found.
xix. Mortar. A fragment of andesite mortar was found from the upper part of
layer III. Both surfaces are concave.
xx. Boulder tools. Pebbles or boulders in various natural forms were used as
hammer stones, grinding stones, and other kinds of tools. Some hammer stones are
pitted in th~ centre of both surfaces. The ends or the sides of pebbles are often
marked by hammering. Some boulders are marked by grinding action.
The greater part of the stone artifacts from Kosegasawa are flake implements.
Core implements also are present. The core implements were produced by chipping
or flaking methods which techniques are similar to the pre-Jomon industries. Although
the polished implements and tools were not developed during the time of
Kosegasawa, there were rare indications of its occurrence. Similar tendencies are
recognizable in many sites of the earliest Jomon culture.
In the pre-Jomon culture, the javelin points developed, but arrow-points did
not. Recently, semi-polished stone axes were found from Mikoshiba, Nagano
Prefecture, in Central Japan. The site is considered as of a pre-Jomon culture.
Thus~ the semi-polished axes from Kosegasawa can be regarded as pre-Jomon tools.
JAPAN ICHIRO YAWATA
a
b
Potsherds from layer III, Kosegasawa Cave
PLATE I
Facing p. 30
PLATE II ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
a
b
Potsherds from Kosegasawa Cave: a. layer IV, b. layer V
JAPAN ICHIRO YAWATA PLATE III
a
b
c
Stone artifacts from Kosegasftwa Cave:
a. javelin point, b. end-scraper, c. knobbed side-scraper
PLATE IV ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
a
b
c
Stone artifacts from Kosegasawa Cave:
a. side- and end-scrapers, b. gravette knife blades, c. arrow-heads
JAPAN ICHIRO YAWATA 31
The artifacts from Kosegasawa are not well analysed at present because of their
complication. But I think that the site as a transitional link between pre-Jomon and
Jomon cultures will be confirmed in the near future. This question may be related
also to the time of occurrence of pottery in Japan and therefore we should try to
discover some pottery earlier than the pottery with pressed technique ornament
found from layer V of Kosegasawa.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
[The bibliography from Yawata was received too late for inclusion here. What is presented here
are English translations of original articles in Japanese. These translations are full and complete
except for a very few irrelvant sections, which are omitted. Most of the translations in Preceramic
Japan: Source Materials were done by its junior editor, Harumi Befu, Project Assistant in the
Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin. The rest are by James Araki, then a graduate
student in the Department of Oriental Languages, University of California (Berkeley); Hiroaki
Okada, graduate student in the Institute of Archreology, Meiji University (Tokyo); and Hiroko
Sue, graduate student at Bryn Mawr College. All line-illustrations and diagrams have been redrawn.
Half-tone illustrations have been reproduced by photocopying; their quality is relative to that of
the original plates. Translations are listed alphabetically by author, with the exception of the primary
source, Serizawa's Preceramic Culture (1957) which is placed first.
The translations in Japanese Source Materials on the Archceology of the Kurile Islands were done
by Mr Francis T. Motofuji, then a graduate student in the Department of Oriental Languages,
University of California (Berkeley); supplementary work was done by Mr Harumi Befu, Project
Assistant. The value of the illustrations is unfortunately limited by the quality of reproductions in
the original publication. Where it seemed desirable, the half-tones to some degree have been made
clearer by supplementary line drawings based on the original illustrations. Ed.]
Archives of Archeeology No. 10 [microcard]
University of Wisconsin Press, Madison 196I
PRECERAMIC JAPAN: SOURCE MATERIALS,
Harumi Befu and Chester S. Chard, editors
SERIZAWA, CHOSUKE. 'Preceramic Culture (Mudoki Bunka)', Part I of Kazuchika Komai and Ichiro
Yawata, eds. Kokogaku noto (Notebooks in Archreology), vol. I: Senshi Jidai (Prehistoric Ages).
Tokyo, Nihon Hyoron Shinsha, 1957, pp. 12-
HAYASHI, SHIGEKI and SOHEI FUJISAWA. 'The Kamikoshiba Site, Minamiminowa Villge, Kamiina
County, Nagano Prefecture' (Nagano-ken Kamiina-gun Minamiminowa-mura Kamikoshiba
Iseki), Inaji, 3(3): 1-21. Ina, 1959, pp. 205-
IWANO, KENJI. 'Preceramic Culture in the Ise and Shima Regions' (Ise Shima ni okeru Mudoki
Bunka), Sekki jidai, 4: 43-46. Tokyo 1957, pp. 250-
KAMAKI, YOSHIMASA. 'Excavations at the Washiuzan Site, Okayama Prefecture' (Okayama-ken
Washiuzan Iseki Chosa Ryakuho), Sekki jidai, 3: I-II. Tokyo 1956, pp. 260-
--'The Ijima Site in Kagawa Prefecture: Microlithic Culture in the Setouchi Region' (Kagawa-ken
Ijima Iseki: Setouchi ni okeru Saisekki Bunka), Sekki.iidai, 4: I-II. Tokyo 1957, pp. 285-
--'On the Preceramic Cultures of Western Japan, with Special Emphasis on the Inland Sea Area'
(Nishi Nihon no Mudoki Bunka ni tsuite, Tokuni Setouchi 0 Chushin to shite), Watakushitachino-
kokogaku, 4(3): 15-22. Okayama 1957, pp. 311-
SERIZAWA, CHOSUKE, and ATsuKo NAKAYAMA. 'The Motonoki Site, Tsunan Town, Nakauonuma
County, Niigata Prefecture: Preliminary Report of the Excavation' (Niigata-ken Nakauonumagun
Tsunan-cho Motonoki Iseki Chosa Yoho), Essa kenkyu, 12: 1-19· 1957, pp. 453-
SERIZAWA, CHOSUKE, and MASAKAZU YOSHIZAKI. 'Hokkaido before the Ainu-in Search of the Ancient
Culture of the Northern Area' (Ainu Izen no Hokkaido-Hoppo Kodai Bunka no Nazo 0
Saguru), Kagaku yomiuri, 11(5): 31-37. Tokyo 1959, pp. 479-
SUGIHARA, SOSUKE. 'Stone Age Culture before the Jomon Culture' (Jomon Bunka Izen no Sekki
Bunka), Chapter I of Sosuke Sugihara, ed. Jomon Bunka (Jomon Culture), Nihon kokogaku
koza (Japanese Archreology Series), 3: 1-36. Tokyo 1956, pp. 508-
32 ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
SUGIHARA SOSUKE, ITARU YOSHIDA and CHOSUKE SERIZAWA. 'Knife-blade Implements from the
Kant~ Loam Bed at Moro, Tokyo' (Tokyo-to Moro ni okeru Kanto-romu Sochu no Sekki
Bunka), Sundai shigaku, 9: 84-1°4. Tokyo 1959, pp. 562-
TozAwA, MITSUNORI. 'Problems revolving around the Kiridashi Knife' (Kiridashi-gata Sekki 0
Meguru Mondai), Kaizuka, 68: 1-2. Tokyo 1957, pp. 595-
YOSHIZAKI MAsAKAzu. 'Preceramic Cultures of Hokkaido-Stone Tools of the Palreolithic and
Mesoiithic Periods' (Hokkaido no Mudoki Bunka ni tsuite-Kyusekki to Chusekki Jidai no
Sekki), Kyodo no kagaku, 19: 3-7. Sapporo 1958, pp. 601-
--'Developments in Microlithic Problems, III: Western Japan' (Saisekki Mondai no Shinten,
Sono San: Nishi-Nihon Chiku), Kaizuka, 88: I. Tokyo 1959, pp. 329-
--'The Kiyama Site, Ayauta County, Kagawa Prefecture' (Kagawa-ken A~auta-gun.K~yama
Iseki), Archceologia Japonica. Annual Report of the Japanese Archceologtcal Assoctatton, 8
(1955): 38. Tokyo 1959, pp. 335-
SERIZAWA, CHOSUKE. 'A Preliminary Report on the Babadaira Site in Nagano Prefecture' (Nagano-ken
Babadaira Iseki Ryakuho), Sekki jidai, I: 15-22. Tokyo 1955, pp. 336-
--'Remarks on the Origin and Termination of the Preceramic Cultures of Japan' (Nihon ni
okeru Mudoki Bunka no Kigen to Shumatsu ni tsuite no Oboegaki), Watakushitachi-nokokogaku,
4 (Whole No. 13): 4-13. Okayama 1957, pp. 355-
--'Japanese Viewpoints and Foreign Viewpoints' (Nihon no Me to Gaikoku no Me), Kaizuka,
72: 1-2. Tokyo 1958, pp. 377-
--'Developments in Microlithic Problems, I.' (Saisekki Mondai no Shinten, Sono Ichi), Kaizuka,
82: I. Tokyo 1958, pp. 384-
--'Developments in Microlithic Problems, IV.' (Saisekki Mondai no Shinten, Sono Shi), Kaizuka,
96: 1-2. Tokyo 1960, pp. 389-
SERIZAWA, CHOSUKE, KAZUAKI NAKAMURA and MAsARu Aso. 'Kamiyama-Report of the Investigation
of the Kamiyama Site, Tsunan Town, Nakauonuma County, Niigata Prefecture' (KamiyamaNiigata-
ken Nakauonuma-gun Tsunan-cho Kamiyama Iseki Chosa Hokoku), Tsunan, Tsunan
Town Board of Education 1959, pp. 394-
YOSHIZAKI, MAsAKAzu. 'Developments in Microlithic Problems, II-Hokkaido' (Saisekki Monadi no
Shinten), Kaizuka, 83: I. Tokyo 1958, pp. 613-
--'The Locality 30 Assemblage at Shirataki Village, Hokkaido' (Hokkaido Shirataki-mura Loc.
30 no Sekki Gun), Kokogaku techo, 6: 2-3. Tokyo 1959, pp. 619-
Archives of Archceology NO.7 (microcard)
V niversity of Wisconsin Press, Madison 196o
JAPANESE SOURCE MATERIALS ON THE ARCHlEOLOGY OF THE KURILE ISLANDS
Chester S. Chard, editor
BABA, OSAMU. 'The Northern Kuriles from the Viewpoint of Arch~ology',Jinruigaku senshigaku
koza, 10(2), 11(4), 1939. 154 pages, pp. 8-
--'Arch~ological Excavations on Shumushu Island, Northern Kuriles', Jinruigaku zasshi,
49(2): 38- 63. 1934· (only pp. 42-62 translated), pp. 220-
--'Hunting and Fishing Implements from Excavations in the Kurile Islands', Minzokugaku
kenkyu, 3(2): 295-337. 1937, pp. 262-
HIRAKO, GOICHI. 'Notes on Prehistoric Pottery from Bentenjima and the Kurile Islands', Jinruigaku
zasshi, 44(1929): 131-143, 192-200, 384-389, pp. 319-
SAITO, TADASHI. 'Pottery and Stone Implements Excavated on Etorofu Island in the Kuriles'
Kokogaku zasshi, 23(6): 333-344· 1933, pp. 341- '
TAKIGUCHI, HIROSHI. 'The Earthenwares of Etorofu Island, Southern Kuriles', Kodai, 11(1953):
17-20,PP·361 -
TANI, KEIICHI. 'Bone Artifacts from the Eastern Coast of Etorofu Island', Shizengaku zasshi,
3(4): 173-183. 193 1, pp. 367-
VEDA, SANPEL 'Stone Implements and Pottery from Etorofu in the Kuriles', Kokogaku zasshi,
24(1934): 777-778, pp. 389-
5
Ryiikyii Islands
ALLAN H. SMITH
Received 28 December I9 6I
FIELD WORK AND RESEARCH
For providing a portion of the information appearing in ~his sec~ionand ce~tain.ofthe bibliographic
data presented below, I am indebted to Douglas G. Hanng, Shtro Hatton, Enka ~aneko, Geor~e
H. Kerr, Naoichi Kokubu, William P. Lebra, Yoshimitsu Narita, Hiroe Takamlya, and YUklO
Uemura.
Archteology. I. During the spring of 1960, Naoichi Kokubu (Shimonoseki
College of Fisheries) and Erika Kaneko (Tokyo Metropolitan University)" carried
out an archreological survey in Yaeyama and the Okinawa area (see Ryukyu Islands,
Asian Perspectives, 4). It is now reported that the sites investigated contained
horizons extending from the pre-pottery period to periods including Chinese
celadon ware. A monograph embodying the survey results is in preparation.
In April 1961, Kokubu and a number of collaborators excavated a Yayoi period
burial site at Torigamine on Tanegashima.
Kokubu plans, for the immediate future, further archreological surveys on Yabuchi,
Kerama, and other small islands off Okinawa.
2. Hiroe Takamiya (Okinawa University) hopes soon to undertake, with Shinjun
Tawada, a major excavation to salvage the remaining cultural material at the
Aka-inko Site (see Takamiya and Tawada, 1961, below) before it is destroyed by
further construction activities.
Linguistics. I. Shiro Hattori (University of Tokyo) continues to investigate
the lexico-statistics of Ryukuan-Japanese. Further papers embodying the results of
this research are anticipated.
2. Yoshimitsu Narita (University of the Ryukyus) expects to initiate during
1962 a glottochronological comparison of the dialects of Yaeyama, Miyako, and
Okinawa.
3. In collaboration with others on the research staff of the National Language
Research Institute in Tokyo, Yukio Uemura continues his dialect analyses in the
Ryukyus and in the southern part of Kyushii and his study of Ryukyuan-Japanese
linguistic relationships. A series of publications extending his previous findings
on these subjects is planned. In prospect also is a volume tentatively titled Okinawago
Jiten, an Okinawan-Japanese and Japanese-Okinawan dictionary, which will
probably appear as an Institute publication.
Cultural Anthropology. I. As one relatively minor aspect of his 1955-57 research,
as yet unreported in Asian Perspectives, William Lebra (University of Pittsburgh)
attempted a reconstruction of the upper echelons of the national religious hierarchy
34 ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
of Okinawa, a system formalized about the time of Sh6 Shin (late 15th and early
16th centuries). His data were derived from very old informants and from documentary
sources.
2. Douglas G. Haring (Syracuse University) conti~ues the processing and
interpretation of the data which he secured on Amami Oshima in 1951-52 ?nder
sponsorship of the Pacific Science Board of the National Research CouncIl, the
Wenner-Gren Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation. On the basis of preliminary
comparative research, Haring concludes 'that a gradual decrease of
pre-Meiji Japanese influence appears in successive islands as one goes from
Kyushu southward to Okinawa, with a corresponding increase in Chinese cultural
features, especially features derived from Ming'. Certain generalized OceanicKorean-
Japanese prehistoric cultural elements have been discovered in the Amami
group; among these is the special position of the eldest daughter. A number of
articles on the culture history of the northern Ryukyus and a general monograph
on Amami culture as it existed in 1951-52 are underway.
3. According to information furnished by Shiro Hattori, Shuzen Hokama and
Zenchu Nakahara have compiled a critical text, complete concordance, and dictionary
of the Omoro Soshi, a 16th century collection of ancient Ryukyuan chants and
sacred rituals.
Bibliographic Research. I. Shunzo Sakamaki (University of Hawaii) has completed
an exhaustive annotated bibliography of Japanese-language books and articles
dealing with the Ryukyus. Social science and humanities subjects are thoroughly
treated. Early publication is expected.
2. The University of the Ryukyus has in press a check-list of approximately
2,250 titles of Japanese volumes, articles, and newspaper items concerning the
Ryukyus. This compilation, an expanded version of a 1952 list prepared by George
H. Kerr (Honolulu Academy of Arts), consists principally of social science and
humanities items. It is edited by Shuncho Riga and includes a condensed subject
index in English by Kerr. The publication is subsidized by the Asia Foundation.
General. I. With the aid of a Rockefeller Foundation grant, the Honolulu
Academy of Arts conducted a survey of 39 islands of the Ryukyu chain, from the
Tokara group to Yonaguni, between June and November 1960. The project was
directed by George H. Kerr of the Academy and was carried out with the cooperation
of several Japanese and Ryukyuan institutions. Its purpose was primarily
to survey certain social science and humanities resources of the islands and to record
certain basic data in these subject areas. One hundred eighty-four prehistoric sites,
including 9 newly discovered, and 114 castle and 'administrative strong-point'
sites were catalogued. Surface collections of Sung, Yuan, and Ming celadon sherds
were made at 14 castle sites. The need for serious archreological testing of the
traditional history of the 'castle period' (loth to 17th centuries) was noted, particularly
because it was then that the Ryukyus received Korean, Chinese, and Japanese
cultural influences and that Okinawan traders linked Japan and Korea with Indonesia
and Southeast Asia. Rich resources of family, village, and other documentary
records were discovered. In Yaeyama 22,000 manuscript pages, dating from the
RYUKYU ISLANDS ALLAN H. SMITH 35
16th century to late 19th century and ranging topically from government and
diplomacy to history, religion, and the arts, were microfilmed. It proved that other
important manuscript collections exist elsewhere in the islands. An extensive
photograph collection was made to document many Survey finds. Approximately
fifty reels of dialect recordings were taken. The documentary records of the
Survey are now on file at the Academy, Waseda UniversitY1 and the University of
the Ryukyus and in part at the Shuri Museum (Okinawa). The archreological
artifacts have been retained by Waseda; the dialect-sample recordings, by the
University of the Ryukyus.
2. With the support of a University research grant and technical assistance
from the University Computing Center, Allan Smith (Washington State University)
began preliminary research on a Japanese-English machine translation project
during the spring of 1961. A system for number-coding Japanese characters by
stroke type and order, requiring no knowledge of Japanese, was evolved, and an
analysis of Japanese morphology and syntax in machine-translation terms and a
flow diagram were begun. It is anticipated that the programme will continue at an
increased tempo during the 1961-62 academic year, when an IBM 709 electronic
computer becomes available at the University. In addition to continuing work on
the areas already underway, basic and technical Japanese-English vocabularies
will be prepared, using publications in Japanese on Ryukyuan archreology as
special source data. Although the research is in its initial stages, the results to date
give grounds for optimism ·that an acceptable machine-translation system will
ultimately be developed. When this is realized, it is planned to expand the translation
capabilities of the programme beyond the field of archreology to include other
areas of anthropology.
MUSEUMS
As a result of its 1960 Ryukyuan survey, supported by a Rockefeller Foundation
grant and directed by George H. Kerr, the Honolulu Academy of Arts has materially
augmented its holdings of Ryukyuan art and artifacts and its collection of documentary
data bearing on Ryukyuan history and anthropology.
PAPERS PRESENTED AT PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS
Ninth International Congress for the History of Religions (Tokyo: August 1958)
I. MABUCHI, TOleHI, 'The Two Types of Kinship Rituals among Malayo-Polynesian Peoples'.
Two ritual orientations are recognized among patrilineally structured Malayo-Polynesian groups:
one where maternal relatives have the power to bless or curse males, and the other where sisters and
their descendants in the female line possess that power. The former, designated the 'Indonesian
type', occurs on Formosa, as well as in Southeast Asia and western New Guinea; the latter, termed
the 'Oceanic type', is found in western Polynesia and eastern Melanesia. In Okinawa something
partially reminiscent of the latter type occurs: the sister of the family head is magico-religiously
predominant over her brother and plays an important role in family rituals. In the Ryiikyiis,
females, in general, have the power to curse or bless the males of their kin groups.
Tenth Pacific Science Congress (Honolulu: August 196I)
A number of papers were read which included time-depth data of Ryukyuan relevance. The
following are summarized in the Abstracts of Symposium Papers (hereafter cited as Abstracts) of
the Congress.
ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
I. KANEKO, ERIKA, 'The Death Ritual of the Ryukyu Islands', Abstracts, 120.
Yayoi burials suggestive of the contemporary Ryu~yuanmethod, w~ich involves the ~hree stages
of initial disposal, bone-washing and secondary bUrIal, and final .assI~nt;lent to a famtly o~suary,
have recently been found in southern and southwestern Japan. LInguIStIC and custom survIvals of
this procedure occur even today ~n this sam~ ~rea of Japan. In the c0I?-te~porary.culture of .the
southern Ryukyiis, Kaneko has discovered distInct traces of sarco-cannIbahsm whIch t~e ancIe~t
Chinese records report about these islands. Kaneko speculates that the Ryukyuan multIple bUrIal
system is of southern origin.
2. KOKUBU, NAOICHI and ERIKA KANEKO, 'Some Aspects of Ryukyuan Prehistoric Cultures',
Abstracts, I2I.
Recent research reveals three pottery areas in the Ryukyus: a. a northern area which participated
in all Japanese pottery traditions from early Jomon to Yayoi; b. a~ Amami-:Okina~a area appa.rent~y
reached by late Jomon culture; and c. a Miyako-Yaeyama area wIth at;l ent.Irely dIfferent prehIstOrIC
to contemporary ceramic style which resembles some Formosan prehistorIc pottery rather than the
Japanese Jomon-Yayoi sequence. Shell arrow-points, caryed bone. and shell obje~ts, and other
artifact types suggest that the prehistoric Ryukyus must be Included In the greater ChIna Sea culture
area.
3. LEVIN, M. G., 'Once more the Ainu Problem', Abstracts, 62-3·
The author continues to discern an Ainu component in the modern Japanese physical type, and
especially in the Ryukyus. He feels that the 'Japanese Archipelago [the Ryukyus are evidently included]
is an important stage on the route of Ainu migrations from their southern [viz., Western Austronesian]
homeland to the north'.
4. MABUCHI, TOICHI, 'Spiritual Predominance of the Sister over the Brother in the Ryukyus',
Abstracts, 121-22.
In the Ryiikyiis a sister or other close female relative, patrilineal or matrilineal, is believed to
have the power to bless a man in danger. This has its parallels in some parts of Melanesia and western
Polynesia. (See MABUCHI, item in Ninth International Congress for the History of Religions section
above.)
5. MEIGHAN, CLEMENT W., 'Time Depth for Ryukyuan Cultures: The Early Periods', Abstracts,
122.
No palreolithic horizon has been verified for the Ryukyus, though such will probably be found to
judge from the confirmed antiquity of man in Japan and the promixity of the Ryiikyus to Japan.
Nor is any preceramic site yet known, with the possible exception of one in northern Okinawa.
The earliest excavated sites are 'usually classified as "neolithic" on the basis of pottery, polished
stone implements ..., and the inferred presence of domestic plants and animals'. Since, however,
the sites are small shell middens indicative of very small villages and, to some degree, a gathering
economy, the culture must be considered very early neolithic if not mesolithic. On the evidence of
Chinese coins, this culture extends back an unknown time-distance beyond 200 B.C. and survived
at least to A.D. 800. In pottery type, vessel forms, and decorative style, this culture most resembles
the Jomon horizon of Japan. However, the two cultures are far from identical, and some characteristic
Jomon traits have not been found in the Ryukyus. Both Chinese and Japanese influences have clearly
been present in the Ryukyiis from 200 B.C.
6. NARITA, YOSHIMITSU, 'Dialect Areas in the Ryukyus', Abstracts, 122-23.
The Ryukyus [excluding the Amami island area] are divisible into four mutually unintelligible
language groups: Northern Okinawa, Southern Okinawa, Miyako, and Yaeyama. Each group
includes a number of mutually intelligible dialects. Although many vocabulary items are shared by all
four groups, their meanings are not always uniform and their phonetic shape varies considerably.
Moreover, a significant number of grammatical differences likewise occur among the groups.
7. TAKAMIYA, HIROE, 'Time Depth for Ryukyuan Cultures: The Later Periods', Abstracts, 124.
About 200 prehistoric sites have been located in the Ryiikyiis, though few have been excavated.
In Yaeyama (the southernmost island group) all sites so far found are proto-historic or historic in
age; none provide evidence to support a southern connection for these islands. The Miyako group
(between Yaeyama and Okinawa) has been little studied archreologically. Most known sites lie in
central and southern Okinawa. For the entire Ryiikyiis, only one site, on northern Okinawa, is preceramic.
The majority belong to the local 'shell midden culture', and are of neolithic or, less frequently,
of chalcolithic date. On some remote, small islands this culture persisted at least until the 16th
century. Its genesis is uncertain, but it is usually affiliated with the Japanese Late Jomon on the
basis of pottery typology and Chinese coin dates. Though still understood largely in terms of
pottery, it is evidently characterized by great variation within the same artifact types, which, however,
occur widely as generalized forms. The available data suggest a number of culture stages.
RYUKYU ISLANDS ALLAN H. SMITH 37
8. UEMURA, YUKIO, 'The Relationship between the Dialects of Ryukyu and the Dialects of Japan',
Abstracts, 124-25.
A dozen widely divergent dialects may be recognized in the Ryiikyiis. Despite phonological,
morphological, and lexical similarities between them and western ~nd southwestern Kyushii dialect's,
at least in part suggestive of a Ryukyuan language substratum In the latter area, they stand apart
as a group from Japanese without intermediate dialect forms. The glottochronological conclusion. of
Shiro Hattori that the separation of Ryukyuan and Japanese languages occurred between the thud
and sixth centuries A.D. is supported by other language evidence. In the Ryukyus no certain traces
of an earlier language unrelated to Japanese exist.
In addition to the preceding papers for which abstracts were published, the
following, concerned in whole or in part with Ryukyuan time-depth problems,
were presented at the Congress.
I. HARING, DOUGLAS G., 'Aspects of Japanese and Chinese Cultural Influences in the Northern
Ryukyus'.
The archaic culture and language of Amami evidently showed strong resemblances to those of
southern Kyushu before the 7th century A.D., when the first extensive historically documented
Chinese influence reached Japan, and to those of Okinawa before the 14th century, when the first
important Chinese contacts were felt there. The evidence of archreology, kin terms, and mythology
supports this conclusion. Moreover, the present-day culture of Amami preserves this archaic culture
more clearly owing to the relative weakness and indirect nature of its mainland borrowings. Chinese
influence, as modified in Japan, presumably first entered Amami from the north via Japan in A.D.
1185, introduced by Taira warriors following their defeat at Dannoura. This differentiated Amami
from Okinawa and the southern Ryukyus, to which this influence failed to penetrate. Between I 185
and 1609 Amami maintained a closer affiliation with Okinawa than with Japan. When, during the
Ming Dynasty (1368-1643), Okinawa borrowed extensively from Chinese culture, Amami was the
recipient of Chinese-derived culture from Okinawa. This differentiated Amami culture from that of
Kyushu. From 1609 to 1872 Amami was under the control of Satsuma in southern Kyushu, which
protected the area from further Japanese, Okinawan, and hence indirect Chinese contact, despite
Japanese adoption of many Chinese culture traits during the Tokugawa period (1600-1868) and even
though Satsuma carried on a profitable trade with the Chinese through Okinawa.
2. KERR, GEORGE H., 'Pottery and Porcelain Found in the Ryiikyiis'.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Only data of Ryukyuan time-depth significance are noted under the following
titles. Frequently they comprise but a minor or incidental part of the substance of
a publication and do not reflect the author's primary concern. My notes, therefore,
do not pretend, in general, to be a comprehensive review of a publication or a true
appraisal of the author's contributions. In some instances where I have been unable
to examine a title, the citation is unfortunately incomplete.
AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
1959 Ninetieth Annual Report: July I958 through June I959.
The 1959 archreological reconnaissance of Gordon F. Ekholm and Junius B. Bird in the Okinawa
area is noted. The single excavation undertaken demonstrated that 'the so-called Shell Mound Culture
in its later phase persisted into the seventh century A.D. and probably later' (p. 10). (See BIRD AND
EKHOLM, 1959, in Asian Perspectives, 3(1) [1959]: 15)
Bunkazai Yoran (Important Glimpses of Cultural Treasures).
196I Ryukyu Seifu Bunkazai Hogo Iinkai (Ryukyu Government Commission for the Protection
of Cultural Assets), Naha, Okinawa. 171 pp. (In Japanese)
Three sections of this 196I issue of this annual publication are devoted to material of Ryukyuan
archreological, historical, and folklore significance. One (pp. 47-64) describes individually a number
of Okinawan castle ruins, tombs, and shrines which have been designated national cultural treasures.
The second section consists of a number of research reports. Three consider, in turn, Ryukyuan folk
speech (pp. 67-76), the Kamizato Tomb (pp. 77-92), and Ryukyuan Buddhist bells (pp. 93-119).
Four others present: a list of Ryukyuan archreological sites with the pottery, porcelain, and tile
artifact types found in each and an identification of the chronological periods represented by these
ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
types (pp. 121-31), the archreology of the Aka-inko Site (pp. 133.-43) [see TAKAMIYA AND TA~AD~'
1961 , below], the results of the excavation of the Tsuken shell mIdden (pp.. 145-61), and the dIstrIbution
of archreological sites in the Kerama Islands (pp. 163-65). The thIrd sectIon (pp. 168-71)
briefly discusses a number of historical gates, mausoleums, and shrines.
GATES, R. RUGGLES
1960 The Genetics of the Australian Aborigines. Acta Genetica! Medica! et Gemellologia!,
9(1), 7-50.
On the evidence of cranial characteristics, the non-Negritoid Australians, Vedda, Indian preDravidians
and Ainu are all thought to be genetically linked, and possibly to be derivatives of
'some of the skull types found at Mount Carmel' (p. 37). Of particular interest is Gates' mention
in this context of the 'Ainu of Hokkaido, Saghalien and the Ryiikyii Islands'. He reports that A. A.
Abbie agrees with the proposition in the first sentence above-Abbie, however, would include all
Australians-and he seems to imply that Abbie likewise concurs in his definition of the Ainu.
[An examination of Abbie's article cited (Report of the 28th Meeting of the Australian and New .Zealand
Association for the Advancement of Science [1951], pp. 52-63) reveals, however, that AbbIe refers
only to the 'Ainus of Japan' (p. 59). It offers no evidence that Abbie supports Gates' assignment of
an Ainu population or strain to the Ryiikyiis, an idea, of course, not new with Gates.]
HAGUENAUER, CHARLES
1956 Origines de La Civilisation Japonaise: Introduction a l'Etude de La Prehistoire du Japon
(premiere partie), Paris: Imprimerie Nationale.
Reviews: KIDDER, J. EDWARD, JR. (1960) in Journal of Asian Studies, 19(2), 215-16; and
Vos, F. (1958) in T'oung Pao, 46, 452-56.
This volume of immense proportions and penetrating scholarship has just reached my desk.
As the numerous comments and analyses involving the Ryiikyiis cannot be fairly excised from the
mass of Japanese data and summarized for this present issue of Asian Perspectives, I hope to do so in
Vol. 6.
Haguenauer is concerned with the physical anthropological, enthnographic, and linguistic facts
of his subject; the second part to follow is to treat the archreological data. The material was compiled
before World War II; it is brought up-to-date chiefly in Additional Notes sections.
HOTTORI, SHIRO
1959 Nihongo no Keito (The Affinities of Japanese), Tokyo: Iwanami. (In Japanese)
1961 A Glottochronological Study on Three Okinawan Dialects, International Journal of
American Linguistics. 27(1), 52-62. Translation by Maner Thorpe of Hattori's 'Okinawa
Hogen no Gengonendaigakuteki Kenkyii', in Japanese Journal of Ethnology, 19(2)
[1955], 36-45.
The dialects of Yonamine, Shuri, and Naha (all Okinawan) and of Tokyo and Kyoto are compared.
Contrary to the common assumption, Shuri speech proves to be more distant from the Japanese
forms than are the other two Ryukyuan dialects. Of the three, Naha speech bears the greatest similarity
to the Tokyo and Kyoto dialects, the result, it is averred, of a greater influence from Standard
Japanese.
HAYASHIDA, S.
1960 Studies on the Wild Boar and Dog found at Shell Mounds in the Amami-Oshima
Archipelago, Jinruigaku Zasshi, 68(2). (In Japanese)
IZUMI, M.
1958 Studies on the Ilium collected at a Cave of Mennawa [= Omonawa], Isen Village,
Amami Oshima, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kagoshima Medical Journal, 31(5-6), 171-78.
(In Japanese with English summary)
KAGAWA, MITSUO
1960 A Study of the Prehistoric Cultures of the Ryiikyii Islands, Journal of the University of
Japan. Tokyo. (In Japanese)
KAGAWA, M. and S. TAWADA
1959 A Preliminary Report of the Oyama Shell Midden in Ginowan Village, Okinawa,
Bunkazai Yoran (q.v. in this Bibliography section). (In Japanese)
KANASEKI, T. and N. KOKuBu
1957 Sho-ryiikyii ni okeru senshi iseki (Prehistoric Sites in the Ryukyu Islands), Journal of
the Shimonoseki College of Fisheries, 2, 41-6. (In Japanese)
KAWAGUCHI, S.
1959 Prehistoric Sites of Amami, Human Science, II. Tokyo: Shinsei-sha. (In Japanese)
RYUKYU ISLANDS ALLAN H. SMITH 39
KOKUBU, NAOICHI
1959 The Ancient Culture of the Ryukyu Islands and the Prehistoric Agriculture of Japan,
Kokushi ronshu. (In Japanese)
1960 Animal Figure Pendants of the Southern Islands, Monthly Bulletin, The Works of the
World Arts. Tokyo: Kadokawa Shoten. (In Japanese)
KOKUBU, N., S. KAWAGUCHI, K. SONO, Y. NOGUCHI and S. HARAGUCHI
1959 On the Prehistoric Culture of Amami-Oshima, Tokyo: Association for the Advancement
of Science of Japan.· (In Japanese)
KOKUBU, N. and N. MORISONO
1958 Preliminary Report on the Excavation of a Prehistoric Burial Site at Hirota, South
Tane-cho, Tanegashima, Journal of the Archceological Society of Japan, 43(3). (In
Japanese)
KYUGAKKAI RENGO AMAMI OSHIMA Kyono CHOSA IINKAI (Amami Oshima Co-operative Research
Committee of the Association of Nine Learned Societies)
1959 Amami Oshima: Shizen to Bunka (Amami Oshima: Nature and Culture), 2 vols.; 800 pp.
Tokyo: Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkokai. (In Japanese)
One volume of this fine publication presents a detailed photographic record of contemporary
Amami ethology, and is consequently of little relevance to the present subject. However, the second,
totalling 474 large pages, is a collection of essays on various geographical and anthropological subjects,
of which the following include material of time-depth significance.
Part I. 'History-Economy-Industry' (pp. 10-35). The first section (pp. 10-17) of this single
chapter summarizes the relationship of Amami to Japan in the early historical period and the subsequent
history of the islands.
Part 2. 'Prehistory of Amami Oshima' (pp. 196-271; plates 1-16), which includes the following
individual research papers:
i. 'Excavation Report on the Ushuku Shell Midden, Kasari Son, Amami Oshima' (PP.197-212).
ii. 'Sites in the Vicinity of the Ushuku Shell Midden and their Artifacts' (pp. 212-14).
iii. 'The Omonawa No. 2 Shell Midden, Tokunoshima' (pp. 214-25).
iv. 'The Omonawa NO.4 Shell Midden, Tokunoshima' (pp. 225-33).
v. 'Archreological Sites on Tokunoshima' (pp. 233-35).
vi. 'Prehistoric Sites in the Amami Group' (pp. 235-38).
vii. 'The Sumiyoshi Shell Midden, Okinoerabu Jima' (pp. 238-41).
viii. 'The Amami Island Circle and the Surrounding Region' (pp. 241-44).
ix. 'Conclusion' (pp. 244-46).
To these are appended three articles identifying taxonomically the animal remains, including
shellfish, which were found in the Ushuku, Omonawa NO.2, and Omonawa NO.4 middens (pp.
249-71).
Part 4. 'Relationship of the Amami Islands to Japan, and of these Islands to areas to the South'
(pp. 367-474). Since they include comparative material, most articles in this part provide data
relevant to a time-perspective understanding of the Ryukyus:
'Physical Anthropology of the Population of the Amami Islands' (pp. 369-86). Both somatological
and skeletal data are considered.
'Blood Types of the Population of the Amami Islands' (pp. 393-402).
'Glottochronological Research on the Amami Dialects' (pp. 433-64). This article by Shiro Hattori,
Yukio Uemura, and Munemasa Tokugawa presents results of research undertaken from 1955
to 1958, and includes comparisons with Tokyo, Kagoshima, and Okinawa dialects. A summary
of findings appears on pp. 462-64.
'Ethnological Relationships between Amami, Okinawa, and Japan' (pp. 465-74). A discussion of
ceremonies relating to water, annual rites, and kinship and lineage systems.
MITOMO, K. and N. KOKUBU
1959 On the Excavation of Shell Mounds at Omonawa, Tokunoshima. Palceologia, 8(2),
Osaka: Palreological Association of Japan. (In Japanese)
Nihon Minzokugaku Daikei (Encyclopredia of Japanese Folklore Science). (In Japanese)
The following three volumes, not yet available to the compiler of these notes, are reviewed· by
Matthias Eder ('Japanese Folklore Science Today', Folklore Studies, 18[1959], 289-319). The
review indicates that these volumes include the following material of time-depth concern for the
Ryukyus.
ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
Vol. 9. Geino to Goraku (Dramatic Performances a~d Amusements), pp. 1-340. Eder's review
(pp. 314-15) includes two points relevant to ou~ Interests: a. _Whatever m~y be the case for
the main islands of Japan, masks were known In the Ryukyus before Chinese. and Korea~
masks became known to them. (Article by Toshi Goto, pp. 211-36.) b. The artIcle by YasuJl
Honda (pp. 251-80) presents data on 'the old religion of the Ryukyus'.
Vol. 1I. Chihobetsu Chosa Kenkyu (Regional Investigations and Studies of Folk Customs), pp.
1-382.
One chapter is devoted exclusiy~ly t~ certain ~spects of Ryukyuan et~no~ogyand containing. a
bibliography of 153 items. Additional Information on the northern Ryukyus may well appear In
the chapter concerned with Kagoshima Prefecture. (Eder, pp. 316- 17)
Vol. 12. Amami, Okinawa no Minzoku. Hikaku Minzokugaku Shomondai. (Folk Customs of Amami
Oshima and Okinawa. Problems of Comparative Ethnology) (Eder, p. 3-18)
Okinawa Bunka (Okinawan Culture). Tokyo: Okinawa Bunka Kyokai. (In Japanese)
The first issue of this periodical, which. I have not se~n, app~ared in Ap~il I 96~ . ,
The second number (June 196I) contains the follOWing artIcles on tOPiCS of Interest: Stone
Monument Inscriptions' (pp. 2-6), 'Omoro Songs and the Samisen' (pp. 6-12), 'Problems concerning
the Form of the Kume Jima Farm House' (pp. 22-26), and 'The True Form of the Otake
[Ryukyuan shrine]' (pp. 26-30).
The third number (August 196r) has these articles bearing upon time-depth problems: 'Research
on the Omoro' (pp. 5-9), 'Stone Monument Inscriptions' (pp. 10-15), and 'The Anji [Ryukyuan
lordsr (pp. 25-30).
RUBIN, MEYER and CORRINNE ALEXANDER
1960 U. S. Geological Survey Radiocarbon Dates V, American Journal of Science Radiocarbon
Supplement, 2, 129-85.
Among the dates reported is that of a sample consisting of bone fragments from wild boar found
on Ishigaki Island. The material was recovered from stream terrace deposits which comprise a bench
21 feet above the level of the present valley floor of the Todoroki-gawa. The indicated date: 8500 ±
500 B.P. [No mention is made of associated cultural material. The data are reported here only
because the Ryukyuan wild pig is often declared to be a feral type, not indigenous to the islands.]
(p. 178)
SHINGAKI, M., C. KABIRA and N. KOKUBU
1957 A Preliminary Report on the Excavation of a Prehistoric Shell Mound at Shimashiyama,
Kutaka Shima, Bunkazai Yoran (q.v. in this Bibliography section). (In Japanese)
TAKAMIYA, HIROE
1960 The Akajanga Shell Midden of Gushikawa Village, Bunkazai Yoran (q.v. in this
Bibliography section), 1-29. (In Japanese with English summary)
This sand-dune site was explored by a single trench. It yielded bone artifacts (a needle, pendant,
and serrated fish bone, all of previously unreported types), shell artifacts (beads, net sinkers, scoops,
a dish, and numerous pendants with a rough hole near the umbo), stone tools (3 axes, 5 manos,
I metate, and a 'round stone'), animal and fish bones, and primitive pottery sherds derived mainly
from wide-mouthed jars with flat base. These jars are divided into 8 types according to their rim
treatment and design style. Chronologically the site belongs to the early phase of the later ('sanddune')
period of Ryukyuan 'prehistory (see TAKAMIYA, 1961 below). The occurrence of the grinding
stones, which appear to be found only in sand-dune sites and later, suggests agriculture.
1961 A Survey of Ryiikyu Islands Prehistory, Journal of Okinawa University, 1(2), I-10.
(In English)
The current state of our knowledge of Ryukyuan prehistory is summarized.
The present tentative chronology consists of two periods. The older culture is known from Okinawa,
primarily from shell midden sites along elevated coral reefs of central hilly areas. It includes ornamental
and utilitarian bone and shell artifacts, arrow-points (relatively rare), stone axes and a few
other stone implements, and brittle, quartz or sand-tempered pottery generally in the form of largemouthed
jars with flat bases. Typical pottery ornamentation consists of bands of incised or stippled
geometric patterns and of rim projections in triangular or chevron form or of a raised neck or rim
band. Chinese knife-shaped coins (dated c. 200 B.C.) occur in association with these artifacts. Several
horizons are provisionally recognized within this early culture, which is thought to be culturally
equivalent to the Japanese Jomon.
The later period is comprised of two traditions. One is the Yaeyama configuration known since
the 19°4 excavations of Torii. It consists of stone hammers, pestles, and axes; pitted stones; shell
artifacts (relatively rare); and lug-handled pottery. Usually associated with it are Chinese celadon
fragments of 15th and 16th century date. This tradition is regarded as the cultural equivalent of the
Japanese Yayoi. Meagre data from Okinawa suggest that there it is associated with early castle sites
and was contemporaneous with the early phases of the culture next described.
RVUKYU ISLANDS ALLAN H. SMITH
The second of the later traditions, known from Okinawa and its off-islands, consists largely of heach
sand-dune sites which reveal bone and shell ornaments (decreasing in frequency through time),
stone tools (increasing in types with time, save the axe which conspicuously decreases in frequency),
and pottery which includes the first pointed-base ware and which trends toward simple curved
chevron designs or even more commonly toward an undecorated surface. Early horizons of this culture
contain Chinese coins of the A.D. 621-950 period.
Sherds of true Japanese Yayoi type have been discovered on Yoron and Okinoerabu islands north
of Okinawa. Occurring in the central Ryukyus also are tao-t'ieh, cicada-like shell artifacts, and
dragon-like bone objects, which, as well as the above-mentioned coins, suggest Chinese contact.
The fossilized deer bones showing evidences of human workmanship found by Tokunaga on
Ie Shima (off western Okinawa) indicate the presence in the Okinawan area of an early preceramic
culture, which, however, still awaits discovery.
TAKAMIYA, HIROE and SHINJUN TAwADA
1961 Aka-inko no Iseki (The Aka-inko Site), Bunkazai Yoran (q.v. in this Bibliography
section), 133-43. (In Japanese)
This site is in the Sobe section of Yomitan village, Okinawa Island. In January 1961, the authors
conducted a survey of that small part which had not been destroyed by construction work. Numerous
sherds and about a dozen stone artifacts were recovered in a single test pit and by surface collection.
These I?aterials suggest a single culture and, together with the location of the site, the amount of
~hell mIdden, and the limited extent of the cultural strata, indicate a culture configuration of special
Interest. Provisionally it is thought to be only slightly later in date than the earliest culture horizon
now known for Okinawa.
TAKIGUCHI, HIROI (ed.)
1960 Yaeyama, Waseda Daigaku Kokogaku Kenkyushitsu Hokoku, 7. 200 pp. Tokyo: Azekurashobo.
(In Japanese)
This .volume, at present unavailable to me, is said to include reports on recent archreological
excavatIons on Hateruma, Ishigaki, and Iriomote.
UEMURA, YUKIO
1958 The Tonemes of Monosyllabic and Disyllabic Nouns of Some Ryukyuan Dialects,
Kotoba no Kenkyu.
1961 Okinawa Honto no Hogen (Dialects of the Main Island of Okinawa), Hogengaku Koza,
4· Tokyo: Tokyodo. (In Japanese)
6
China Mainland
R. C. RUDOLPH
Received 28 September I96I
No country seems ever to have produced such a voluminous and important
literature on its·own archreology in such a short time as that published during the
past ten or eleven years by Mainland China. One accustomed to the paucity of
such works in earlier times cannot help being amazed-or even startled-by the
large number of. splendidly produced monographs which have appeared in this
short period. Apart from the frankly picture albums, most of the publications have
excellent and thoroughly documented texts. In some cases, unfortunately, photographic
illustrations leave something to be desired in quality; but most of the
scientific reports have acceptable plates and are full of excellent line drawings of
objects, plans and elevations of tombs and other structures, contour maps, charts,
etc. by way of archreological illustrations.
In short, this literature gives the reader the impression of a widespread and
almost feverish archreological activity on the China Mainland, which is probably
true; for in this vast area there has recently been brought to light, through accident
and design, literally tons of long-buried material. The large number of projects
undertaken in this period in building highways, railroads, airfields, dams and
irrigation systems have uncovered a horde of objects ranging from microliths to
city walls and dating from prehistoric to modern periods. Intensified archreological
training in middle schools and universities, salvage archreology inspired by some
of the destructive projects mentioned above, and systematic surveys and excavations
by trained archreological teams have resulted in the location and study of hitherto
unknown sites, and the discovery and publication of hitherto unsuspected evidences
of the cultural and technical achievements of the ancient Chinese.
The most important of the monographs, in my opinion, are those on single major
excavations ranging from the Neolithic through the Ming periods. These appear,
in most instances, in the shortest possible time after the excavation, and are generally
preceded by a preliminary report in one of the archrelogical journals immediately
after (sometimes before) the excavation is completed and before the monograph
can be prepared. Other monographs deal with particular types of bronzes, or tomb
figurines, or bronze mirrors from a specified area. A number of semi-popular
publications of this type have recently appeared. Although of minor importance,
they render service in bringing together a great amount of illustrative and datable
material from one locality and thus help us to understand the differences in the
regional art styles of early China. For this reason I have included some of these
minor works in my bibliography.
CHINA MAINLAND RICHARD C. RUDOLPH 43
Although it was not my original intention to list here writings other than Chinese,
I have in this instance included several important Western and Japanese items on
China's Mainland archreology. To cope with the present flood of monographs and
the journals on Chinese mainland archreology is almost beyond the strength of the
individual worker. Therefore my bibliography makes no pretence whatsoever to
completeness. It is only a fraction of the whole and has been selected subjectively
and as time would allow, in an attempt to cover the major finds from the large
number of archreological works which have been acquired by the Chinese Library
at UCLA, since my last bibliography in AP, 2(1958), pp. 43-54·
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Monographs
ARCHlEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
1957 Ch'ang-sha fa-chueh pao-kao ~tP~WJ¥R* (Report on Excavations at Changsha),
Peking, 12(4), 174 pp., illus., tables, 107 pI.
This is a detailed report on excavations made at various sites in the vicinity of Changsha, Hunan
Province in southern China, in October of 1951. Over 160 tombs of the Warring States and Eastern
Han periods were opened. This large number of tombs provided not only new material for the study
of tomb construction, but also many important lacquer, wood, gold leaf, textile and bronze objects
which are seldom found in other regions.
1959a Cheng-chou erh-li-kang ~ ffl =mlMl (Excavations at Erh-li-kang, Cheng Chou), Peking,
iv, 94 pp., illus., 40 pI., maps.
A report on a number of Shang and Warring States Period excavations carried out in 1953 and
1954 in a suburb of the site-rich Cheng Chou district of Honan Province. Clear stratification of the
Shang sites and richness of the finds is of importance in helping to determine the evolution of
various types of objects. A large amount of pottery and bronze, as well as a number of bone, shell,
and stone objects, was recovered from the Shang sites. 2 I 2 tombs of the Warring States Period were
excavated, including a number constructed with hollow tiles. From these tombs numerous pottery,
bronze, and iron objects were recovered.
1959b Liang Ssu-yung k'ao-ku lun-wen chi ~}~l7k~tt~;)(~ (Collected Archreological
Studies by Liang Ssu-yung), Peking, vi, 163 pp. illus., 10 pI.
This memorial volume to Liang Ssu-yung (1904-1954), the well-known pioneer in scientific
archreology in China, who is perhaps best known for his investigation of Lungshan culture, is
composed of eight articles written by Liang between 1929 and 1954. The principal topics covered
are: Neolithic pottery in Shansi, problems in Far Eastern archreology, prehistoric sites in Manchuria,
and Lungshan and Yangshao cultures. .</
1959C Lo-yang chung-chou lu (hsi kung-tuan) m.~J:f:Iffi~ (g§I~) (Excavations on Chung
Chou Road-Western Sector), Peking, 7, 169 pp., illus., 93 pI., maps, tables.
A report on excavations carried out in 1954 and 1955 along the western sector of Chung Chou
road near Loyang which uncovered sites ranging from Yangshao to Han in time. A total of 297
tombs were excavated. These include three of Yangshao date, ten of Western Chou, 260 of Eastern
Chou, and 24 of Han times. This detailed study carefully describes all types of tombs from the various
periods, as well as foundations of walls, and the possible discovery of a royal city dating from Chou
times. A large amount of bronze, ceramic, and miscellaneous objects was recovered, and these are
fully described and illustrated.
1959d Lo-yang shao-kou han mu m.~~.~~ (Han Tombs at Shao-kou, Loyang), Peking,
xiii, 243 pp., illus., map, tables, 64 pI.
The excavations carried out at Shao-kou near Loyang in Honan Province in 1953 uncovered 225
richly furnished tombs of the Han Dynasty. These are fully described in this work. Much attention is
paid to the construction and types of tombs, all of which were made with either large hollow tiles
or small bricks; plans are given for most of them. A detailed account is also given of the large number
of ceramics and bronzes and a few miscellaneous items recovered from them.
44 ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
195ge Miao-ti-kou yu san-li-ch'iao ~Jte~!fij:=::.mm (The Sites of Miao-ti-kou and San-lich'iao),
Peking, viii, 128 pp., illus., 97 pI.
The two neolithic sites, Miao-ti-kou and San-li-ch'iao in Honan Province, central China, were
excavated in 1956 and 1957 as part of the pro.gram in salvage ~rchreology due to the construc~ion
of reservoirs along the course of the Yellow RIver. These two sItes face each oth~r ac!oss the rIver
and in both of them the stratification of Yangshao, Lungshan, and Eastern Chou IS qUIte clear. The
Miao-ti-kou site is quite large, covering some 240,000 square metres, of which only a fraction has
been excavated. One tomb and many ash pits were found, and through the careful excavation of
postholes it was possible to reconstruct two dwellings. Much pottery was found, most of which was
red fine ware and decorated with cord impressions. This work contains an English abstract.
19591 Shang-ts'un-ling kuo-kuo mu-ti J:*'f1i~WI~jtB(The Cemetery of the State of Kuo at
Shang-ts'un-ling), Peking, xii, 85 pp., illus., map, tables, 72 pI.
A report on the excavation of 234 tombs of nobles, three chariot and two horse pits in a cemetery
near the Yellow River San-men Gorges in Honan Province in 1956 and 1957. Although only 38
of the tombs contained bronze vessels, several hitherto unknown types were found. Besides bronze
vessels and miscellaneous bronze objects, a large number of ceramic vessels, stone and bone implements,
and ornaments made of semi-precious stone and jade was also recovered. In the largest tombs,
900 objects of this sort were found. The discovery of 20 chariots which could be reconstructed adds
to our knowledge of the types and evolution of the chariot in early China. This cemetery, which
has been dated with confidence as prior to 655 B.C., throws much light on the culture of that time
and is especially valuable as a criterion for dating.
1959g T'ang ch'ang-an ta-ming-kung m~:tc*~)jg (The Ta Ming Palace of the T'ang
Dynasty Capital of Ch'ang-an), Peking, vi, 66 pp., illus., 76 pI.
A report on the excavation of a large palace built in A.D. 662 at the T'ang Dynasty capital of
China near the modern city of Sian, in Shensi Province in northwest China. Work was begun in
March of 1957, and by May of 1959 the complete outline of the palace walls had been traced and
partially excavated. The large area covered by the palace grounds is divided into two parts. The
southern half is rectangular; the northern half is more or less so, but its eastern wall slopes somewhat
to the west. The entire area measures 2,256 m. from north to south, 1,674 m. from east to west on
the long southern wall, and 1,135 m. on the shorter, northern wall. A number of wall gates have been
identified; one gate which has been completely excavated was originally a very elaborate structure.
This area, according to contemporary records, contained over 30 buildings; 20 of these have been
located and one of the largest has been completely excavated. The excavation was still going on at
the time the report was written.
CH'ANG ]EN-HSIA 'ffi1=~
1955 Han hua-yi-shu yen-chiu 7l••m1Vf~ (Studies on Painting in the Han Dynasty),
Shanghai, 13, 4 pp., 69 pI.
The word 'Painting' in this title is used in a loose sense to indicate two dimensional pictorial art
in various media. Thus, the large selection of well chosen and well reproduced plates cover mural
painting, painting on lacquer objects, and bas-reliefs in stone and clay. The text consists of the
following four essays: the influence of economic, political and cultural thought on Han painting;
the geographic distribution of Han painting and its social import; social conditions represented in
Han painting; realistic technique and color as seen in Han painting. In spite of the political overtones
in much of the text, it is extremely useful; in its wide range it covers far more Han Dynasty art
than that illustrated in the plates.
CH'IN T'ING-YU ~~~
1957 Chung-kuo ku-tai t'ao-su yi-shu GJWliitt~~tim (The Art of Ceramic Sculpture in
Ancient China), Shanghai, 5 pp., 72 pi.
A more informative title for this work would be 'Tomb Figurines of Ancient China', for it is an
album of excellent photographs of about 100 outstanding tomb figurines covering over a thousand
years from the Han to the Yuan Dynasties. Brief descriptions of each item are given in the foreword
and in the ~aptionsof each pla!e, with information on the ware, the glaze or paint, if any, with which
the figure IS decorated, the heIght and provenance. One unusual aspect of this book is that it notes
the difference between sculptured and moulded figurines.
CHEKIANG PROVINCIAL MUSEUM
1958 Che-chiang hsin-shih-ch'i shih tai wen wu-t'u lu #JfrI~E~~tt~~Ii1~ (Illustrated
Account of Neolithic Culture in Chekiang Province), Hangchow, 30 pp., 96 pl., map,
diagrams.
This book is devoted exclusively to the neolithic culture of Chekiang Province on the east coast
of China. The finds are divided according to the site where they were discovered and subdivided
according to the material from which they are made. In a preface, the well-known archreologist,
Hsia Nai, explains that he knew of only three neolithic sites in this province, and those had been
discovered some twenty years ago. A year after the Communist takeover of the Mainland, he was
CHINA MAINLAND RICHARD C. RUDOLPH 45
teaching archreology at the University of Chekiang. Wanting to use local archreological material in
his classes and feeling that these three sites were not sufficient for his needs,. he sug~ested that a
survey for neolithic sites be undertaken in the province. !his suryey resulted I~ th~ dIscovery of. a
number of new neolithic sites and a great deal of materIal. In hIS preface, HSIa dIscusses certaIn
objects which are of particular interest, such as semi~lunar sto~e knives and l?ottery Ii and t!ng (solid
and hollow-legged tripods) because they are pecuhar to ChIna. He also dIscusses the dIffe~eI?-~es
between the characteristics of the various neolithic sites in Chekiang and points out the possIbIhty
of a chalcolithic period at two of the sites where bronzes similar to those of the Warring States
Period were found. He emphasizes the discovery of a dolmen, the first to be found on the east coast
of China. A tentative, relative chronology is given in which the northern sites ar~ c.ons!der~d t~e
earliest and are equated in time with the Yin-Shang culture. The southern neohthic sItes In thiS
province are considered to be of a later date, due to the presence of bronze and wheel-made pottery.
CH'EN WAN-LI ~• .m
1957 T'ao yung ~1m (Pottery Figurines), Peking, 12 pp., 84 pI.
Ch'en gives a brief history of the development of tomb figurines in China and discusses the various
types, their manufacture and decoration, with references to early literature and to the plates. ~b~ut
100 figurines from all parts of China are illustrated with plates, often not yer~ clear. In the maJo~lty
the figurines are early finds which are now scattered or lost; they range In tIme from the WarrIng
States Period to the Ming Dynasty and include some rather uncommon types.
CHENG TE-K'UN
1959 Archaology in China. Vol. I, Prehistoric China, Toronto, xix, 250 pp., illus., incI. 44 pl.,
maps, tables.
This is the first of a projected eight volumes in which the author will tell the history of Chinese
archreology through the Ming Dynasty. Professor Cheng starts by placing prehistoric China in its
geological background and proceeds to describe the palreolithic, mesolithic, and the various neolithic
cultures of prehistoric China as revealed by excavations done during the past thirty years, that is,
after the beginning of modern scientific archreology in China. The work is well illustrated and well
documented, and has a glossary of Chinese terms, with characters, which are given in romanized
form in the text. Reviewed by Solheim in AP, 3(1960), pp. 21-22.
1960 Archaology in China. Vol. 2, Shang China, Toronto, xxviii, 68 pp., illus., incl. 56 pl.,
maps, tables.
This volume, which covers the archreology of the first historic period of China, opens with a
description of the official excavations begun in 1928 on the site of the last Shang capital. The
following sections deal with stratigraphy, architecture, burial, the lithic, shell, bone, bronze, and
ceramic industries, writing, and other aspects of Shang Dynasty culture.
CHUNGKING CITY MUSEUM
1957 Ssu-ch'uan han hua-hsiang chuan hsiian-chi gg ]JI~. ~ ~ jI~ (Collection ofHan Dynasty
Pictorial Tiles from Szechwan Province), Chungking, 90 pp., illus., incl. 40 pI.
This important collection contributes to our understanding of daily life in Han times; it has
much material that cannot be found in contemporary literature. There are reproductions of 40
tomb tiles with scenes in relief, discovered in Szechwan Province since 1947. These Szechwan tiles
differ greatly from the stereotyped pictorial Honan tomb tiles in two aspects: a. the draftsmanship
is vigorous, free and dynamic, whereas the Honan tiles are decorated by wood dies of individual
pictures which in most cases were rather lifeless; b. the Szechwan tiles, instead of being merely
decorated with isolated figures of animals, people or plants, have pictures of salt-making, hunting,
harvesting, architecture, music and dancing, games, and mythology. Each tile is thoroughly discussed
and its dimensions and provenance are given; in most cases, a rubbing accompanies the photograph
ofthe original.
HSUN PING iZ!lJJ<
1959 Ssu-ch'uan han-tai tiao-su yi-shu gg]lI ~ ~ ~mIim(The Art of Han Dynasty Sculpture
in Szechwan), Peking, i, 24 pp., 67, 55, 78, 10 figs. hors texte.
This collection of some 200 objects, divided into tomb figures, stone sculpture and pictorial tomb
tiles, plus a few examples of bronzes, gives a very good idea of the sculpture practised in Szechwan
Province in Han times. Each item is fully described in the text and many of the descriptions are
documented. This important collection shows how greatly the art of Szechwan in the Han period
differed from the traditional art of the Han Dynasty in eastern China.
HUNAN PROVINCIAL MUSEUM
1960 Hu-nan ch'u-t'u t'ung-ching t'u-lu #i1l1¥J tJj±jfpj.liI~ (Illustrated Account of Bronze
Mirrors Excavated in Hunan Province), Peking, 25 pp., illus., 152 pl., tables.
The text discusses the early bronze mirrors of Hunan Province, different types of decoration,
classification, and chronology. The 114 mirrors in this work were found since 1949 and range in date
from the Warring States Period to the Sung Dynasty. Tables give a brief description of each object.
ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
JAO TSUNG-YI _*001
1959Yin-tai cheng-pujen-wu t'ung-k'ao ~~jt i' A~iijj (Oracle Bone Diviners of the Yin
Dynasty), Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong, 2 vols., viii, 3,4,6,26, 1306,56,13 pp.
This important work on early Chinese writing is princil?ally concerned with ~he n.a~es of divin~rs.
That is, the author has arranged thousands of Shang-YIn Dynasty oracula! InSCrIptIons ~ccordIng
to the name of the diviner actually occurring on the oracle bone or shell. ThIs comprehensIve study,
the first of its kind identifies some 130 names of diviners, some of whom occur with great frequency.
The inscriptions a~e further subdivided according to topics such as weat~er, ten-d~y week, hunting
and fishing harvest dreams travelling, war, etc. There have been mInor studIes on names of
diviners before, but ~othing has ever been done in this particular field on such a grand scale.
JAPAN ORACLE BONE INSTITUTE
195 1- Kokotsugaku EfI ~~ (The Oracle Bone Journal), Tokyo, vol. l-
Each issue of this journal averages about 75-100 pages, and consists of individual studies on
single oracle-bone characters and other problems related to this earliest known Chinese writing,
early bronze inscriptions, bibliographies of studies on early inscriptions, lists of oracle bon.es in
Japan, etc. This journal is well illustrated with line drawings of oracle bones and shells. PublIshed
irregularly, vol. I appeared in October of 1951 and vol. 8 in March of 196I.
KAIZUKA SHIGEKI Jl~~m
1959-60 Kyoto daigaku jimbun kagaku kenkyujo zo kokotsu moji Ji{ ~*~ A ~ f.f ~ iVf ~ §T ~ EfI
~3C* (Catalogue of the Oracle Bones in the Kyoto University Research Institute
for Humanistic Studies), Kyoto, 2 vols. 250 pI.; 1 vol. text, 19,760, 61, xix pp., illus.
This is a comprehensive study of Shang Dynasty inscriptions on oracle bones and shells in the
major collections of Japan which now have been combined into one and housed in the Research
Institute for Humanistic Studies in Kyoto. The work treats, and the plates reproduce, rubbings of
3,246 inscriptions. These are divided into four chronological groups and subdivided according to
the content of the inscriptions, such as sacrifice, harvest, weather, hunting, war, dreams, etc. In
the text volume, most of the inscriptions are reproduced in line drawings and all of them, when
possible, are transcribed into modern Chinese characters. Proper names and special terms are
identified, and the inscription is thoroughly discussed. A foreword in English outlines the classification
system used by Kaizuka and discusses the differences between his system and that used by
Tung Tso-pin, the leading Chinese scholar in this field.
KIANGSU COMMISSION FOR THE PRESERVATION OF CULTURAL OBJECTS
1959 Chiang-su hsu-chou han hua-hsiang shih tIit~11'1 ililflE (Han Dynasty Stone Reliefs
from Hsii-chou, Kiangsu Province), Peking, ii, 13 pp., 114 pl., map, plans.
This is a study of over 100 stone reliefs from tombs of the Han dynasty from the region of Hsuchou
in Kiangsu Province on the central China coast. These reliefs illustrate many scenes of daily
activities, such as agriculture, weaving, sports and amusements, as well as mythological subjects.
An introduction describes the different tombs and gives plans of the most important ones. A large
number of illustrations are reproductions of rubbings, but some photographs of the original objects
are also given.
1959 Nan-ching liu-ch'ao mu ch'u-t'u wen-wu hsilan-chi 1=fJ Ji{ 1\~ ~ tl1 ± ~ ~ ~~ (A Collection
of Cultural Objects from Tombs of the Six Dynasties at Nanking), Shanghai, 2,1 pp., 36 pI.
This is an album of admirably large but depressingly poor photographs of tomb figurines, ceramics,
and a few bronzes found in tombs of the Six Dynasties Period near Nanking. Very brief
descriptions are given.
Kuo PAO-CHUN ~.~
1959 Shan-piao-chen yu liu-li-ko t-U~~~J]ftfAM (The Sites of Shan-piao-chen and Liuli-
ko), Peking, iv, 77 pp., 118 pl., map, tables.
A study of materials, especially bronzes, recovered from two Warring States Period burial sites,
Shan-piao-chen and Liu-li-ko, located in Honan Province in central China. The first excavations
were made in 1935 and 1937 when one large tomb was excavated at Shan-piao-chen and over fifty
tombs of various sizes at Liu-li-ko. These bronzes are of importance in general for their peculiar
style of decor. Of particular interest are two bronze chien from Shan-piao-chen decorated with
scenes of a battle on water, and fragments of a bronze lien from Liu-li-ko with scenes of dancing
and hunting. The work is splendidly illustrated with reconstructed line drawings, photographs, and
reproductions of rubbings.
LIU CHIH-YUAN iU~~
1958 Ssu-ch'uan han-tai hua-hsiang chuan yi-shu ggJJl~~iI~:pilJfi& (Art of the Han
Dynasty Pictorial Tiles of Szechwan), Peking, 10, 23 pp., 76 pI.
This work on Han Dynasty tomb tiles, with decorations in relief, is similar to the work noted
above, published by the Chungking City Museum in 1957. In a general preface the artistic quality
CHINA MAINLAND RICHARD C. RUDOLPH 47
of the tiles is discussed and they are treated by category according to their decorative m~tifs. A
catalogue of the tiles gives complete details on measurements and provenanc~, and explains the
illustrations with references, whenever possible, to the literature of Han or later times.
LOYANG COMMISSION FOR THE PRESERVATION OF CULTURAL OBJECTS
1959 Lo-yang ch'u-t'u ku-ching m~ l±\±ti. (Bronze Mirrors excavated in Loyang), Peking,
2 pp., 104 pI., tables.
104 bronze mirrors found since 1949 in early and late Han tombs in the vic~nity of Loyan~ in
Honan Province are illustrated here with rather poor photographs. Two tables give a chronological
distribution of mirrors (early, middle, late, Eastern and Weste~n Han) acc~rding to ,the typ~s of
decoration or inscription, and its measurements, inscription, detatls of excavation, associated objects,
and proposed date.
MIZUNO SEIICHI 7J<lfiiff-
1959 Inshu seidoki to tama ~ Nfl 1f~Hc 3i (Bronzes and Jades of the Yin and Chou Dynasties),
Tokyo, 35, 101 pp., illus., 176 pI.
This lavishly illustrated work is a splendid introduction to early Chinese bronzes and many of
the problems related to them, but little space is devoted to jades. The photography in the plates,
including sixteen in colour, is superb, and some of the enlargements of details will convince anyone
of the high level reached by Chinese bronze casters in the Shang and Chou periods. Bronzes are
divided into the traditional general groups according to function. Examples of each type are
thoroughly discussed and inscriptions are interpreted and commented upon. The text is replete
with enlarged reproductions of rubbings of designs and inscriptions. A brief introduction in English
gives only a sketchy idea of the contents of this excellent work.
MIZUNO SEIICHI and HIBINO TAKEO 7.l<lf71f-, 8ltlf3t:X.
1956 Sansei koseki shi l-Ug§ti.~ (On Antiquities in Shansi Province), Kyoto, 6,226,6 pp.,
illus., 90 pI.
An archreological and architectural study of important temples, shrines, tombs, and other objects
in eight districts along the Fen River in central and southwest Shansi Province, during 1940 and
1941. The historical background for each district is given, and then each object studied in this
district is thoroughly described and documented. The ninety plates contain 266 excellent photographs
of the objects studied.
MIZUNO SEIICHI and KOBAYASHI YUKIO 7.I<!fiflf, IJ\~ff~
1959 Zukai kokogaku jiten IiJM~ti~a$~ (Illustrated Dictionary of Archreology), Tokyo,
vi, 1056, 46 pp., illus., tables.
Although this dictionary treats world archreology in general, it emphasizes the Far East, particularly
China and Japan. Almost every term has an illustration with it and bibliography is sometimes
included, but unfortunately no western bibliography is given. A detailed and cross-referenced index
adds to the usefulness of this very welcome work.
NATORI YONOSUKE ~~tf.Z.WJ
1957 Bakusekizan sekkutsu ~. U-t:Em (The Stone Caves at Mai-chi-shan), Tokyo, 137 pp.
incl. 96 pI.
This is a revised and enlarged Japanese version of the Mai-chi-shan shih-k'u which was published
in China in 1954. This Buddhist site in southern Kansu Province in northwest China contains
almost 200 cave shrines with about 1,000 statues dating from the 5th-17th centuries. The present
work has new photographs obtained by Natori on a trip to China in 1956. He also adds a considerable
amount of new explanatory material, as well as a very useful chronological chart on the history of
Mai-chi-shan and Buddhist sculpture in China, Japan, and Korea.
NEEDHAM, JOSEPH
1958 The Development of Iron and Steel Technology in China, London, xii, 76 pp., 31 pI.
Recent archreological work in China has brought to light a number of cast-iron objects dating at
least from the Warring States Period, if not earlier. Thus the Chinese had mastered the technique
of cast iron some ten or twelve centuries before in the West, and the study of this subject is important
for our knowledge of the history of technology in China. The present work is a very thorough
technological study based on Chinese sources and recent archreological work. The history of iron
and steel metallurgy is traced from earliest times through literary sources, and numerous highly
technical passages from Chinese, as well as Japanese, works are translated. Archreological evidence,
including the remains of early iron foundries, substantiates the surprisingly early dates indicated by
Chinese literature. Needham's work is thoroughly documented and is an excellent source of information
on the subject not only for China, but also for Japan and the West.
ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
P'EI WEN-CHUNG, ED. ~~t:f:I
1958 Shan-hsi hsiang-fen-hsien ting-ts'un chiu-shih shih-tai yi-chih fa-chiieh pao-kao ll(g§!lift
~T *'f _"E ~ ~m±II:itWi $Il* (~~eport. on the ex:cavation o~ Palreolithic Sites a! Tingts'un,
Hsiang-fen County, Shansl ProvInce), PekIng, Mem?lr no. 2 of the InstItute of
Vertebrate Palreontology, Academy of Sciences, 4, 74, pp., IUUS., 32 pI.
A large number of fossil bones were accidentally discovered at this site in. nort~we.st China in
1953 during construction work. This led to a preliminary survey by the Shansl Prov~nclalMuseum
and subsequent excavations of 13 sites by the Institute of Vertebrate Palreontology In 1954· T~r~e
human teeth and a large number of animal fossils and palreoliths :we~e recovered. The ~emol~ IS
composed of separate reports on the geology and stratigraphy of thIs ~Ite, teet~, mammalIan fossIls,
fish bones, shells and palreoliths. Brief English abstracts of each section are given.
SEKINO T AKESHI IM1 !f'til
1956 Chugoku kokogaku kenkyu t:f:I WJ~ti ~lVf1l (Studies in Chinese Archreology), Tokyo,
15, 665, 16, 31 pp. illus., 33 pI.
This is a collection of 24 articles on Chinese archreology by Sekino, published between 1939 and
1956. Most of the earlier articles were revised for this publication. Sekino cove!s a wide range of
subjects, such as prehistoric pottery, the foundations of the walls of early capItals, Han dynasty
arrow-points, early architecture, numismatics, and other subjects. Of particular interest are two of
his articles on the early use of cast iron in China. An English abstract of each article is included in
an appendix.
SHANSI PROVINCIAL MUSEUM
1958 Pei-ch'i chang su mu wen-wu t'u-lu ~t~5N.~~~fi1&(Illustrated Report on Objects
from the Tomb of Chang Su of the Northern Ch'i Dynasty), Peking, I p. 22 pI.
This is an album of pictures of objects recovered from a tomb accidentally discovered in 1955
near T'ai-yiian, Shansi Province. Over 40 ceramic objects, most of them figurines, were found here
and are now in the Shansi Provincial Museum. According to the usual funerary inscription found
in the tomb, it was that of a Northern Ch'i Dynasty official who died in 559. The objects are reproduced
on large plates, and most of the figurines are reproduced in colour. Scarcely any description
of either the tomb or of the objects is given, but in spite of these deficiencies, this material is of
interest because it is specifically dated.
SHANTUNG PROVINCIAL MUSEUM
1959 Shan-tung wen-wu hsiian-chi l-U*~~~~ (Collection of Cultural Objects from Shantung
Province), Peking, 12 pp., 134 pI.
A pictorial album of archreological objects recently found in Shantung Province. Some 250
objects ranging in date from neolithic times to Ming are well illustrated but too briefly described.
Included are stone implements, bronze vessels and other bronze objects, ceramics, cast iron, sculpture,
tomb tiles and figurines.
SHEN TS'UNG-WEN tt~~
1958 T'ang sung t'ung-ching m*jfnj. (Bronze Mirrors of the T'ang and Sung Dynasties),
Peking, I I pp., 70 pI.
A short foreword to this collection of mirrors dating from the T'ang and Sung Dynasties gives a
chronological sketch of bronze mirrors in China. The index designates each mirror in this album
according to its decoration. The illustrations include not only photographs of the original objects,
but also rubbings and line drawings of the designs.
SHENSI PROVINCIAL MUSEUM
1958 Shen-hsi sheng ch'u-t'u t'ung-ching ~[§~ tl1±jfP]. (Bronze Mirrors excavated in Shensi
Province), Peking, 10 pp., 173 pI.
A collection of photographs of 173 bronze mirrors recently found in Shensi Province, northwest
China. A brief foreword discusses style, decoration, inscriptions, and other aspects of the Chinese
bronze mirror.
1959 Shen pei-tung han hua-hsiang shih-k'o hsiian-chi ~~t*~.~:E~U~~ (Collection of
Eastern Han Dynasty Stone Reliefs from Northern Shensi Province), Peking, 129 pp.,
illus., incl. 119 pI.
This book illustrates and describes 119 stone slabs, carved in bas-relief, from tombs of the Late
Han Dynasty in three districts in Northern Shensi Province, northwest China. These reliefs were
found between 1946 and 1956, by accident and by scientific excavation. Of particular interest are
two tombs bearing dates corresponding to A.D. 100 and A.D. 103. From the former tomb, 26
engraved slabs were recovered and from the latter, 65. The plates reproduce photographs of the
original slabs, and in many cases rubbings are also given. A most unusual feature of this group of
reliefs is that four of them (Plates 49,50, 86, and 103) still bear traces of ink used either as an outline
for the sculpture or as decoration after the relief was finished. Plans and photographs of some of
CHINA MAINLAND RICHARD C. RUDOLPH 49
the tombs are given and other objects found in them are described and illustrated. This work adds to
the growing material now available for the study of regional differences in the art ofthe Han Dynasty.
1960 Ch'ing t'ung-ch'i t'u-shih 1fjfnj~III" (Illustrated Explanation of Bronzes), Peking, 30
pp., 124 pI.
All of the large number of bronzes in this collection, with the exception of two ting, were found
during excavations made for construction projects after the Con:munist takeov.er of the ma~nl~nd in
1949. They range in date from the Shang Dynasty to the Warrll~g States Pert?d and ~re hmlted to
containers and musical instruments. A preface of ten pages discusses certain specific problems
connected with these objects and a good catalogue of them supplies all measurements, dates and
types of decoration, as well as transcription and discussion of any inscriptions.
SZECHWAN PROVINCIAL MUSEUM, CHUNGKING CITY MUSEUM
1960 Ssu-ch'uan sheng ch'u-t'u t'ung-ching ggJ"~ l±l±~. (Bronze Mirrors excavated in
Szechwan Province), Peking, 6, 6 pp., 148 pI.
This work illustrates and briefly describes 74 bronze mirrors ranging in date from the Warring
States Period to the Ming Dynasty. They are owned by both museums. Each photograph of an
original is matched with a rubbing which often supplies details lost in the photograph.
TUNHUANG RESEARCH INSTITUTE
1959 Tun-huang pi-hua fX~Mif (Mural Paintings at Tunhuang), Peking, 17 pp., illus., 10,
213 pI.
Extensive studies have been carried out in recent years at the Tunhuang Caves or 'Caves of the
Thousand Buddhas' in the extreme northwest corner of China near the city of Tunhuang. The
hundreds of caves carved in a conglomerate cliff here were a great storehouse of early Buddhist
painting, sculpture, and literature ranging from the fourth century up to fairly modern times. The
present work is the result of a study carried out in 1959 by the Tunhuang Research Institute. According
to a survey carried out at that time, there are 486 cave shrines which contain both mural paintings
and sculpture. Of these, 32 date from the Wei Dynasty, 110 from the Sui, and 247 from the T'ang.
The introduction gives a short but very good survey of these paintings, plans of typical cave shrines,
and a chronological sketch of the history of these caves. The plates, of which 10 are in colour, are
arranged chronologically and are quite good, and on the whole surpass those in the pioneer work
done many years ago by Paul Pelliot.
1960 Tun-huang ts'ai-su ¥)(~*m (Clay Sculpture at Tunhuang), n.p., 16 pp., 113 pI.
This work may be considered as a companion volume to the work on mural paintings noted above;
-it deals with the clay sculpture in the cave shrines at Tunhuang. An excellent introduction gives a
chronological survey of the work done there, treats the technique of this particular type of sculpture,
and gives an inventory of all clay figures in these caves, which totals 2,415, of which 972 date from
the Ch'ing Dynasty and are not considered in the text nor illustrated in the plates. It is of considerable
interest to note that this inventory ascribes 318 figures to the Northern Wei, 350 to the Sui,
and 670 to the T'ang Periods. The plates, of which 12 are in colour, are of good quality and give the
most extensive survey of the sculpture of the Tunhuang caves yet attempted.
UMEHARA SUEI}I *ti1**~
1959- Nihon shucho shina kodo seika S *JOCft5l11Bti~~~ (Selected Chinese Ancient
Bronzes from Japanese Collections), Osaka, vol. 1-
Various Japanese publications in the past have given students of early Chinese bronzes an idea of
what some particular collections contained. The present work, however, uses bronzes from all of
the important collections and one may now obtain a good idea of the wealth of early Chinese bronzes
to be found in Japan. Three volumes have appeared to date and a total of six volumes is promised.
These will cover some 500 bronzes between the Shang and Han Dynasties. The first three volumes
are devoted to bronzes of the Shang and Early Chou Periods and the last three will contain examples
of bronzes dating from Middle Chou to Warring States Period and the Han Dynasties. The bronzes
are arranged by types, the names and one measurement; the owner's name is given in both Japanese
and English, and a very short description in Japanese is also given. It is to be regretted that such
an authority as Umehara has made here so little comment on these individual bronzes. Volume 6
will contain an essay by him entitled 'On the Study of Ancient Chinese Bronzes', but one can hardly
expect to find in these detailed investigations an answer to many of the problems involved in these
bronzes. The illustrations and the rest of this lavish work are of the usual high quality that one has
come to expect from books which issue from the well-known Benrido Press in Kyoto.
WANG SHIH-LUN 3:±MU
1957 Che-chiang ch'u-t'u t'ung-ching hsilan-chi mrtIl±l±~.~~ (Collection of Bronze
Mirrors excavated in Chekiang Province), Peking, 2, 14 pp. 55 pI. 7 pp.
The introduction to this album gives a good treatment of bronze mirrors in general and those of
Chekiang Province in particular. 55 mirrors ranging from the Han to Ming Dynasties are illustrated
with fairly good photographs. A full discussion including measurements, provenance, decoration,
and inscription is given for each mirror.
5° ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
WATSON, WILLIAM
1960 Archc:eology in China, London, 32 p., 123 pI.
This work is based on a travelling exhibition of photographs sent to Europe .by the .Chinese
Communist government to draw attention to recent advanct:s In archreology. The IllustratIons and
accompanying notes do indeed give an excellent ~ross-se~tIonof the wor~ that has been don~ ~n
the Chinese mainland since 1949. The excellent I1lustratIon~ cover matertal.fr?m the palreolIthic
through the Han Dynasty and brief notes give clear explanatIons and some bIblIography.
YUNNAN PROVINCIAL MUSEUM
1959 Yiin-nan chin-ning shih-chai-shan ku-mu ch'iin ~J:ij~~:E~11rti·_1f (The Ancient
Cemetery at Shih-chai-shan, Chin-ning, Yunnan ProvInce), KunmIng, I vol. text, 7,
142 pp. illus., tables; 1 vol. 126 pI.
An excellent scientific report on a great hoard of unusual and important bronzes connected with
the D'ong-Son culture of northern Ind.ochi?a and other objects ~ecove!ed. from a prelimin~ry
excavation in 1955 and large scale excavatIons In 1956 and 1957 at ShIh-chai HIll about twenty mIles
south of Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan Province in southwest China. The text volume
gives detailed descriptions of all objects found and very good line drawings of many. Numerous and
clearly laid-out tables of each category provide useful summaries of the materials of each type recovered
from these excavations. The volume of plates illustrates many of the important objects,
such as bronze drums, cowrie shell containers, unusual bronze sculpture, weapons, agricultural
instruments, and many other objects. Unfortunately, in many cases the reproductions are not very
clear. This is one of the most important excavations made on the Chinese mainland in recent years.
For an illustrated English summary of the text, see R. C. Rudolph, 'An Important D'ong-Son
Site in Yunnan', AP, 4, pp. 4 1-49.
Journals
Current archreological news appears in several illustrated Chinese serial publications. Short notes
on items of general cultural interest including up-to-the-minute news of recent archreological
finds are characteristic of the monthly publication Wen-wu ts'an-k'ao tzu-liao y:. ~$~ jt*l (Cultural
Reference Materials), the name of which has now been shortened to Wen wu (Culture). Longer
reports on recent excavations and surveys appear in K'ao-ku (Archreology), formerly called K'ao-ku
t'ung-hsiin ;?5"'i!i j,im(Archreological Reports), a monthly publication. In many cases these reports
are followed by monographs on the same subject. Fairly complete and well illustrated reports may
be found in the more substantial and official bi-monthly journal K'ao-ku hsiieh pao ~ it~ fIl (The
Chinese Journal of Archreology) compiled under the supervision of the Archreological Institute of
the Academy of Sciences. (Tables of Contents for the latter two journals appeared in AP, 4, pp.
50-54). Brief notes on the most important articles appearing in the first two journals for the years
1955 and 1956 may be found in the excellent Revue bibliographique de sinologie vol. 1 (1955), nos.
209 and 210, and vol. 2 (1956), nos. 298 and 297, respectively.
Lack of time has prevented me from preparing notes on more than the most pertinent items in
K'ao-ku for all of 1959 and the first half of 1960. Each K'ao-ku issue contains many more articles and
reports than indicated by my selections here which I limited, generally speaking, to reports on the
earlier periods. As a result some issues are not included in the following list. Unfortunately, the
K'ao-ku, among other journals, is no longer being sent regularly to the West; one reason given is
that paper is rationed in China and hence many serial publications no longer appear and/or are
printed in small editions, restricted to domestic circulation. Recently however, the Dainan bookstore
in Tokyo has offered photo reproductions of K'ao-ku-hsiieh pao.
K'ao-ku hsiieh pao, 1959
I. r8-2o: The investigation of a palaeolithic site at Hsi-kou in Shansi Province. During excavations
made at this site in 1956 a number of palreoliths and animal fossils were discovered. 27-35:
The discovery and investigation of the tomb of Tung Shou, a Chinese of the Eastern Chin Dynasty
at An-yueh in northern Korea. The tomb is noteworthy for the architecture and the large number
of mural paintings it contained. 36-39: A study of tomb construction, burial and tomb objects
during the Five Dynasties and Northern and Southern Sung Periods from a study of tombs in the
region of Chengtu in Szechwan Province.
2. 7I -75: A report on Yellow River salvage archreology at Liu-tzu-chen in Hua County in
Shensi Province. This work, carried out in 1958, led to the discovery of the remains of a large dwelling,
six kilns, 166 ashpits and 20 tombs belonging to Yangshao culture; one dwelling, one kiln
and 14 ashpits belonging to Lungshan culture; traces of a city dating from the Chou Dynasty, and
burials dating from the Warring States, Han, Northern Chou and Sung Periods.
76-8r: (continuation in 1960, of 2, pp. 8-14). The result of an archreological survey caried out
in Sinkiang Province in the far west of China in 1957 and 1958. Among the discoveries briefly
described are ancient city walls, ceramic, bronze, iron and wooden objects, wall paintings and sculpture
from various locations and dating from different periods.
CHINA MAINLAND RICHARD C. RUDOLPH
3. I35-I 37, I60: A survey of important finds in the vicinity of Peking during the preceding
ten years; they include fossil animal bones, remains of city walls, neoliths and tombs rangin~ in
date from ancient times to the Ch'ing Dynasty. I38- I 42 , I46: The results of an archreologIcal
survey of the West Han River valley in Kansu Province, carried out in 1958. Yangshao and Ch'ichia
sites of the Neolithic Period and Chou Dynasty sites were studied; a quantity of pottery
gathered from these sites is briefly described. I43-I46: A report on obje~ts found in 1956 ~ear
Tsingtao, in Shantung Province; among them stone tools, pottery, bone objects, bronzes and Iron
objects dating from the Eastern Chou Dynasty.
4. I73-I 75: A report on surveys of a neolithi.c site o~ the eastern shor.e of Tie.n Lake in Yunnan
Province in southwest China. The survey, carrIed out In 1958, resulted In the dIscovery of several
neolithic sites in this area and the recovery of numerous shards which are briefly described and
illustrated. I76-I80: A report on the discovery oftwo neolithic sites discovered in 1958 at Ch'i-li-p'u in
Honan Province; they yielded stone and shell tools and miscellaneous objects, as well as a number
of ashpits. I8I-I84: A report on excavations of a neolithic site at Chang-chia-tsui in Kansu
Province in 1958, which yielded 92 Kellergruben, three ashpits, one skeleton, and numerous shards,
stone and bone objects and a piece of copper slag. These sites belonged both to Ch'i-chia culture
and Hsin-tien culture.
5. 222-228: A work report by the archreological station at Hou-ma in Shansi Province between
1956 and 1959. Among the notable discoveries at different sites were the foundations of city walls,
including the capital city of the Ch'ing Dynasty, the remains of a bronze foundry, three workshops
for the manufacture of bone implements, a kiln, and numerous other small objects. 229-230, 24I .
The excavation of a neolithic site at Pao-chi in Shensi Province. This site, about 25,000 square metres
in area, yielded remains of ten dwellings, two kilns, 403 tombs, and over 1,000 objects of various
kinds. Seventeen tombs dated from the T'ang Dynasty, but the remainder dated from the Yangshao
culture. 250-254: An investigation of some of the problems confronting the pottery makers
of Yangshao and Lungshan and other neolithic cultures by studying the methods used by the
present-day pottery makers of the primitive Wa tribe in Yunnan Province. 272 : A very brief note
and photograph describes a very interesting clay mould of a realistic human face found near Anyang
in 1958; it dates from the Shang Dynasty and bears a close resemblance to bronze masks that have
been found in the region.
6. 273-275: Survey of a neolithic site at Chang-t'u in Fukien Province on the south China coast.
This reconnaissance, which lasted for only two months in late 1957 and early 1958, resulted in the
discovery of a number of stone tools, some tombs, and a number of shards. The interesting thing
about the shards is that some had a brownish glaze; the dating of the glazed shards remains an open
question.
7. 32 3-32 5, 345: An investigation of neolithic sites in the vicinity of Lanchou in Kansu Province,
northwest China. The report is devoted mainly to a study of Yangshao and Ch'i-chia pottery found
in 1956.326-328: An investigation of several branches of the Wei River in Kansu Province in which
was found considerable pottery from both Yangshao and Ch'i-chia. 32 9-33I , 349: A report of
archreological investigations in Chung-yeh in Ninghsia in 1957, when a number of microliths,
Han Dynasty tombs, and the remains of a city dating from the T'ang Dynasty were found. 332-337:
A survey of neolithic sites in the Chang-chia-k'ou region in Hopei Province; 14 sites were investigated
in 1958 and remains of microlithic, Yangshao, and Lungshan cultures were found.
8. 393-397: A survey of neolithic sites on both banks of the Yangtze River in eastern Szechwan;
it resulted in the finding of two neolithic sites with clear cultural strata and surface finds of stone
implements and shards in 29 places. 398-4°3: A report of an archreological survey at the San Hsia
dam on the Yangtze River, Szechwan Province. Among other things was the discovery of 36 neolithic
and Warring States sites, three Sung Dynasty kilns, four Sung Dynasty bronze foundries, and 30
tombs ranging from the Warring States Period to the Three Kingdoms Period. 2,458 objects were
collected during the survey, of which 1,766 dated from the Neolithic Period. 404-4IO: Preliminary
exavation of a site at Shui-kuan-yin in Szechwan Province. Two trial digs resulted in the finding of
rich tombs containing a considerable quantity of pottery and bronze, supposed to have dated from
Late Shang to Early Chou Dynasties.
IO. 5I6-530: A report on discoveries made at Feng-hsi in Shensi Province between 1955 and 1957.
This site, near the capital of the Western Chou Dynasty, yielded many remains of a Yangshao
and Western Chou culture. Kilns, tools, chariot and horse pits, and tombs yielding much pottery
and bronze, were among the most important finds. 559-565: A discussion of neolithic culture along
the Yellow River; reviews the finds relating to Yangshao and Lungshan cultures, with emphasis on
recent finds.
II. 588-59I: Investigations in 1959 of various sites along the Wei River in Shensi Province.
They resulted in the discovery of a number of Yangshao sites, some Lungshan material, and some
objects dating from Western Chou. 592-65°: A preliminary report ofan investigation of the so-called
Hsia Hsu in western Honan in 1959. The author first discusses the possibility of a connection between
Yangshao and Lungshan cultures with the culture of the hitherto legendary Hsia Dynasty. He then
describes excavations made at Kao-ch'eng, where much evidence ofYangshao culture was uncovered,
and excavations at Shih-yang-kuan, where much Yangshao pottery was discovered.
ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
12. 653-657: Excavation of a Warring States Period tomb in the suburbs of Loyang. Although
this rather large tomb had been plundered at an early date, it still contained a quantity of pottery
and bronze objects and a few iron objects, besides some jade and stone articles. Of particular importance
is the fact that the walls were decorated with paintings.
K'ao-ku hsiieh pao, 1960
3. 9-I2 : Excavation of Ch'i-chia culture sites in Lin-hsia County, Kansu Province; at two sites
in 1959, considerable material ofYangshao culture was recovered and included remains of dwellings,
pits, human skeletons, and pottery. I3-I8: Archreological surveys in Feng-hsiang and Hsing-p'ing
counties, Shensi Province. Excavations at these places in 1959 uncovered material belonging to the
Yangshao and Lungshan cultures, including pottery, stone and bone implements. A number of
Western Chou, Ch'in, and Han sites were also discovered in the region during the course of the
excavations. 25-29: Archreological survey of Hsii-chou in 1959. Fourteen neolithic sites were discovered
and contained materials similar to those belonging to Lungshan culture. At the same time a
number of Shang Dynasty sites were also found.
5. I-6: Excavation of neolithic sites at Yi-chia-shan in Hupei Province. Work done here in 1956
resulted in the collection of 23 I stone objects and 36 boxes of shards. I3-I6: Excavation of the remains
of a Han Dynasty iron foundry in Honan Province. The remains of this site at T'ieh-sheng-kou in
Kung County measure 180 by 120 metres. Its excavation, most important for the history of iron in
early China, brought to light the remains of 17 furnaces with associated materials, such as iron in
various stages of refinement, fire brick, tools, etc.
6. I -4: The excavation of neolithic sites at Ta-chang in Lin-ju County, Honan Province, revealed
a neolithic transitional culture between Yangshao and Lungshan stages. 5-8: A test excavation
of a neolithic site in An-jen County, Hunan Province. A 1959 excavation at two different sites
resulted in the recovery of a number of neoliths and a considerable amount of pottery.
7
Hong Kong
S. G. DAVIS
Received 16 October 1961
Apart from the Geographical, Geological and Archreological Society of the
University (which is a student body) the main unit concentrating directly on
archreological matters is the University Archreological Team.
The University Archreological Team is limited to those who are prepared to be
active in the field. It is composed of roughly half University faculty members and
half non-university. The Team has met regularly since 1958 for both lectures and
field work.
During the period 1958-61 the following papers have been read.
'Hong Kong Rocks and Local Stone Implements'. S. G. DAVIS
'Some Technical Terms of Archreology'. S. M. BARD
Talk on the Primates. J. LLEWELLYN
'The Archreology of Sinanthropus Pekinensis'. R. B. MANEELY
'Rural Settlement Patterns in Hong Kong'. J. W. HAYES
'Early Historic Settlements of Hong Kong'. B. V. WILLIAMS
'Tribes of Hong Kong'. M. TREGEAR
'Farming methods of S. China and Ancient Survivals'. T. R. TREGEAR
'Population Movements in S. China'. S. G. DAVIS
'Some Recent Theories of the Pre-history of S.E. China'. C. L. So
'The Migration of Chinese Agriculture'. T. R. TREGEAR
'The Tolo Channel Pearl Fisheries and· their Relevance to the first settlement of
Hong Kong by the Chinese'. K. M. A. BARNETT
'Archreology in North Borneo'. M. TREGEAR
'The Sung Dynasty of Sung Inscribed Stones in Hong Kong'. JAO TSUNG-I
'Visit to Peru'. S. M. BARD
'Stratification in Archreological Excavations'. D. DEVENISH
'Report on a ring of stones found near Taipo'. D. DEVENISH
'Hong Kong from Historical Chinese Records'. PETER NG
Talk on Raised Beaches and Tombolas. C. L. So
Talk on Structure of old Chinese villages in the New Territories. J. C. C. WALDEN
Field 'digs' have been carried out regularly in many places in the New Territories.
One project now in hand is to map all known sites and positions where 'finds'
have been made throughout Hong Kong.
Much public interest in local archreology was aroused by an exhibition of 'finds'
from Man Kok Tsui. This exhibition was held in the Fung Ping Shan Museum of
the University of Hong Kong.
8
Thailand
CHIN YOU-DI
Received 16 November 1961
[Due to pressure of work Mr Chin You-di has not been able to give a ~ull ~en~th report on the
present archreological activities in Thailand. I have therefore taken the edItorial lIberty of supplementing
it with further information received lately from him and Mr Donald H. Rochlen, Cultural
Exchange Officer at the Embassy of the United States of America. I have also drawn on the paper
which H. R. van Heekeren presented at the loth Pacific Science Congress, and published in The
Journal of the Siam Society, and from Eigil Nielsen's preliminary report in the same JournaL]
FIELD WORK AND RESEARCH
The plan of the Thai-Danish Pre-historic Expedition covers two years of
field work. The first season in 1960-61 was divided into two parts: the first was to
survey the Kwae Noi from Three Pagoda Pass at the Thai-Burmese border down
to Kanchanaburi and up the Kwae Yai to Si Sawat; and the second to make test
excavations at selected sites.
The expedition returned to the field for the second portion of the first year's
work in January and February 1961. Excavations were made at three sites, two
cave sites near Sai-Yok and at the Bang Site near Ban Kao.
Work at the Bang Site, started by the combined members of the expedition, was
continued by Per Soerensen, Aporn na-Songkla and Kampan Boonyamalik after
the expedition split up to work in the two different areas. Bang was reported on
by Per Soerensen in an illustrated lecture at the Tenth Pacific Science Congress.
As the members of the expedition decided that all primary reports on the work
of the expedition should appear in The Journal of the Siam Society or in the expedition's
own publications, Soerensen's report will not appear in the Winter
1961 issue of Asian Perspectives with the other Congress papers. Five skeletons
were found in the testing of this site, associated with rectangular polished stone
adzes, bone tools, and very fine, black pottery. Some of this pottery is cord-marked.
In form and surface finish this pottery seems very similar to that from Gua Cha
and other neolithic pottery from northern Malaya as reported on by Peacock
(1961). Besides its similarity to the Malayan pottery of the Sa-huynh-Kalanay
tradition, the pottery shows resemblances to some of the Lungshan black pottery
of China.
The party of the expedition which moved on to the caves near Sai-Yok were
Chin You-di, H. R. van Heekeren, and Eigil Nielson. Mr van Heekeren's preliminary
report on these sites was presented at the Tenth Pacific Science Congress
and appears in The Journal of the Siam Society 49(2), November 1961. From van
Heekeren's report we have extracted the following information (102-106):
THAILAND CHIN YOU-DI 55
Cave I, with a refuse accumulation of only one metre in thickness, appeared to have
been occupied by mesolithic, neolithic and bronze-age people, and subsequently by
historical people. The latter occupation was indicated by the presence in the cave. of
wooden burial coffins containing urns with charred human bones and mortuary gIfts
like fine Sawankalok ware of varying shape, and bronze lime containers. Pottery, beads,
and a decorated bronze bell of the bronze age were found in the upper layers only. ~n
the rockbottom of the cave we found two neolithic graves with human skeletons whIch
were almost completely decayed. The funeral gifts were still present however, notable
pots buried intact and many of them complete, a selection of P?lished ~quare [rectangular?]
axes and one small shouldered axe [adze?]. Cave II, haVIng a thIn layer of refuse,
provided us with some mesolithic pebble tools. Outside the caves was a .fine ha~f op.en
rock-shelter under overhanging rock gables, where we made an excavation. It IS With
this excavation this paper is mainly concerned. . . .
The Mesolithic Pebble Tool Industry. Post-glacial flaked pebble tools of quartzite with
occasional bifacial trimming, form the bulk of the finds and 198 specimens were obtained
from the digging. The majority were found concentrated in the upper 175 cms., but
we came upon a second 'living floor' at a depth of approximately 3 metres below the
surface.
Speaking in general terms the implements could be described as unifacially trimmed,
flat-bottomed pebble tools, planoconvex in section and with a sharp cutting edge. On
the entire ventral face and on the less essential parts of the upper face, the matrix of
the original pebble was left untouched....
The lithic material included two pebble tools worked on both faces and two ground
axes or protoneoliths, which were found in the upper layers; in the same layers, six
potsherds were unearthed but after a depth of 75 cms. had been reached no further
sherds occurred. . . .
The pebble tool complex of the lower deposit is entirely preceramic and all the tools
are worked on one face only. During the excavation many large bivalve freshwater
mussels were found in all layers, but a curious feature is the great rarity of mammal
remains....
The excavation had brought to light a burial of this ancient period which was unmistakably
associated with mesolithic unifacially flaked pebble tools, without potsherds.
It was a rather ill-preserved skeleton of a human adult, 150 cms. below the surface. It
was placed almost parallel to the rear-wall on a bed of boulders; it was found lying on
its back, face turned to the right, knees updrawn, right hand under the chin, left underarm
across the body. A heavy stone slab of quartzite was placed on the upper part of
the body and the thoracic area has been subjected to downward pressure and was badly
decomposed. The soil above the head and part of the body was stained with red ochre,
Grave goods in the normal sense were not present, but a large mammal bone on the
chest and many mussels, all with the hollow side up and placed on top of each other,
are remains of food,. . . .
What struck the observer at first glance was the small stature of the skeleton, the
remarkable thickness of the skull, which was 11-12 mms. in places, the fragility of
the limb bones, and the smallness of the mandibular ramus and dentition. . . .
One point however, seems already to be certain. The skeleton is physically distinct
from the megalodontic Australo-Melanesians, who were supposed to be the originators
of the mesolithic pebble culture.
Some of this information brings to mind the mesolithic burials in Niah Cave in
Sarawak and the skull from a lower level.
ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
The field party of the 1961-1962 expedition is made up of Phil Eigil Nielsen,
Leader; Count Eigil Knuth, Per Soerensen, Mette Soerensen, H. R. van Heekeren,
Kai Larsen, Palle Johnsen, Chin You-di, Thamnoon Atthakorn, A-phorn Na
Songkhla, and Pra-pat Yothaprasert. By the middle of December the party at
Ban Kao had recovered further neolithic artifacts, including: black polished pottery,
stone amulets, stone ear-rings, finger rings made of bone, bone spearheads, and
other objects carved in bone. At Chandi Cave, Tha-kha-noon Village, Thong-phaphoorn
District had been found a burial with associated black pottery and small
axes. Also from this site came a flanged bracelet and a cone-like stone which was
called a 'neolithic top'. From a rock shelter near the Priest Cave (Sai-Yok Cave),
Lumsum Village, Sai-Yok, were recovered blade and flake tools. These are the
first blade tools to be found in Thailand. Work is continuing at the time of writing.
Apart from his work with the Thai-Danish expedition Chin You-di made
exploratory trips in other areas in Thailand. In peninsular Thailand a Srivijayan
town was discovered in Sa-thing-phra District, Songkhla Province. Hearing of a
mound dug by villagers in the north, he went to Na-korn Swan Province and he
found that they had unearthed Dvaravati artifacts: stupas with inscriptions and
votive tablets, all in terra-cotta.
In June 1961, Mr Krit Intakosai, Deputy Director-General of the Fine Arts
Department, made a preliminary survey at Ku-bua Village, Muang District,
Rajaburi Province, where a rectangular town surrounded by moats was found. In
and around the site more than 40 earth-mounds were discovered; the excavation
of some of these indicated that here was another Dvaravati town. The finds from
Ku-bua were stucco and terra-cotta figures of Buddha images, celestial beings,
musicians and dancers, elephants, etc. The mounds are either stupas or viharas.
Many such Dvaravati sites have been discovered in northeast and central Thailand.
Mr Rochlen reports a cave near the Northeast Highway approximately 147
kilometres from Bangkok: 'Some months ago, one of our USIS employees brought
to me a stone shoulder hoe which, he said, had been found on the farm of a friend.
We went to the site where the hoe had been dug up a year or so before. At the time
the hoe was found, human bones were found associated with it, but as often happens
the bones were immediately cremated. Nevertheless, there were a good many
potsherds visible in the plowed soil, most of them cord-marked. I found out that
there were five caves in the area and was able to visit three of them. In the third
one, approximately one kilometre from the site where the axe was found, I found
broken pieces of at least two large pots'. The decoration of these vessels is incised
and painted. The style of decoration is as yet unknown for Southeast Asia (Plate I).
However, the form of the neck and rim of the pictured vessel is similar to
present-day vessels and to those of archreological finds of the last several hundred
years from Malaya, Sumatra, Java, and Borneo. This comparative material is as
yet primarily unpublished.
EXHIBITION
The Thai Travelling Arts Exhibition is completing its tour in the United States.
Japan, West Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy have asked the Thai Government
to allow the exhibition to be shown in their own countries.
THAILAND CHIN YOU-DI PLATE I
b
c
e
Sherds from cave site in northeastern Thailand:
b incised decoration on a rim sherd similar to the rims of vessel a and d;
c and e sherds from second vessel.
Facing p. 56
THAILAND CHIN YOU-DI
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books and Articles
57
HEEKEREN, H. R. VAN
1961 A Preliminary Note on the Excavation of the Sai-Yok Rock-Shelter, The Journal of
the Siam Society, 49(2), 99-108.
Paper presented at the loth Pacific Science Congress, primarily concerned with a 'Mesolithic
Pebble Tool Industry' discovered in a rock shelter near Sai-Yok. Van Heekeren considers the artifacts
recovered as 'without any doubt analogous with that of the Hoabinhian of Indo-China and Malaya'.
NIELSEN, EIGIL
1961 The Thai-Danish Pre-historic Expedition 1960-1962 Preliminary Expedition 1960-61,
The Journal of the Siam Society, 49(1), 47-55.
PEACOCK, B. A. V.
1961 A short description of Malayan Prehistoric Pottery, AP, 3(2), 121-156.
9
Union of Burma
U AUNG THAW
Received 22 December I96I
FIELD WORK AND RESEARCH
Peikthanomyo
Excavation was resumed for the fourth season at Peikthano in Taungdwingyi
Township. As field work during the previous season was limited to one month
only, just before the close of the fiscal year, investigation of mound No.8 among the
four mounds taken up at the palace site was left incomplete. Remains of brick
structures probably built for residential purposes were exposed at mounds NO.5
and NO.7, while at No.6, close to the west retaining wall of the palace site, was laid
bare a circular brick structure which looks like a bastion. Mound No.8 falls squarely
on the midpoint of the east wall of the citadel. Continued excavation here revealed
the remains of the eastern gateway, 12 ft. wide, supported by two arms on the
interior, each about 20 ft. long. Just outside the gate were unearthed two large
pieces of stone, each with a pair of feet carved in high relief. These are considered
to be fragments of sculptures bearing the effigies of two guardians which were
originally placed on either side of the entrance.
The main objective of the season was to open up mound NO.9 lying about a
quarter of a mile south of the palace site. The remains of a brick structure exposed
here has a rectangular plan approximately 84 ft. long and 49 ft. wide, with an
entrance facing north on the shorter side. The walls are 4 ft. 3 in. in thickness. Inside
the structure were found eight large post-holes originally accommodating huge
round wooden posts whose charred remains could still be dug up. It also appeared
that there was a wooden door swung on iron sockets. The building seems to have
been built freely on the ground level and if it had any foundation this could not be
composed of more than a few courses of bricks. Below the debris of the structure is
found a thick layer of rammed earth which was filled in up to a height of 3 to 4 ft.
above the ground level. In this earth filling was found 13 urns of different shapes
and sizes; 27 more of such burial urns were unearthed at the exterior base of the
structure. As no articles of domestic use were found inside the building it is difficult
to consider it as a residential building. Further investigation is called for to throw
light on the functional aspect of the structure.
Epigraphy
With a view to publishing all the old Mon and medieval Mon inscriptions in one
volume, the transliteration of 208 faces of lithic and bell inscriptions were carefully
revised and the Burmese translations of them prepared. The transliteration of old
UNION OF BURMA U AUNG THAW 59
Burmese inscriptions was also continued and at the close of the year under review
the number of inscriptions dealt with had reached 219. The lithic inscriptions as
well as the records written on the plastered walls of temples belonging to the Pagan
period around Sale in Chauk Township were also explored and recorded. At
Mrohaung (Arakan) the epigraphical assistant continued to take stock of all inscriptions
in the area and also compiled the history of the numerous monuments there.
Anc'lent L'lterature and Culture (Burmese) Section
The chief task of this section being the publication of rare literary works of high
standard, the following were edited and published during the year: 'l. Worarattha
Pakathani, Vol. IV., 'li. Wethandaya Pyo; 'li'l. Thukhawahanta Pyo.
The printing of Alaungpaya A-yedawbon in two volumes and U Kala Mahayazawingyi,
Vol. III is in progress, and the works are expected to be published before
the end of the year. Myanmamin Okchokpon Sadan has also been sent to the
press. The Section has brought out Vol. 3, Nos. 9 and 10 of the Cultural Magazine
during the year. Among the works selected for future publication the following have
been edited and are ready to be made over to the press: i. Zayaditha Pyo; ii.
Nawarat Pyo; 'l'l'l. U Ponnya Tedat Paungchok.
Anc'lent Literature and Culture (Mon) Section
This Section has published the Paramigan Pyo in Mon during the year under
review. The editing of 550 Jataka Tales has been completed and action is being
taken to bring out the work in 9 volumes. Monthly meetings of the Mon-Burmese
Dictionary Committee were held regularly and lexicographic work has been done
on words beginning from Za to Na during the year. A Pali-Mon-Burmese dictionary
is also being compiled and index cards have been prepared from A to Ma. The
Section participated in the Mon Cultural Conference by exhibiting Mon inscriptions
and manuscripts, and also by staging a short play highlighting the Mon culture of
the Pagan period.
Ind'lgenous Cultural Section
This Section has published an illustrated monograph on Manao, the chief
ceremonial festival of the Kachins. The compilation of Arakanese Folk Songs and
the Palaung Culture are completed and will soon be brought out. Photographic
record has been done on Ku Hto Po, the folk ritual performed by the Kayah
people. Tape recording was done of four folk songs of Pa-O, and also some vocabulary
of Kayah and Yinda-Ie groups.
CONSERVATION OF ANCIENT MONUMENTS
During the year under review, I I ancient monuments were declared as 'scheduled
monuments', thus increasing the number of monuments maintained by the department
to 152. These include not only religious structures but also city walls of old
capitals, palace sites and historical forts. Maintenance repairs to the monuments
are carried out with the main object of preserving, as far as practicable, the originality
60 ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
of the architectural and artistic achievements of the past. Thus initial repairs
were executed at North Guni, South Guni, East Zanthi, West Zanthi and Tawagu
pagodas at Pagan which were lately brought on the schedule. Annual maintenance
repairs were done to the Lawkananda, Htilominlo, Dhammayangyi and Dhammayazika
pagodas in the same locality. At old Prome, East Zegu and Payataung pagodas
were attended to. The Yadanaman-aung, Thakyaman-aung, Linpanpyauk and
Shitthaung at Mrohaung and the old Burmese fort at Minhla were also repaired
during the year. Preservation of lithic inscriptions was effected by constructing
three new sheds at Pagan, two each at Kyaukse, Sagaing and Monywe and one at
Shwebo. Repairs were also done to one existing shed at Lemyethna temple, Pagan,
one at the Kaunghmudaw pagoda at Sagaing and a large one at Kyaukse. Fencing
was provided at the tomb of King Mindon's mother at Amarapura and around the
Pebondaw inscriptions at Mandalay. The Shwenandaw monastery at Mandalay
and the Shwelinbin pagoda at Amarapura were also repaired with the funds allotted
by the Union Cultural Council.
GENERAL
The photographic and drawing sections of the department made detailed
records of the excavation at Peikthano and the exploration around Sale. The work
of preparing faithful copies of the Jataka scenes from the Kubyauk-gyi temple near
Wetkyi-in village at Pagan was also completed.
The preservation of mural paintings at Pagan by chemical treatment was experimented
with at a few selected temples. The test is fairly successful in spite of
the limited items of chemicals available and the lack of qualified technicians in the
department.
The Annual Report of the department for 1958-1959 and the PaganWeek Lectures
were published during the year. The Annual Report for 1959-1960 has been sent
to the press, and before the close of the year the following publications are expected
to appear: The Development of Burmese Palceography and the Votive Tablets of
Burma, Part I, both written by U Mya, Officer on Special Duty.
The Department opened and archreological section at the Museum Week exhibition
held by the National Museum at the Jubilee Hall in March 1961.
A detailed programme is being drawn up for the construction of a new museum
building at Pagan with the aid of the Council for Cultural and Economic Affairs,
New York. Steps are also being taken to build a field museum at Hmawza (Old
Prome) with funds provided by the Union Cultural Council.
10
Malaya
ALASTAIR LAMB
Received 27 May I96I
FIELD WORK AND RESEARCH
This report covers the period December 1960 to May 1961. During this time
J. M. Matthews left the service of the Federation Museums Department to take up
a scholarship at the Australian National University, Canberra. He has not been
replaced and at present there is no Curator of Museums in Malaya.
During this period Malaya was visited by Professor Soekmono, Director of the
Dinas Purbakala, Indonesia, Tom Harrisson, Curator of the Sarawak Museum,
and Dr Roger Duff.
In February and March 1961 A. Lamb, following on a previous visit in August
1960, travelled in South Thailand, photographing early Hinduized monuments at
Nakorn Sri Thammaraj (Ligor), Chaya and Takuapa. The results of this journey
will shortly be published as a Paper on Southeast Asian Subjects by the Department
of History of the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur.
In April 1961, under the auspices of the Federation Museums Department,
A. Lamb carried out excavations at a number of sites in Central Kedah. At Matang
Pasir, where the foundations of a temple structure had been partly explored by
M. Sullivan in 1957, further research revealed more remains and produced a complete
plan of the site. At Tikam Batu, another site visited by Sullivan in 1957, a small
trial trench was dug and revealed some sherds of a reddish stoneware decorated
with a bright green glaze, a type of ceramic which has now turned up elsewhere in
Kedah in a context which may well prove to be dateable. At Sungei Batu Pahat, on
the opposite bank to the temple which was partially restored in 1959, the boulder
foundations of a structure were investigated, but the site was found to be too
disturbed to merit prolonged investigation. At Pengkalan Bujang, near the point
where the Sungei Bujang enters the Merbok Estuary, in the regions of Q. Wales'
site No. 18, a number of deposits of sherds and other objects were located and
excavated.
These Pengkalan Bujang deposits may well prove to be of considerable importance.
They contain numerous fragments of Chinese celadons of Sung Dynasty date,
some of very good quality, mixed up with celadons from Indochina or Siam,
stonewares, earthenwares, glass, glass and cornelian beads, fragments of glass
bangles and rings, bits of sharpening stones and such like objects. The deposits
seem to contain no shell or bone, and are unlikely, therefore, to have been middens
of some early settlement. Rather, they give the appearance of being the accumulation
of debris arising as the result of trade, of the loading and unloading of wares
on a beach. The ceramic fragments, in general, are very small in size, and very few
ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
seem to fit together. The pattern, on the whole, is very different from that found in
later ceramic deposits like that at Johore Lama. Nowhere in the Pengkalan Bujang
deposits do any blue and white sherds occur, and the Chinese celadons are distributed
uniformly through the deposits which, in some places, are over two feet
deep. Work here is rendered somewhat difficult as nearly all the deposits are below
the water table, and the most fruitful lie on the banks of the Sungei Bujang itself.
The beads found at Pengkalan Bujang are clearly related to those from Kuala
Selinsing in Perak, a fact which offers some prospect of dating for the latter site.
Over 3,000 beads were recovered from the Pengkalan Bujang sites, with at least
100 different types represented. Thus with Kuala Selinsing, Makan Sultan near
Kota Tinggi in Johore, and Khakao Island in South Thailand near Takuapa,
Pengkalan Bujang is one of the four most prolific bead sites in the Malay Peninsula
so far discovered. A few beads, all quite different from the Pengkalan Bujang
examples, were also found in March 1961 at another ceramic deposit in Central
Kedah, near Kampong Sireh on the Tikam Batu-Kota Kuala Muda road; but
here in association with few celadons and large quantities of blue and white wares.
It may well be that at Kampong Sireh, where the deposits of sherds appear to be
quite extensive, systematic research will reveal a fifth source of information about
these intriguing trade goods of early Southeast Asia. The mud of Lake Chini, which
has turned up objects from stone implements to fragments of Ming Dynasty
porcelain, may possibly also contain beads.
The fragments of ceramics from Pengkalan Bujang numbered approximately
10,000 pieces of celadon, and over 100,000 pieces of stoneware and earthenware.
The analysis of all this should provide a valuable cross-section of the Southeast
Asian ceramic trade in Sung times, and thus extend back in time our knowledge on
this subject derived from the ceramic finds at Johore Lama and Malacca (which
were mentioned in the last report on Malaya in AP). A similar collection from
Khakao Island, Takuapa, South Thailand, would take us into the T'ang period,
and it is to be hoped that such a study will be made in the near future.
PUBLICATIONS
The only publications of archreological interest which have appeared in Malaya
in the period covered by this report are all to be found in Malaya in History, 6(2)
April 196I, which contains the following items:
'The Dragon of Chini and Recent Discoveries under the Lake', by J. N.
McHUGH.
'Gua Cherita', by TUNKU NONG JIWA.
'A Model of the Temple on the River of Cut Stone', by A. LAMB.
'Buried Treasure at Kerubong', by HAJI MUBIN SHEPPARD.
II
British Borneo
BARBARA HARRISSON
Received zz November I96I
INDOOR WORK AND RESEARCH AT THE SARAWAK MUSEUM
Encouraging use continues to be made of this Museum's modest facilities by
outside research workers. Among visitors during recent months have been: Dr
Alastair Lamb and Lord Medway-both active archreologists in the area (from the
University of Kuala Lumpur, Malaya); Alexander Griswold (editor of Artibus
Asite); Dr Roger Duff, Director of Canterbury Museum, New Zealand; Professor
W. R. Geddes from the University of Sydney; and Dr William Howells of Harvard.
Special efforts were made by the Curator to extend and strengthen personal
relations and research projects in the immediate neighbourhood. Following sponsorship
of a young Brunei trainee, Awangku Shariffudin, who is now in his second
year with the Museums Association at the British Museum in London, a candidate
from North Borneo has recently been selected to start training at the Sarawak
Museum to be capable of doing active field work later, in that part of Borneo,
also. Abdul Aziz, now at Cambridge University on scholarship, was seconded to
Sarawak for archreological field training from the Federation's Museum at Kuala
Lumpur, Malaya, and usefully joined field operations at the Niah Caves.
The ASIA. FOUNDATION, having sponsored previous visits to Kuching by Philippine
scholars and a valuable period of advanced training at the Ateneo de Manila by
Mr George Jamuh, Assistant Curator (already reported on), generously followed
by underwriting main costs for the BORNEO-PHILIPPINE CULTURAL SEMINAR,
which was held in Kuching during early June and then adjourned to the Niah
Caves. Archreology was there represented by Dr Robert Fox and Senor Arturo
Luz, ethnology by Dr Frank Lynch, S.J., history by Professor Juan Francisco,
musciology by Dr Jose Maceda. Participants from North Borneo were also present.
Lively discussions were held with a view to increasing interchange of ideas and
techniques between the two areas, where no cultural communication has existed
for four centuries. The Curator will revisit Manila as an official guest of the Philippine
Government during December, consequently.
Recordings. Another valuable outcome of the Seminar was that the Museum
was able to support Dr Jose Maceda subsequently. He spent two months in the
field with Research Assistant Benedict Sandin, recording Sea Dayak music.
About 18 hours of expertly edited tape provide a valuable acquisition to the
Museum's Archives-and perhaps the last records which can ever be made of
certain aspects in Dayak culture, now rapidly vanishing into prehistory.
Mr Sandin was also active elsewhere in the country recording folklore. He worked
extensively with groups of informants of aristocratic Leppo Tau Kenyahs who were
ASIAN PERSPECTIVES 5, 1961
brought down to Kuching for long periods, from Long Nawang in Kalimantan; and
from related peoples in the Belaga district of the Upper Rejang River, in Sarawak.
The emphasis have been on recording chants, dirges, related stories, and ritual
procedures of pagan ceremonies which are now almost (or entirely) extinct-notably
Kenyah mamat, Kayan adat kian, origin myths, funerary practices and beliefs in
general. The Curator devoted special attention to research on funerary practices
and beliefs. He has summarized this work, incorporating some of the latest archreological
evidence obtained from Lobang Jeragan at Niah, in July 1961-basing his
study on a critical analysis of W. Stohr's monograph on 'Dayak Death Rituals'
(Ethnologica, I, n.s., 1959; see T. Harrisson, 'Borneo Death', Bijdragen, in the press).
FIELD WORK AND RESEARCH ELSEWHERE IN SARAWAK
Group field work has been concentrated during 1961 on archreology in the Niah
Caves. The Curator and a Museum team, aided by trained Malays and Punans
spent four months in the caves on three main projects: i. Exploration ofthe Subis
Mountain and its caves-resulting in the excavation of Lobang Jeragan, a stone-age
burial site; ii. Excavation of the Painted Cave-an early metal age burial site with
numerous cave paintings; iii. Excavation at the deep levels in the Great Cavebeyond
our C-14 data of 40,000 years.
I. Exploration and Lobang Jeragan
The complexity of the numerous cliffs and caves honeycombing the Subis
Mountain has been mentioned (AP, 3( I), 41). Although it has often been possiblewith
the kind assistance of Borneo Airways pilots and Shell Company helicopters
-to scout the mountain very extensively from the air, it proved difficult in almost
every case to follow up clues on the ground owing to the great complexity of the
terrain and inaccessibility of cliff faces. This year renewed efforts were made,
based on previous pioneer explorations by Lord Medway, and with a fine local
Punan guide, Suhat. A series of new sites were located.
Lobang Jeragan. One of these, a small, light cave, 45 feet across and about 180 feet
above the valley floor in a vertical cliff, called Lobang Jeragan, was chosen for full
excavation as it seemed a relatively simple unit to dig-though the devil to get at.
No surface remains were indicated when the first trial trenches were made, but the
whole cave area proved (on excavation) to be gloriously crowded by stone-age
burials, deposited at two levels: a. from right under the surface to a depth of up
to 12 in. as secondary burials, cremated and/or covered with hrematite, both inside
pots and jars and in conjunction with pottery sherds; b. from a depth of c. 6 in.
to rock bottom at c. 30 in. as extended 'primary' burials, subsequently treated with
hrematite powder (especially on skulls), associated with sea-shells, pottery (to a
lesser extent than a), and polished quadrangular adzes.
Although adjacent cliff-caves and shelters contained abundant metal age surface
remains (such as Chinese export ceramics of T'ang and Sung date, beads and metal
objects as well as funerary remains of more recent times), Lobang Jeragan remained
free from any such sign. Neolithic type earthenware pottery, often broken by surface
BRITISH BORNEO BARBARA HARRISSON
pressure and crowding of burials, intimately relates to that of all Paddle-decorated
and Polished types of the Great Cave (AP, 3(2), 167-176). One fine polished and
hrematite covered double-spouted vessel (compare pI. VIa) was excavated complete
(our Niah first), along with others that were broken. A large, barrel-shaped and
paddle-decorated burial urn was also recovered intact (containing remains of both
adult and child-probably mother and infant), as well as others that had collapsed.
Analysis of the material and part-reconstruction is now in progress.
The skeletal material of the 'primary' burials, although largely crushed by surface
pressure, was recorded in detail·and measured in situ before removal. Most of the
bodies-carefully arranged and laid out (though in all directions), with arms and
hands folded in distinct ways-were of small built, often under 5 feet overall adult
length and with Melanoid types of dentitions, 'negritos' in the colloquial sense at
least. A good deal of this material was recovered in fair condition and is now in
Kuching.
2. Excavation of the Painted Cave
Work here resumed where we left off in 1959-when roughly 40,000 items had
been collected on or under the surface of this early metal-age burial cave (AP,
3(1), 42). A small section of the cave with a deposit of more than an average 6 in.
was excavated in full in order to clarify an underlying earlier stone-age element
represented by a single palreolithic-type flake tool and some food-shell remains.
These latter were identified and counted by species in 3 in. layers. Full analysis
of the entire material, as well as of the hrematite paintings and associated ironwood
'death-ship' coffins, is presently in progress for publication in a special supplement to
Artibus Asia.
3. Early phases at deep levels in the Great Cave
Very slow and skilled work was continued at the main site in the Great Cave,
in the deepest pit down to 170 in. Here at 110 in. level, C-14 tests show 40,000
years. Except by fortunate chance, bone and shell were entirely decomposed from
the natural conditions at these depths-non-fossilizing at Niah-but it has been
encouraging to find a small number of very tiny flakes, more descriptively termed
'chips', under the earliest C-14 level. These are of 'quartzite'; but they differ
appreciably from the familiar quartzite flake characteristic of the higher upper
Palreolithic band already fully described in the Great Cave (cf. Man, 59, 1959,
fig. I). Two single tools of bone from deep levels have survived, because of the
polish and firings.
The need to excavate Jeragan cave resulted in less work done at the deep levels
than was originally planned. It is hoped in the near future to increase the work
here. But besides skill and patience, good luck is now needed, e.g. a fall of stone
from the cave ceiling or other such incident which may have sealed an area and
slowed up the normal cycle of depth decomposition.
NORTH-EAST SARAWAK
Two other archreological field expeditions, following up clues from local informants,
were carried out during 1961. One went across the far uplands of the
66 ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
northeast, into an area greatly affected by megalithic culture. Here a small party
explored a hitherto unreported burial zone of stone monuments in a now uninhabited
area and obtained a valuable reference collection of early ceramics; beads and metal
-including a strong element of Sawankhalok and other Thai pottery of the 15th
century, rarely found (so far) further west or south in Sarawak.
Archreological Assistant Richard Nyandoh explored another cemetery site about
twenty miles inland from Miri. Unusual for West Borneo, a number of late extended
burials were found, probably of early, locally extinct 'Melanau-type' people, which
contained fine blue-and-white plates and bowls recovered whole. By the time this
is in print,we hope Nyandoh will be a student under Professor W. R. Geddes on a
two-year scholarship at the Australian National University, Sydney.
SARAWAK RIVER DELTA
400 miles west of Niah and 30 miles from the extreme south-western tip of
Sarawak at the Sematan Bauxite Company mine, a special watch for any appearance
of hard stone in the vast deposits of soft earth (with no hard material anywhere near)
has been kept by the geologists of that Company and two massive pieces of quartzite
have been found. The first, of which a cast is now with Dr Kenneth Oakley in the
British Museum, is according to his report probably an early hand-axe type. The
second, found in 1961 and exactly pinpointed before it was removed by Dr Sansom,
confirms the very strong suspicion that there are tools belonging to palreolithic
activity earlier than anything hitherto excavated in the stratified sites at Niah and
elsewhere-quite possibly prior to the middle or early late Pleistocene.
12
Philippines
ALFREDO E. EVANGELISTA
Received 8 November I96I
ARCHlEOLOGICAL WORK AND RESEARCH
The Excavations on Calatagan, Batangas. The National Museum excavation
team headed by Dr Robert B. Fox, which had been carrying out extensive field
work since 1958 on the peninsula of Calatagan, resumed its excavations, but in
December 1960 a decision was made to end all activities in the area on 31 May 1961 .
To date, eleven different sites, have been systematically excavated yielding more
than 1,300 graves. Three of the sites included habitation areas. There must be
more than 25 of such sites on this fantastic peninsula, all located along the seashore,
and representing a common assemblage which dates from the late 14th to the early
15th centuries. The National Museum, however, does not plan to continue its
diggings because the remaining sites have been extensively looted by local residents,
instigated by some Manila collectors.
The excavations which made it possible to recover hundreds of cultural and
skeletal materials, in particular the trade potteries and porcelains from South China,
Siam, and Annam, were sponsored by private, civic-minded persons and institutions.
Some of the outstanding finds include the following items:
i. An earthenware vessel with Tagalog syllabic writings on the shoulder.
Although it is known that at least 16 different Filipino groups were literature in a
syllabic form of writing at Spanish contact (the writing if of Indic origin probably
brought to the Philippines by the Bugis, great traders from Celebes), this is the
only object from a pre-Spanish archreological site with syllabic writing. Scholars
have been invited to help translate the script, and it is hoped that selected translations
will appear in the final publication of the Calatagan excavations.
ii. A dancing figure in bas-relief. Moulded by a Filipino from clay and identified
by Dr Juan R. Francisco (1961) of the University of the Philippines Institute of
Asian Studies as a Hari-Hara (Siva Vishnu, which is Hinduistic) figure of either
Cambodian or Cham type. But he says it may turn out to be the Siamese Padmapani,
which is Buddhistic, for traces of the lotus (padma) appear where the right hand
(pani) held it with a stem projecting down to the foot of the image.
iii. Evidence of a skull cult at Calatagan. A skeleton at the site at Palapat was
accompanied by a stone figure and four skulls. The latter were covered with masks
made of lime which covered the orifices. This and several other evidences of skulls
interred together in one grave suggest a 'skull cult' in the Philippines prior to the
advent of the Spaniards.
68 ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
iv. A square box with floral designs on its sides that may be attributed to the first
halfofthe 14th century. It is possibly the earliestblue-and-whitepiecefrom Calatagan.
v. Religious images. Stone statuaries, 15 in all to date, were found associated with
the graves. Made oftuffa or coral stone, these are apparently representations of deities.
vi. Rare Ming polychromes. A tricolour duck, for example, appears to be a
Ming copy in the T'ang pottery tradition. So far only four of these came from the
Calatagan sites.
Summer Field School. With a generous grant-in-aid from the Asia Foundation,
the Anthropology Division of the National Museum conducted a Summer Field
School in Philippine Archreology at Santa Ana, Calatagan, Batangas with five
graduate students. Dr Fox and the writer headed the team that gave lectures at
the Santa Ana Schoolhouse on: 'The Philippines before Magellan', 'Pottery of the
Philippines', and 'Research in Philippine archreology'. Each day, after the morning
lectures, the students received training in the techniques of excavations, mapping,
cataloguing of finds, and so forth. This arrangement was ideal, for the school was
very close to the sites at Palapat and Santa Ana, which the team reserved for the
school. As two students from the Far Eastern University came late, it was decided
that they accompany the writer to Marinduque Island to study cave archreology.
The school has been ·affiliated with the Graduate School of Ateneo de Manila
whereby the students may receive credit. Besides the Far Eastern University and
Ateneo de Manila, two other institutions who sent students to the field school were
the University of Santo Tomas and University of Manila.
L. L. Wilson-R.I.P. Philippine anthropology, and archreology in particular, lost
one of its few workers when Lawrence L. Wilson, 76, passed away on 17 January
1961 of cerebral haemorrhage at the Notre Dame Hospital, Baguio City. He was
active in civic and literary circles; among his contributions were the Skyland
of the Philippines and Tales from Mountain Province. Associated with Philippine
mining for many years, he became interested in fossil and tektite collecting. His
fossil discoveries, representing mid-Pleistocene fauna, have since then become part
of the collections of the Museum and Institute of Ethnology and Archreology
(University of the Philippines) and the National Museum.
Zambales Explorations. While the diggings were going on in Calatagan, the National
Museum, even understaffed as it is, sent two men to verify in situ reports of extensive
habitation sites in the province of Zambales, on the western coast of Luzon.
The two sites investigated were Nahing and Gandong, about 30 km. from the
town of Botolan and presently uninhabited. They showed traces of habitation in
the latter part of the 12th to the early 14th century from the large quantities of sherds
of earthenware, porcelain, and stoneware (the latter two included Sung and Yuan
trade wares). The people who abandoned Nahing and Gandong do not appear to
be the Aeta (Negritos) who today inhabit the slopes of the Zambales mountain
range. The Aeta do not possess trade stoneware jars commonly seen among other
mountain-dwelling minorities in the Philippines, such as the Tinggian. Hence, it
is likely that the former residents of Nahing and Gandong were not Aetas but the
ancestors of Christian groups inhabiting the coasts and lowlands today.
PHILIPPINES ALFREDO E. EVANGELISTA
Cave Archceology on Marinduque Island. The writer thrice interrrupted his
participation in the Calatagan excavations in order to do archreological work
on Marinduque Island. The last activity was an extension of the Summer Field
School in Archreology, with the two participants who enrolled later than the others.
The activities on Marinduque may be divided into three stages: explorations within
the municipalities of Santa Cruz and Torrijos (13-20 February 1961 ); explorations
and excavations within Torrijos (25 March-8 April 1961); and excavations in the
cave at Pilapil, Bonliw, Torrijos (25 MaY-9 June 1961). In all these trips the writer
was accompanied by Mr Jaime Cabrera of the Museum's Zoology Division who
was invaluable in identifying and counting shells found in the sites.
The following is a tentative summary of the cave archreology on eastern Marinduque
Island:
i. A five-chambered cave (Pilapil Cave), I km. S.E. of the barrio of Bonliw,
Torrijos, yielded surface cultural materials, and a test trench was dug near the
entrance. Alfred Marche in 1881 explored this area (which he called Bonleu) and
collected decorated coffins and personal ornaments associated with intrusive and
local ceramic material.
ii. South of Bonliw are limestone formations at Talisay and here, two caves and
one rock shelter were explored. To the writer's disappointment, these sites have
been quite destroyed by diggers of guano. One cave had a cultural association
exacty similar to Pilapil Cave. The cave and rock shelter which lie closer to the
seashore did not have any foreign pottery and appeared to be Iron-Age burial sites.
All that could be done at Talisay was to collect sherd samples that were scattered
all over the ground in the immediate vicinity of the sites.
iii. The limestone formations a little bit inland and northwest of Talisay were
also surveyed. In this area, Marche reported making extensive collections. The
caves here had not been spared by the later guano diggers. Of the three caves and
two rock shelters penetrated, only one cave and an adjoining rock shelter appeared
to be undisturbed by the shovel. The cave had very few earthenware sherds on the
surface associated with a ridged stone adze, and the test trench dug by the party
yielded only land and seashells. There was a badly decayed wooden coffin and
hundreds of Sung(?) stoneware jar fragments in the adjoining rock shelter.
iv. Explorations were extended to the northeast of the island, in the limestone
formations of Cabatuan, Santa Cruz municipality, and the team came across two
caves. Again hundreds of foreign ceramic sherds associated with few pottery sherds
locally made were found mixed with limestone rubble that apparently formerly
formed part of the cave ceiling. Samples were collected but no test trenches were
dug owing to the condition of the cave floor.
The second phase of the Marinduque field work involved continued though not
so productive explorations within the areas just mentioned. A small cave at Bahuguhan,
some 6 km. S.E. of Bonliw was chosen for excavations because of its size and the
discovery of a Siamese jarlet (manufactured in Sawankhalok between A.D. 1350
and 1464), indicating a different type of assemblage. The finds included stoneware
jar sherds, beads, filed teeth, and a few gold ornaments. A rock shelter in Pamintangan
was likewise excavated.
ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
The third phase was spent almost entirely in excavating Pilapil Cave at Bonliw,
and here two students of the Summer Field School learned the rudiments of cave
archreology. About a ton of excavated material was accumulated by the team and
included personal ornaments, jarlets, bowls, plates, jars, coffin material, spindle
whorls, earthenwares, tektites, iron implements, and so forth. The shell inventory
totalled about 8,000 shells, representing more than 17 species. Of the ceramic wares,
only a handful were unbroken. Not a single trade pottery is blue-and-white,
suggesting a pre-Ming dynasty date. A distinct practice of the people who used
the cave was teeth-filing and gold-inlaying. This was found in only one individual
in the graves at Calatagan.
Banton Island Exploration (9-I 4 June I96I). The writer, with the assistance of
two field-school students, made a quick investigation of a reported coffin-burial in
caves on Banton Island, Romblon Group. Two rock shelters near the town of Jones
were easily located nestling among the diorite formations. The shelter nearer to the
town contained coffins with carved crocodile and human motifs, some earthenware
and stoneware sherds, and a piece of cloth which presumably came from one of the
coffins. Previous visitors to the cave (the shelters were discovered before World
War II)opened the coffins and collected the non-skeletal contents, reportedly tortoiseshell
combs, glass beads, and a few gold ornaments.
The other rock shelter farther south of the town contained only traces of wooden
coffins, but a pile of huge fragments of stonewares and porcelains contained a whole
range of these wares identical to those found in Calatagan (14th-15th centuries).
Moreover, evidence of skull deformation was found in both shelters. Plans are
underway to undertake excavations in both sites in order to gather additional
information for a coffin-burial cave report.
Beyer-Hester Project. Work continues on the cataloguing, classification and
reorganization of the archreological collections of Dr H. Otley Beyer of the
Museum and Institute of Ethnology and Archreology, University of the Philippines
through a grant-in-aid from Asia Foundation. The project is under the joint auspices
of the University of Chicago Philippine Studies Program and the University of the
Philippines. The PSP, headed by Dr Fred Eggan and Mr E. D. Hester, is a cooperative
undertaking of the Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago,
the Newberry Library, and the Chicago National History Museum.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BEYER, H.OTLEY
1947 'Outline review of Philippine archreology by Islands and Provinces', Philippine Journal
of Science, 77(3-4), July-August.
EVANGELISTA, ALFREDO E. and MADALE, ABDULLAH T.
1961a 'Latest clues to our forgotten past', I96I Chronicle Yearbook, 74-80.
1961b 'Digging up history: recent archreological surveys in Marinduque and Zambales bare
data on Philippine Past', Sunday Times Magazine, 16(36), 16 April, 36-37.
FRANCISCO, JUAN R.
1961 'Sri-Vijaya and the Philippines: a review'. A paper presented to the All-India Oriental
Conference, XXIst Session, October 12-14. Kashmir, India.
13
Oceania
WILHELM G. SOLHEIM II
Of major importance to Oceanian Archreology, at the loth Pacific Science Congress,
were the meetings which organized a co-ordinated, flexible programme for
archreological research, primarily in the Pacific, to be done during the next three
to five years. This programme was named the Pacific Area Archreological Program
(PAAP). The final report resulting from these meetings follows.
PACIFIC AREA ARCHlEOLOGICAL PROGRAM
"The following archreologists, as delegates to the Tenth Pacific Science Congress,
have met and agreed on the desirability of the plans outlined in the following
perspectus, amplifying the general resolution adopted at the meeting of the Anthropology
and Social Science Division of the Tenth Pacific Science Congress.
Kenneth P. Emory, Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu.
Per Soerensen, Thai-Danish Prehistory Expedition, Nationalmuseet, Copenhagen,
Denmark.
Namio Egami, Tokyo University, Institute for Oriental Culture.
Robert K. McKnight, Trust Territory of the Pacific Government.
Wilhelm G. Solheim II, University of Hawaii, Honolulu.
William T. Mulloy, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming.
Pierre M. Verin, Papeete Museum, Papeete, Tahiti.
Ichiro Yawata, University of Tokyo, Japan.
Carlyle S. Smith, Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas, Lawrence,
Kansas.
Roger C. Green, University of Auckland, New Zealand.
Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian Academy of Sciences, Oslo, Norway.
Edwin N. Ferdon, Jr., Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Roger S. Duff, Canterbury Museum, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Douglas Osborne, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado.
Roland Force, Chicago Natural History Museum, Chicago.
Richard Shutler, Jr., Nevada State Museum, Carson City.
Jean Guiart, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris, France.
Yosihiko H. Sinoto, Bishop Museum, Honolulu.
Louis Molet, Office de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique Outre-Mer,
Centre Papeete, Tahiti.
William J. Bonk, University of Hawaii, Hilo.
72 ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
GENERAL PROSPECTUS FOR MELANESIA
"The following institutions and individuals have indicated an active interest in
archreological research in Melanesia:
I. Australian National University (ANU)
2. American Museum of Natural History (AMNH)
3. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
4. Fiji Society and Fiji Museum
5. Societe d'Etudes Melanesiennes (SEM)
6. University of Hawaii (UR)
7. Richard Shutler, Archreologist, Nevada State Museum.
"These institutions and individuals consider that the following areas are crucial
and are in need of an integrated program of archreological investigation.
I. Fiji Islands. The work initiated by Gifford in this area, and the geographical
position of the group indicate that Melanesian and Polynesian problems are both
to be found in Fiji, and excavation of selected sites in an attempt to answer problems
brought out by Gifford's work is needed. This program would be coordinated
through the Fiji Museum.
2. New Hebrides. No previous archreological work has been done here. Because
of their geographical position relative to Melanesia and Polynesia, and because of
the ethnographic information available on these islands, extensive survey is needed
and sites selected for excavation.
3. New Caledonia. The Societe d'Etudes Melanesiennes is proceeding in 1962
with its program already begun with Jack Golson. Work accomplished clearly
indicates that this program is of prime importance to Melanesian prehistory.
4. New Guinea. The only work done to date is that by Susan Bulmer in the
Highlands area supported by the American Museum of Natural History. The vast
size of this island and its location makes it obvious that extensive survey is needed.
5. New Guinea North Coast and off-shore islands. There has been no archreological
work in this area which may contain many of the answers to questions concerning
early migrations from Southeast Asia and from the North. It is hoped that institutions
and groups can be found which will conduct surveys and select sites for
testing so that an archreological program be carried out for this area.
GENERAL PROSPECTUS FOR MICRONESIA
"The following delegates to the Tenth Pacific Science Congress met and discussed
the formulation of a plan for an integrated attack on the problem of the prehistory
of Micronesia: Dr Ichiro Yawata, Professor Naoichi Kokubu, Dr Clement Meighan,
Mr Yosihiko Sinoto, Dr Robert McKnight, Mr Heinz Meyer, and Dr Douglas
Osborne.
A number of proposals were discussed. Those generally accepted and agreed
upon were:
OCEANIA WILHELM G. SOLHEIM II 73
I. That development of knowledge of the archreological potential and of a
chronology is most important. Surveys and selective digging are considered to be
the first order of business and will be given first attention.
2. Following proposal No. I, studies of broader and deeper meaning may be
initiated: culture change, inter-areal (Melanesia, Indonesia, Orient, Philippine
Islands), ecology of the past periods, etc.
3. That, in order to make use of the work done during the Japanese administration
of Micronesia, every effort be made to draw Japanese scientists, funds and
interest into the program. Furthermore, the translation and wider dissemination of
some of the German studies is deemed important. The present unavailability of
many of these dulls our research effort and is resulting in duplication.
4. That, a concerted effort be made through the Office ofthe Staff Anthropologist
to encourage and guide Trust Territory personnel in securing archreological
survey data.
5. That, arrangements of a contract nature be made with a C-I4laboratory to
handle datable material that stems from the program.
6. That, the government of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands be
commended for efforts to establish commissions for monument preservation, and
that encouragement be specifically given in the restoration, stabilization, and further
archreological study of Nan Matol in Ponape. It is hoped that funds can be located,
either through governmental or private sources, to carry out this work as soon as
possible.
"Areal divisions or work areas will not be made on a more than tentative level at
this time.
Those which can be made or assigned are:
I. The University of California, Los Angeles (Dr Clement Meighan) will
shortly start a program of excavation on Guam and has plans for, or intent to
expand into Rota and Saipan.
2. The University of Tokyo, through Dr Ichiro Yawata, has longstanding
interest in the Marianas. He wishes to survey the more northern islands, the Bonins,
and excavate sites there and in Tinia~, Saipan, Rota, and Guam.
3. Ponape, Kusaie, and Truk must be surveyed; an effort will be made to secure
some of this work through the Trust Territory. Historical and survey data can be
gathered by personnel in the area. This will be of great aid when a more formal
survey can be initiated.
4. Osborne's forthcoming study indicates that the Palau Islands have a high
priority and will emphasize the need for further study. Further survey work could
be handled through the Palau Museum.
5. A concerted effort will be made to contact interested and able personnel on
any Micronesian island, to supply them with necessary instructions, encourage
them to provide survey information, and to record and collate their material.
74 ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
GENERAL PROSPECTUS FOR POLYNESIA
"The following general statement on the formulation of a coordinated plan for the
Polynesian area was drawn up by Kenneth Emory, Roger Green, and Roger Duff.
"The statement was prepared in the light of specific proposals submitted by
interested institutions from the United States, Norway, Chile, and New Zealand.
"Within Polynesia the problem of greatest theoretical interest, to which archreology
might contribute, is the nature and relationship of the Eastern and Western
cultural divisions which exhibit consistent and regular differences in most aspects
of observable culture within a framework of overall similarity. It is considered,
therefore, that as far as possible archreological research should be developed
simultaneously within each area so that findings from one might illuminate the other.
Eastern Polynesia
"In terms of the work previously achieved the critical area is seen to be the
central groups of French Polynesia (Society, Australs, Tuamotu, Marquesas) and
the Cook Islands. Some questions raised from the·considerable work done in such
marginal areas as Hawaii (Bishop Museum and the University of Hawaii), Easter
Island (the Kon Tiki Museum, Oslo, and the University of Chile), New Zealand
(numerous groups and institutions) must remain unanswered until considerable
more research has been achieved in the central groups.
"In French Polynesia work done by the Bishop Museum, assisted by the Office
de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique Outer-Mer, the American Museum of
Natural History and Harvard University has indicated this as one of the earliest
settled areas and the source of some of the marginal cultures. It is therefore the
desire of the Kon Tiki Museum to carry out archreological excavations in the
Marquesas, the Bishop Museum to continue an intensive planned program
in the Society Islands, and New Zealand to initiate work in the Cook Islands.
Excavations in French Polynesia will be planned in cooperation with the Societe
des Etudes Oceaniennes.
"For French Polynesia in particular the Committee wishes to assure the
authorities, in France and the local Territory of its desire to assist any archreological
project which French institutions might wish to develop in French Polynesia
with the particular object of building up a continuing local participation by groups
respresenting France and the Territory. This cooperation would extend to the
consideration of requests for financial assistance.
"The emphasis on the importance of promoting further work in the central groups
of Eastern Polynesia is not intended to minimize the importance of continuing the
current programmes in Hawaii, New Zealand and Easter Island. For the latter in
particular the world-wide interest in its prehistory and its significance to the question
of New World influences on Polynesia warrants continued support of theinvestigation
and stabilization program proposed by Dr W. Mulloy for the University
of Chile and the large scale excavations sponsored by Thor Heyerdahl and the
Kon Tiki Museum. In addition, Pitcairn Island will be included in the New
Zealand proposals for the program which is the subject of the resolution to the
Pacific Science Council.
OCEANIA WILHELM G. SOLHEIM II 75
Western Polynesia
"Little archreological research has been carried out in Western Polynesia. Important
exceptions have been the field surveys in Tonga by the Bishop Museum and
excavations in Western Samoa and Tonga by Mr Jack Golson, then of Auckland
University, New Zealand, working through the TRIPP program. The brief
Samoan project in particular produced important results in the form of a C-I 4
date in the first century A.D.; the sample being associated with stone adzes and
pottery, the presence of the latter having been previously unsuspected.
"The Bishop Museum is planning a field survey program in Eastern Samoa
this year, which will be followed up by controlled excavations, while New Zealand
has stated its readiness to work for at least two seasons in Western Samoa in terms
of the present proposals.
"Further research work following the lines of that already done by the Bishop
Museum and TRIPP in Tonga is urgently desirable, while Fiji might be considered
as an extension in many respects of the Samoa-Tonga cultural area."
The foregoing report is the result of the final meeting of the members listed in
the beginning of this report. At that same meeting a steering committee was elected
and instructed to co-ordinate efforts to achieve the programme outlined for the
Pacific Island area as a whole. Its membership is as follows:
The Director of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii, Chairman
(at present this is Dr Roland Force, formerly with the Chicago Natural
History Museum).
Dr Kenneth P. Emory (Chairman, Department of Anthropology, Bishop Museum,
Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A.).
Dr Roger Green (Senior Lecturer in Prehistory, University of Auckland, N. Z.)
Mr Thor Heyerdahl (Kon Tiki Museum, Oslo, Norway).
Dr Ichiro Yawata (Faculty of Letters, University of Tokyo, Japan).
Dr Wilhelm G. Solheim II, Executive Secretary (Assistant Professor, Department
of Anthropology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A.)
The PAAP does not intend to try to control the archreological work done in
the Pacific, but it wishes to encourage and co-ordinate the work being done. It
is in no way necessary for a person or an institution intending to do archreological
work in the area to work through or even to inform PAAP of its intentions. However,
it is hoped that all who plan to do work in the area will at some stage of their
programme inform the PAAP, through its Executive Secretary, of their plans so
that mutual assistance and information may be passed on in both directions. The
PAAP invites any professional person or institution planning on work in the area
to contact its Steering Committee for assistance in planning and possibly also in
financing. Though PAAP has no money of its own, as an interested party with
recognized standing, it may be helpful in finding the money for a well-planned
and worthy project.
The PAAP itself will not plan, apply for financial help, or direct any archreological
work. It will act purely as a co-ordinating agency in the fullest meaning of the word.
ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
Specific programmes will be planned, financed, and directed by an individual
institution or institutions. The PAAP will give what assistance it can when called
upon, at any stage in the individual programmes.
The first official act of the PAAP was to prepare a resolution for presentation
to the 10th Pacific Congress. This resolution was accepted and passed by the
Congress, dated August 30, 1961 .
Resolution on Pacific Island Archceology
"2. Pacific archreology has reached the point where it is essential to develop a
coordinated plan for (I) archreological surveys and excavations, (2) analysis of
the findings and publication of the results, and (3) preservation of important
objects and monuments. Papers presented at the Congress will help in the formulation
of such a plan. They indicate areas critical to the reconstruction of the prehistory
of the peoples of Oceania, where appreciable amounts of scientific archreology have
been carried out in only Hawaii and New Zealand. However, leaders in Pacific
archreology have expressed interest in a co-ordinated plan for certain specified and
strategic areas.
RESOLVED that archreologists interested in Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia
should join together to (I) develop a list of important specific areas within each of
these three main divisions of the Pacific where immediate surveys and excavations
are desirable; (2) seek cooperation and coordination between institutions prepared
to carry out archreological work in these areas; (3) keep local authorities informed
of research needs and research projects and submit requests for specific comments
well in advance; (4) encourage interest in important areas where work continued
to be neglected; (5) assist in developing a unified methodology in recording,
handling, and reporting upon materials recovered from excavations; (6) study the
problem of publication of archreological research; (7) encourage and assist in the
development of local antiquities acts and methods for their enforcement; (8) urge
local museums and other institutions to undertake the preservation and restoration
of important objects and monuments; and (9) assist in developing methods of
financing all phases of archreological research."
PROPOSED FIELD WORK
Polynesia
The Bernice P. Bishop Museum has been awarded a grant by the National
Science Foundation of the United States of US$77,220 for a three-year programme
of archreological research in Polynesia to begin 1 March 1962. It involves surveys
and excavations by the Bishop Museum in co-operation with the Canterbury
Museum, Christchurch, New Zealand; the Otago Museum, Dunedin; New
Zealand; and the University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
The Bishop Museum will continue its work in the Society Islands by sending
expeditions there from April to September in 1962 and 1963. Excavations will be
OCEANIA WILHELM G. SOLHEIM II 77
made at Afareaitu, Moorea; Papara, Tahiti; and Opoa, Raiatea. Further archreological
survey in 1962 will determine the sites for excavation in 1963. The object
of this research is to determine the length of occupation of these islands and the
content of their culture from the beginning. A representative of the Museum is in
American Samoa making a preliminary survey. He will be joined by those working
in the Society Islands for one month in 1962 and in 1963 for further survey and test
excavation. In 1964, a four-month programme of excavation will be conducted on
the basis of the information gathered from 1961 through 1963. The primary field
staff of the Museum are Kenneth P. Emory, the principal investigator, and Yosihiko
H. Sinoto. Research at the museum will be co-ordinated by Marion Kelly.
The Canterbury Museum, following the same general pattern of exploration
and excavation as the Bishop Museum, will send expeditions to Raratonga in the
Cook Islands. Under the direction of Roger S. Duff, these will be in the field from
15 November to 15 February, from 1962 to 1965. Raratonga has been chosen as it
is likely to prove a critical staging point in the southern Cook Islands on the
presumed migration route from the Society Islands.
Otago Museum will be sending expeditions to Pitcairn from 15 December to
15 February, from 1962 to 1965. Under the leadership of Peter W. Gathercole, the
problem of interest here is mainly concerned with the culture of the former inhabitants.
The remarkable proliferation of stone tools, implying a long occupation, and
the disappearance of this population before the arrival of the Bounty mutineers
need explaining.
The University of Auckland will undertake expeditions to Western Samoa on
the same schedule as that of the Otago Museum. Roger C. Green will be in charge.
Work begun by Jack Golson in 1959 for the University, will be continued to explore
questions of a possible migration from this area into Western Polynesia.
While these expeditions are underway with support of the National Science
Foundation, archreological research will continue in the Hawaiian Islands and New
Zealand with local funds. The Department of Anthropology of the University of
Hawaii, in co-operation with the Bishop Museum, is conducting survey work on
Oahu to locate sites for future excavation. In New Zealand, archreological exploration
will be extended to include the Chatham Islands.
The Kon Tiki Museum in Oslo, Norway, has offered financial assistance to
institutions in Chile and New Zealand to help in their Polynesian work. An expedition
to Easter Island sponsored by institutions in Chile is expected to begin in 1962.
This will be under the direction of Gonzalo Figueroa of the Centro de Estudios
Antropologicas, Universidad de Chile. Figueroa may be joined by William Mulloy
of the University of Wyoming. The Kon Tiki Museum will be sponsoring its own
expedition to the Marquesas in 1963. This will be under the leadership of Thor
Heyerdahl.
Micronesia and Melanesia
Plans for field work in Micronesia and Melanesia have not progressed as far as
have those for Polynesia. Efforts are being made to obtain the co-operation of the
government of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands for further study of the
prehistoric ruins on Ponape, Kusaie, and Truk. The University of California at
ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
Los Angeles plans to begin a programme of excavation on Guam in 1962 and later
to expand this to Rota and Saipan. The University of Tokyo hopes to begin a
survey in the northern Bonins by 1963. Excavation would follow there and later
on Tinian, Saipan, Rota, and Guam.
Melanesia
Work in Melanesia will probably be primarily a French and Australian undertaking.
An archreological survey is being jointly planned for the New Hebrides
by the University of Arizona, the Nevada State Museum, and the French Centre
National de la Recherche Scientifique. The Australian National University will
probably continue the work begun by Jack Golson, while in New Zealand, on the
Fiji Islands and New Caledonia. Susan Bulmer hopes to return to the Central
Highlands of New Guinea for further work, probably in 1964. The University of
Hawaii is beginning to develop plans for survey and excavation along the north
coast of New Guinea and off-shore islands, out as far as the Admiralty Islands.
RESULTS
Progress reports on work completed and further research planned will appear in
following issues of Asian Perspectives. News on preliminary results will appear
regularly under the appropriate area reports. The preliminary and terminal
publications as they appear will be presented in a bibliography with the news section
of the PAAP as well as in the appropriate area reports.
14
Micronesia
ALLAN H. SMITH
Received 28 December I96I
FIELD WORK AND RESEARCH
[The following have aided in the assembling of the data of this section: Inez de Beauclair, John
E. deYoung, Kenneth P. Emory, Edward E. Hunt, Jr., W. A. Lessa, Robert K. McKnight, Leonard
Mason, Douglas Osborne, and A. Spoehr. I am grateful for their assistance.]
Archteology. I. The Department of Anthropology and Sociology of the University
of California at Los Angeles is formulating plans for a research programme in
Micronesian anthropology, including archreological excavations on Guam and
possibly on Rota and Saipan. To further these plans, Clement Meighan devoted a
part of the summer of 1961 to a survey of the archreological resources of Guam.
2. Ichiro Yawata (University of Tokyo) proposes to carry out an archreological
survey of the Bonins, and to conduct excavations there and on Saipan, Tinian,
Rota, and Guam.
3. The Tenth Pacific Science Congress, which met in Honolulu in August
1961, adopted a 'Resolution on Pacific Island Archreology' [see p. 76], which
points to certain urgent archreological needs which prevail in Micronesia no less
than in other areas of the Pacific.
4. To implement this Congress resolution, a group of anthropologists from the
United States, Japan, and the Trust Territory, all Congress participants, formulated
a series of specific recommendations for Micronesia. It was agreed that it is of
immediate importance to: i. survey the archreological potential of the area and carry
out selective excavations; ii. establish a chronology framework for the area; iii.
foster studies to ,reveal culture change, inter-areal relationships, and earlier ecological
conditions; iv.encourage the participation ofJapanese anthropologists in Micronesian
archreology; v. develop and disseminate translations of earlier German anthropological
studies in Micronesia; vi. encourage Trust Territory personnel to secure
archreological survey data; and vii. support efforts to conduct further archreological
examination of Nan Matol in Ponape and to stabilize and restore its structures.
5. An early issue of the Journal of the Polynesian Society will include 'Marianas
Archreology: Report of an Excavation on Tinian' by M. Pellett and A. Spoehr.
The excavation was carried out in 1958 and is the deepest yet undertaken in the
Marianas.
6. The publication of the extensive monograph by Douglas Osborne (Mesa
Verde National Park, Colorado) detailing his archreological findings in Palau in
1953-54 is delayed until additional financial support can be secured.
80 ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
Physical Anthropology. I. During 1962 Edward E. Hunt, Jr. (Forsyth Dental
Infirmary, Harvard School of Dental Medicine) is to resume his research on the
physique and fertility of the Yapese, analyzing further the data collected on Yap
in 1947-48. His study is supported by a Senior Research Fellowship of the United
States Public Health Service.
Cultural Anthropology. I. Leonard Mason (University of Hawaii) has under preparation
an article entitled 'Micronesian Culture (Art)', which will appear in Enciclopedia
Universale dell'Arte (American edition: Encyclopcedia of World Art, McGraw-
Hill). Mason finds evidence to suggest that geometric, non-representational art
forms occurring in plaiting, wood-surface decoration, tattooing, and shell ornamentation
are of some antiquity in Micronesia, and are of greater age than designs of the
same style in weaving. Representational wood sculpture is of more recent date and
is intrusive, possibly from Melanesia. Local stylistic developments have been considerable
in all crafts, the result of isolation, differing local resources, and varied
cultural emphases.
2. Under the sponsorship of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (BonnGodesberg)
and the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, Inez
de Beauclair of the Institute of Ethnology of the Academia Sinica (Nankang,
Taipei, Formosa) devoted the period from March to November 1961, to ethnological
research on Yap. Her investigation.s were focused upon the folklore, magico-religious
practices, and megalithic structures of the island. Of particular archreological
interest is her discovery of 'a special bead' and a complete glass bracelet of the type
heretofore known exclusively from fragments-both have mythological associations
[see pp. 113-114]. It is expected that papers embodying her broader findings will
appear in Sociologus and in the Bulletin ofthe Institute ofEthnology, Academia Sinica.
MUSEUMS
Attention is called to the existence of the Palau Museum on Koror and to its
Palau Museum Publications. Inquiries concerning the Museum programme may
be sent to its Executive Secretary, Hera W. Owen.
PAPERS PRESENTED AT PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS
The following papers, in whole or part, considered matters relating to Micronesian
time-depth problems.
American Anthropological Association, 59th Annual Meeting (Minneapolis: November 1960)
1. MASON, LEONARD, Art Forms and Culture History in Micronesia, Abstracts [of the meeting], 18.
An assemblage of art forms exists in Micronesia which may be regarded as the basic art complex
of the area. It seems to be indigenous to the west-central Carolines. Palau and the Marianas do not
fit well within it. Yap, Ponape, and Kusaie, on the other hand, represent specialized adaptations of it.
'The Marshalls, Nauru, and the Gilberts offer examples in an atoll setting of stimulus diffusion
from the high islands of the eastern Carolines.'
Tenth Pacific Science Congress (Honolulu: August 1961)
1. CORNER, E. J. H., Ficus in the Pacific Region, Abstracts of Symposium Papers [hereafter
cited as Abstracts], 225.
MICRONESIA ALLAN H. SMITH 81
In this summary of Pacific fig flora are two brief paragraphs of interest to anthropologists:
'The Caroline Islands have received Ficus prolixa from Polynesia and their other six species probably
from Wallacea (Celebes, Moluccas, West New Guinea). The Marianas (north to Pagan Island)
have this flora attenuated.
'The Bonin Islands are distinct having merely two endemic species. One is certainly, the other
probably, of Philippine affinity. No species of this affinity reaches the <?arolines or Mari~nas.'
[No interpretations of these relationships a.re provided.. Whether the data a.re In fact ~nt~ropologlcally
significant is left for the reader to determIne: Of.p~sslble re.levance ~o thIs det~rr~l1natlon,however,
is the point made by F. RAYMOND FOSBERG In hIS Plant DIspersal In the Pac~fic pap~r (Abstracts,
225-26) that the 'results of the deep drilling on Eniwetok Atoll and of geologIcal studIes on Guam
Island show that islands may have existed on the sites of present ones as far back as the early Eocene
or earlier. Thus enormous lengths of time have been available' for plant dispersal by natural mechanisms.]
2. FISCHER, J. L., Rate of Change in Basic Vocabulary in Guam, Abstracts, 96.
The Chamorro language has incorporated many Spanish loan words while retaining its basic
Austronesian affinities. A lexicostatistic examination of contemporary Chamorro reveals that the
'amount of replacement in 400 years of intensive [Spanish] contact . . . appears to be equal to
the amount to be expected in about 1,000 years' according to present glottochronological theory.
This seems 'to raise questions about the applicability of ... [the presently accepted] rate [of
change] to languages spoken by small speech communities'.
3. GIBLETT, ELOISE R., Haptoglobins and Transferrins in Pacific Populations, Abstracts, 437·
On the present evidence, the Gilberts and Marshalls fall between the Philippines and Western
Polynesia (Tonga, Western Samoa) in their haptoglobin and transferrin gene frequencies. However,
the Gilberts are somewhat closer to the Philippines than are the Marshalls, and the Marshalls
closer to Western Polynesia than are the Gilberts. [These summary data are not included in the
published abstract, but appeared in the paper as read.]
4. MAUDE, H. E., The Evolution of the Gilbertese Boti, Abstracts, 75.
Owing to their cultural importance and the prestige gained from their memorization, Gilbertese
oral traditions provide data of substantial accuracy on a number of significant relatively recent events.
Using these traditions as his primary evidence, Maude reconstructs the early character and local
historical development of the community meeting-house system and its associated patricIans,
including their introduction from Samoa about A.D. 1400. He feels that they were disseminated
from the island of Boti through the Gilbert group about A.D. 1650.
S. OSBORNE, DOUGLAS, Archreology in Micronesia: Background, Palau Studies, and Suggestions
for the Future, Abstracts, 61.
Western and Eastern Micronesia appear to have had somewhat differing prehistories, that of the
former being the simpler. Test excavations have indicated that the middle and later periods of
Palauan prehistory were characterized by pottery which is thicker and heavier, is coarser in their
pastes, and has more complex rim forms than the pottery of older levels. That Palau has had culture
contact with the Philippines is demonstrated by the occurrence in Palau of an unusual type of sandtempered
pottery, by Palauan 'money', and possibly by terracing. A sequence of seven culture
periods, based on history, legend, and archreology, has been developed for the Palaus as a working
hypothesis.
6. STONE, BENJAMIN C., The Role of Pandanus in the Marshallese Culture and Comparisons
with Other Micronesian Cultures, Abstracts, 140.
The following observation of possible relevance to anthropological time-depth problems is made:
One species of Marshallese Pandanus, 'described as a hybridized variety of Pandanus pedunculatus
R. Brown, is very rare, and apparently derives from a Melanesian source'.
7. YAWATA, ICHIRO, Rice Cultivation by the Ancient Mariana Islanders, Abstracts, 140-41.
Rice was cultivated in the Marianas in times prior to the first Western contact, both the plant
and its cultivation techniques apparently having been introduced by early Chamorros. The species
involved was the long-awned Javanese variety, which occurs today in Java, Bali, Celebes, the Philippines,
and Taiwan. Evidently the Chamorro plant was derived from one of these areas; further
archreological research will eventually reveal the actual island source.
Besides the above papers for which abstracts were printed, the following papers
concerned with Micronesian time-depth questions were also presented at the
Congress.
82 ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
I. LESSA, WILLIAM A., An Evaluation of Early Descriptions of Carolinian Culture.
2. SIMMONS, R. T., Blood Group Genes in Polynesians and Comparis~ns with Other Pacific
Peoples.
A general evaluation of the probability of a genetic relationship. between ~olynesia~sand Micronesians
is offered on the basis of the blood group data. Three conclusIons are of Interest: t. Blood ~ypeB
is absent in unmixed Polynesians. Its presence in Fiji, San:oa, and ~onga is the ~esult of admI~ture
from Micronesia and Melanesia. ii. Ofthe six possible migratIon routes Into PolyneSIa, that most WIdely
accepted-evidently also by Simmons-is the one which led 'from Indonesia east ~etween the
Philippines and the Moluccas', through the 'Caroline, Palau, Truk, Yap, Marshall, GI1be~t, [an?]
Phoenix' islands, and into Polynesia. iii. No similarities in blood-group gene frequencIes eXIst
between the Micronesians and Polynesians.
3. YAWATA, ICHIRO, Burial Systems of Ancient Mariana Islanders.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The books and articles listed here include data of Micronesian time-depth
concern. The notes accompanying each item are ordinarily something less than
a full summary, since their focus is exclusively upon its time-depth data.
Occasionally they are, perhaps, even somewhat unfair to the author, the point
commented upon appearing in the publication more as an incidental or peripheral
observation than as an integral part of the author's primary thesis.
BIKAJLE, TION
1960 Taro cultivation in the Marshalls, Anthropological Working Papers, 6(2}, 133-40.
The native Marshallese 'taro', Cyrtosperma chamissonis, is known in four main varieties. One of
these is termed' "taro of the Gilberts" and was brought to the Marshall Islands by people who came
into the Marshalls many years ago'. (p. 135)
BIRKET-SMITH, KAJ
1955 The ethnological position of Rennell Island, Actes du IVe Congres International des
Sciences Anthropologiques et Ethnologiques (1952), 2, Ethnologica, lere partie, 299-301.
The Rennellese show Micronesian physical affinities in their 'combination of fair skin, nearly
Europid features, and curly or wavy hair', a physical form which agrees 'with conditions for instance
on the Lord Howe group'. This stands in contrast, however, to the Rennellese language and culture
which 'have a distinct Polynesian stamp'. These two contradictory bodies of data may possibly be
explained, in the author's opinion, by assuming the essential historical validity of the Rennellese
tradition which reports that an earlier island population (the 'Hiti') was exterminated by the ancestors
of the present islanders upon their arrival from Ubea. It is necessary to question only the 'extermination'
aspect of the tradition, and to regard the autochthones as having possessed Micronesian
physical traits.
CRANE, H. R. and JAMES B. GRIFFIN
1959 University of Michigan radiocarbon dates IV, American Journal of Science Radiocarbon
Supplement, I, 173-98.
Two charcoal C-14 dates are reported for the Boldanig House Mound complex, excavated on
Yap by E. W. Gifford in 1956: 1110 ± 200 B.P. for the 60 to 66 in. level, and 100 -+ 210000 B.P. for
the 54 to 60 in. level. Both samples were associated with potsherds and other artifacts. The 30 to 42 in.
levels produced a 320 ± 200 B.P. date, which has already been published (pp. 194-5). Crane and
Griffin here cite as their reference their article in Science, 128(1958}, 1117-23. This is an error, no
Yap samples being included in the list published there. The correct citation is that given in Science,
127, 1105.
[The actual radiocarbon situation at this Boldanig-Wolom Site is unclear, quite apart from the
badly inconsistent date of the Crane and Griffin 54-60 in. sample. The data of Crane and Griffin
fail to conform to those published by the Giffords (Archreological Excavations in Yap, Archceological
Records, 18(2) [1959]), which are, in turn, contradictory. The various data may be summarized
thus:
MICRONESIA ALLAN H. SMITH
DEPTH IN INCHES
SOURCES
30 I 36 I 42 I 48 I 54 I 60 I 66
+200
A. Crane and Griffin (
320±200 )
(100- 100)(1 110±200)
M-631 M-792 M-791
B. Gifford and Gifford (32O ±200) (1IIO±200)
(Table 22) M-631 M-791
c. Gifford and Gifford (
A.D. 1857
)
(p. 195) M-769
D. Gifford and Gifford ( A.D. 847 ) (
A.D. 1636
)
(p. 195)
I
E. Gifford and Gifford (
A.D. 847 -- )
I (p. 195)
(Dates are B.P. unless otherwise indicated. eM' numbers are sample designations.)
The data of this table may be discussed by level.
(I) The Crane-Griffin 30-42 in. sample is placed by the Giffords (B) solely in the 36-42 in. level.
This same sample (M-631) is likewise included in the first 1958 Crane and Griffin radiocarbon list
(Science, 127, 1105). There it is assigned the same date and is similarly ascribed to the 30-42 in. levels.
The A.D. 847 date ascribed to it by the Giffords in (D) must represent an inadvertent reversal with
the date of the (D) 54-66 in. sample. They write: 'Boldanig dates range from A.D. 847 tOA.D. 1636,
corresponding with depths of 36-42 in. and 54-66 in. respectively....' (p. 195)
(2) The Crane-Griffin 54-60 in. sample is omitted from the Giffords' table (B). Apparently, they
do not anywhere discuss an M-792 sample. On the other hand, they do present in (C) a sample to
which they ascribe the same date as Crane and Griffin give to their M-792 material. This suggests
that the two are identical. But the Giffords designate their A.D. 1857 material as Crane-Griffin
sample M-769, and assign it to the 42-60 in. levels. This sample number, however, is clearly incorrect,
for the Crane-Griffin material assigned this designation consists of oyster shell from the
Natsushima Mound in Japan. (H. R. CRANE and JAMES N. GRIFFIN, 'University of Michigan Radiocarbon
Dates V' in American Journal of Science Radiocarbon Supplement, 2, 45.) This seems to
somewhat strengthen the suggestion that the two samples are the same, despite the difference in the
accompanying level data. This hypothesis appears further supported by the Giffords' description
of their 'M-769' material as having a mixed character. It is composed of four lots of charcoal from
four separate pits and from, depths ranging from 42 to 60 in....' For this reason they do not
include it in their tabulation (B). Crane and Griffin fail to mention a partial pit origin for their
M-792 charcoal. But if this is the Giffords' 'M-769' sample, its mixed origin may explain its incongruous
date.
In the Giffords' (D) and (E) data lies a further contradiction with their 'M-769' material, inasmuch
as their A.D. 847 sample [(D) corrected as explained in (1) above] is said also to include the charcoal
from the 54-60 in. level.
(3) The Crane-Griffin 60-66 in. sample agrees with the Giffords' table (B) and with the Giffords'
statement that 'the other samples [including the one under discussion] are from 6-in. levels... '
(p. 195). However, a clearly contradictory assertion that what must be the M-791 sample was derived
from the 54-66 in. levels is twice made by the Giffords: in (D) [see (I) above] and in (E). In (E) the
sample is not only accompanied by the correct date, but by a reinforcing and unequivocal statement
that it represents a combination of charcoal from more than a single 6-in. block.
With the Giffords' (D) dates reversed, the two 320 ± 200 and I I 10 ± 200 B.P. dates seem solid
enough, but, beyond this, matters may be clarified, it would seem, only by further reference to the
Giffords' field records.]
DRAPER, JOHN W.
1959 Rhyme in the Pacific. Morgantown, W. Va.; West Virginia University. 20 pp.
The occurrence of rhyme in the native cultures of the Pacific is plotted, and the types found are
discussed in detail. Malayo-Polynesian migrations are assumed to have moved eastward into Polynesia
first from Southeast Asia through Melanesia, both north and south of New Guinea, and later from
Borneo, Celebes, and the Philippines through Micronesia. It is concluded that some ancestral
Polynesians, while still residing in Malaya, became familiar with rhyming techniques through their
contacts with Chinese, while others failed to adopt this literary device. Today 'Polynesian (Samoan)
ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
types and uses of rhyme' occur i.t?- Melane~ia east to Fiji, and i~ Samoa, the.Cook Islands, Raiat~a
in the Society Islands, and Hawau, suggesting that th~ rhy~e-usl1!gt;>eople .mlgrated fro!? Indonesia
along this route. They are natively ab~ent, howe~er! In M~cronesl~(Including th.e Caroh~es and.the
Gilberts), in the Ellice Islands, and In Polyn~sla (l1!cludlng Tahiti. but ex~ludlng the Islands Ju~t
mentioned). This indicates that Proto-Polynesian migrants unacquainted with rhyme followed this
northern route that they moved into Polynesia through the Gilbert and Ellice Islands and by way
of Tahiti rath~r than via Samoa, and that from Tahiti they spread to New Zealand and through
eastern Polynesia, except for Hawaii.
DUFF, ROGER
1959 Neolithic adzes of Eastern Polynesia. In Anthropology in the South Seas, editors J. D.
Freeman and W. R. Geddes, New Plymouth, N.Z.; Thomas Avery & Sons.
From his detailed analysis of Eastern Polynesian adzes, Duff draws three conclusions of Micronesian
interest: i. The basic adze types, together with 'the desire to modify (the) cross-section and
provide a lashing grip', came to Polynesia from Southeast Asia, though whether by a Micronesian
or by a Melanesian route is not to be determined from Duff's present data. ii. The cultural tradition
of adze manufacture was evidently retained with surprising tenacity by the Proto-Polynesians while
they passed through foreign Melanesian cultures or the stoneless Micronesian atolls. iii.A very fast
passage into Polynesia through Micronesia or Melanesia 'by one section at least of the migrants'
must necessarily be assumed.
FISCHER, JACK L.
1959 Meter in Eastern Carolinian oral literature, Journal of American Folklore, 72(1),
47-52.
On several convincing grounds the author concludes that meter is part of the traditional oral literature
of the Carolinians, not a borrowing from early Euro-American or later Japanese contacts.
However, it is similar in principle to that occurring in traditional Japanese poetry. Consequently
some remote historical connection might be postulated: 'a common origin for parts of Japanese and
Carolinian culture or more remote diffusion in either direction'. In view of the evidence, however,
it seems quite possible to Fischer 'that Carolinian meter may have had an independent local origin'.
FORCE, ROLAND W.
1960 Leadership and cultural change in Palau, Fieldiana: Anthropology, 50.
In the course of his primary analysis, Force touches upon four matters of significant time-depth
interest.
The somatic characteristics of the Palauan population are highly variable. This is accounted for
thus: 'The Palau Islands rest on the very threshold of the Pacific. Countless waves of migration must
have ebbed and flowed through this aperture to the farther reaches of Oceania. A long history of
racial admixture is attested to by Palauan folktales, which provide evidence for contact with Yap,
the Philippines, the central Carolines, and Melanesia. Undoubtedly many more such contacts are
unreported'. (p. 22)
Aboriginally the island population appears to have been much larger than in historic times,
though the subsistence economy was identical. (p. 30)
Onthe basis of the early records, it seems that both the domesticated pig and the dog were unknown
in precontact times. However, whether cassava and the sweet potato were present in the prehistoric
period cannot be determined from these records. (p. 28)
In a chapter reviewing the external contacts of the Palauans in early historic times to the extent
they can be reconstructed from known records and native tradition, three points of special interest
emerge: i. The discovery of the Palaus is credited to the Spaniard de Villalobos, who sighted the
islands in 1543. ii. The first known Western contact of consequence occurred in 1783 when the
Antelope ran on a Palauan reef. The relationship between the crew and the natives, which continued
over a period of several months, was marked by extensive cultural diffusion to the Palauans. The
earliest description of Palauan culture is found in the narrative of Keate, of the Antelope complement.
iii. However, 'Palauan folklore includes accounts of contacts with unidentified whites at some undetermined
time in history', evidently not the Antelope crew. 'They are supposed to have stayed in
Palau and to have become chiefs. Palauan accounts identify them· as Portuguese, but there is no
evidence to support this claim. The possibility that these early arrivals were Arab traders should not
be ruled out'. (pp. 66-8)
Subsequent contacts with seafarers, traders, and missionaries, and the effects of political domination
by Spain, Germany, Japan, and the United States are also appraised.
GRACE, GEORGE W.
1961 Austronesian linguistics and culture history, AA, 63(2, pt. 1), 359-68.
The author distinguishes certain subgroupings within the Austronesian language family and speculates
upon their probable history. The following is of Micronesian interest.
All contemporary languages of Micronesia belong to the Austronesian family. They subdivide,
however, into three groupings: a. those of Palau and the Marianas, b. those of Kapingamarangi and
Nukuoro ('the Polynesian outliers'), and c. all remaining languages of Micronesia. Those of groups
MICRONESIA ALLAN H. SMITH
b. and c. belong to an Eastern subgroup of Austronesian which includes as well all languages of
Polynesia and apparently all Austronesian languages of Melanesia save for a few on the New Guinea
west coast and possibly some of Geelvink Bay.
On the basis of the linguistic evidence, the languages of Micronesia appear to have had the following
history. Proto-Austronesian was pro~ably ~poken i? ?r near Southeast Asia. The Eastern Au~tronesian
proto-language probably had Its pOInt of OrIgIn on or near the north coast of New GUinea.
A group of languages developed from proto-E~sternAustronesian, and later. broke up and sp~ead
eastward to the New Hebrides among other Island areas. Eventually one of the New HebrIdes
language~moved to Micronesia: 'Micronesian' [group (c) above] has its cl?sest affiliations today 'Yith
languages of this area. At perhaps about the same time other New Hebndes languages moved Into
the Central Pacific, perhaps first to Fiji and soon afterward from Fiji to Rotuma and Western
Polynesia. Still later, proto-Polynesian broke up and was carried through the rest of Polynesia and
likewise to the Micronesian 'outliers'. In addition, languages of Austronesian affinities entered
Micronesia (at least Palau and the Marianas) directly from Malaysia. The time relationship between
the Malaysia-to-Micronesia and the New Hebrides-to-Micronesia movements is not yet clear.
LING, MARY MAN-LI
1960 Bark-cloth in Taiwan and the circum-Pacific Areas, Bulletin of the Institute of Ethnology,
Academia Sinica, 9, 313-60. (In Chinese with English summary)
By comparing her own detailed ethnographic findings among the Formosan Ami and the Formosan
archreological data with the published data for the Pacific and New World, the author arrives at
certain conclusions of Micronesian relevance. The Ami method of bark-cloth manufacture, which
appears either primitive or decadent, most resembles that of Kapingamarangi in Micronesia and
that of the Garo of Assam. Ami bark beaters are likewise similar to those of some Micronesians and
Indonesians. Ami tools and techniques differ, however, in many ways from the beaters and highly
developed manufacturing methods of those earlier Formosan groups which are described in old
document sources and known from archreological evidence.
McKNIGHT, ROBERT K.
1961 Mnemonics in pre-literate Palau, Anthropological Working Papers, 9, i-iii, 1-36.
Briefly mentioned among other 'mnemonics' are the pictographs which occur at a number of
locations 'on the roofs of cliff ledges in the Rock Islands between Koror and Peleliu'. Generally
measuring between 7 and 12 in. in height, they are executed in red and, less commonly, yellow ochre.
McKnight suggests that 'at least certain of the paintings represent the easternmost and somewhat
erratic drift of an Indian script, perhaps conveyed to Palau from the Philippines after about A.D. 800'
(p. 25). Eight pattern complexes are reproduced. A myth attributing the origin of these pictographs
to the human-like son of a supernatural snake is given in some detail.
McKNIGHT, ROBERT K. and ADALBERT OBAK
1959 Yam cultivation in Palau, Anthropological Working Papers, 4, 14-37.
The small, low Micronesian islands to the southwest of Palau (viz. Sonsorol, Pulo Ana, Merir,
and Tobi) are today either uninhabited or have, at most, a population of less than 100 persons.
Nevertheless, each island has sufficient soil resources to suggest that 'pre-contact population estimates
approaching 400-600 [for each] ... may not be too fantastic'. 'The inhabitants [of these islands]
trace their origin to migrations of small groups from the Ulithi-Yap area and [their] language affinities
are such that [they can converse with] ... Ulithians without discomfort'. (p. 18)
The islands of the Palau group received yam types in the historic period from Germans, exiled
Ponapeans, and Japanese. But yams were also cultivated in earlier times. On the basis of meager
evidence, these 'may have been introduced to the islands by migrants from the Philippines (the
Palauan sweet-potato is reported by some Palauans to be of this origin) or by the sailors of Indonesia
and South East Asia....'
The earliest known tradition of yam introduction has plants carried from Yap, presumably intermittently,
'from around the 17th century through the I 800s. These were brought by Yapese canoes
in small quantities, eaten during the stay [of the Yapese while hewing their stone money from the
Palauan quarries], and planted in those locations where the Yapese were harbored in Palau. . . .'
This, however, did not materially influence Palauan food resources, inasmuch as yam cultivation by
Palauans did not become common. Currently four yam varieties, occasionally grown for food, are
considered of Yapese origin. (pp. 22-4)
1960 Taro cultivation in Palau, Anthropological Working Papers, 6(1), 1-47.
Two incidential points of time-depth significance are made: i. Unlik the Cyrtosperma and Alocasia
'taro' species, which are regarded either as indigenous plants or, in some cases, as recently introduced
by the Japanese, and Xanthosoma, a Japanese introduction from Truk, Colocasia esculenta is cultivated
carefully in swamp plots with much ritual, and is esteemed as a prestige food. According to mythtradition,
it was 'brought to Palau from a southerly region, perhaps by persons adrift from New Guinea.
These corm-bearing immigrants on two or more occasions seem to have been adopted into ranking
clans of Palau's major villages of the time....' (PP.3-7). ii. Both certain yam types and some
86 ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
Cyrtosperma varieties are thought to have been introduced into Palau at an e~rly period from Yap.
The latter varieties, which bear Yapese names, supposedly date back 'to the tIme when Yapese men
used to come to Palau to mine their stone money'. (pp. 34,36)
MAHONY, FRANK
1960 Taro cultivation in Ponape, Anthropological Working Papers, 6(2), 99-132.
Mahony's ethnobotanical data from Kapingamarangi appear to correct Peter Buck's conclusion
that Cyrtosperma 'taro' was unknown on that island 'un~il historical times', ~o which it :was probably
introduced from Nukuoro. (TE RANGI HIROA, Matertal Culture of Kaptngamarangt [1950], 44.)
Mahony records 'the names of three varieties which were cultivated in Kapingamarangi, according
to informants, in very ancient times. All the other varieties were introduced in historic times,
especially from the nearby island of Nukuoro, and this may have led Buck into error. The Kapingamarangi
word for Cyrtosperma is quite different from the Nukuoro word for this plant. This also
suggests that Cyrtosperma is a familiar old plant on Kapingamarangi'. (pp. 1 10-1 I)
MAUDE, H. E.
1959 Spanish discoveries in the Central Pacific: a study in identification, jPS, 68(4),
284-326.
1961 Post-Spanish Discoveries in the Central Pacific. jPS, 70(1), 67-1 I I.
In these two papers, the historical evidence bearing upon the discovery of the islands of the Central
Pacific, including only the Gilberts for Micronesia, is reviewed with fine attention to the geographical
facts. Credit, currently accepted, for discoveries is shown to be often ill-founded, a not unimportant
conclusion for anthropological time-depth analyses. With specific reference to the Gilberts, Maude
concludes that only two islands were sighted by the Spanish in the earlier (1521-1606) phase of
exploration. These were Nonouti by Grijalva's mutinous crew in 1537 (Maude, 1959, 297) and
Butaritari by Quiros in 1606 (Maude, 1959, 319). During the post-Spanish period (1765-1820'8),
however, many of the group were discovered. The available facts point to the following timetable:
I
Island Discoverer Date Reference
Maude (1961)
Nikunau Byron 1765 72-3
Aranuku, Kuria, Tarawa, Abaiang Gilbert & Marshall 1788 76-9
Tabiteuea, Abemama Bishop 1799 82-3
Tamana Cary 1804 9 1
Arorae, Maiana Patterson 1809 86
Marakei Duperrey 1824 96
Beru Clerk * 1826 98
Onotoa Clerk or Chase 1826 99
* In Figure 3 (Maude, 1961,87) the name of Clerk' vessel, the john Palmer, is erroneously
recorded in lieu of Captain Clerk's name.
Moreover Nauru was first sighted by Fearn in 1798 (Maude, 1961, 81-2), and Ocean Island by
Gardner in 1801 (Maude, 1961, 83, 85).
Later visits of ships at specific Gilbert islands are also mentioned incidentally (e.g., see Duperrey's
voyage in 1824 [Maude, 1961 , 95]).
MouRANT, A. E.
1961 Blood groups and anthropology, in Hcematology and Blood Groups edited by D. A. G.
Galton and K. L. G. Goldsmith. Chicago; University of Chicago Press.
In this broad survey of the available data, Mourant makes two general statements relating to
Micronesia.
i. 'Blood groups on the whole support the usual division of Pacific islanders into Melanesians
Micronesians and Polynesians. . . .' (p. 144); ii. ' . . . the Micronesians, though distinct fro~
the Melanesians in having rather higher frequencies of the A, Band M genes, do not on the whole
~iffer markedly from them'. Although the Polynesian data are limited mainly to Maori information,
It would appear that the 'most important break in blood-group frequencies in the whole of thePacific
area is that between the Polynesians and the peoples to the west of them'. (p. 144)
MICRONESIA ALLAN H. SMITH
NGO TON DAT, SONYA DIANE
1961 A sketch of comparative Pacific folklore, Asian Culture, 3(1), 55-81.
A number of myths recorded in the literature for the Pacific (Philippines and Indonesia to Eastern
Polynesia) are catalogued into types, presented in abstract form and compared. Included are a few from
Micronesia (Yap, Ifaluk, Truk, and Kapingamarangi). Earlier uninvolved anthropological theories
of population movements from Southeast Asia into the Pacific, including one migration through
Micronesia, are accepted as valid. (,Another migration route ran far to the north, taking the migrants
into the small and widely scattered Micronesian Islands, from which they eventually reached Hawaii'.
p. 57). The contemporary distribution of myth types and motifs is explained in terms of th~se
migration theories; motif correspondences and dissimilarities are not employed to test the theorIes.
ST. JOHN, HAROLD
1960 Flora of Eniwetok Atoll, Pacific Science, 14(4), 313-36.
In this floral census is a series of observations on seeds and fruits from six species, which conceivably
have implications for time-depth studies in the Marshalls. The parts of these six plants were discovered
in the Eniwetok sea jetsam or on the lagoon beaches and, being unknown on the atoll islets,
must 'certainly [have] floated [into the area] on the sea currents or waves from distant regions'.
St. John summarizes the data as follows:
i. Four species (Caesalpinia Bonduc, Aleurites moluccana, Mucuna urens, Sapindus Saponaria)
'certainly floated from Hawaii on the Japanese Current which regularly flows past Hawaii towards
the Marshalls and the central Pacific' (p. 314); ii. Two species (Dioclea reflexa, Entada phaseoloides)
are 'of southern or western origin (and) may have travelled eastward on the Equatorial Counter
Current and have been wafted northward during a southerly storm'. (p. 314)
In his discussion of the specific plants, however, the author is more cautious for all forms but
Mucuna. There he reports:
i. Both the Caesalpinia and Aleurites forms occur to the south and west of Eniwetok as well as to
the northeast (pp. 328-9; see also p. 314). [Hence could not one or both be placed alternatively or
in addition in the Dioclea and Entada group?] ; ii. Sapindus probably came from the northeast (p. 330;
italics mine); iii. Both D£oclae and Entada probably floated to the atoll from islands to the south or
west. (p. 328; italics mine)
SOLENBERGER, ROBERT R.
1960 Contrasting patterns of Carolinian population distribution in the Marianas, in Men and
Cultures, edited by Anthony F. C. Wallace, 513-18. Philadelphia: Univ. of Penn. Press.
Of interest in the present context is the author's catalogue of historic movements of Caroline
Islanders to the Marianas. Tabulated below are the essential data from the beginning of the Spanish
conquest period to 1898-99, when the area came under American and German controls.
1788 Fleet of canoes from Lamotrek rediscovered Guam.
1805 Annual trading voyages resumed from the nearer Western Carolines to Guam; continued
through 19th century. Within a few years Carolinians were travelling to uninhabited
islands north of Guam, especially to Tinian.
1815 About 200 refugees from a typhoon on Lamotrek settled Garapan on Saipan.
1816 Carolinians established settlement near Agafia harbor, Guam. In 1901 moved to Saipan.
1865 Approximately 1000 Carolinians from atolls south of Guam arrived to work coconut
plantations on Guam, Saipan, and Pagan.
1869 250 Carolinians from Piserat Island in Namonuito Atoll brought to Tinian as ranch
workers. About 1889 moved to Saipan, where settled Tanapag village.
Similar data for the post-1898-99 period are likewise provided.
YOUD, JEAN
1961 Notes on Kickball in Micronesia, Journal of American Folklore, 74(291), 62-4.
Though. only c?n~emp~ra~y ~icron.esian forms of th.e game ~re discussed, rather incidentally
to the baSIC deSCrIptIve-dIstrIbutIonal Interest of the artIcle, the Informant's data indicate that the
game was introduced into Palau from the Marshalls, and that in the eastern Carolines it spread
westward from Kusaie to Ponape and Pingelap.
15
Polynesia
ROBERT C. SUGGS
Received IO October I96I
In the rapidly expanding field of Polynesian prehistory, every few months appear
new data as a result of archreological field work, linguistic studies, ethnographic
inquiries, etc. With these advances, Polynesianists are finding it necessary to
radically revise their concepts, theories and even methods to keep pace with the
developments in the area.
The most outstanding of recent research which was done in 1960 in the Society
Islands and Mangareva, will go a long way in helping to determine the nature of the
role played by the Society group in the settlement and development of Eastern
Polynesian culture and in establishing the source and developmental sequences of
Mangarevan culture.
SOCIETY ISLANDS
Research in the Society Islands was undertaken by the Bernice P. Bishop Museum
of Honolulu under the direction of K. P. Emory, assisted by Y. Sinoto, Mr and
Mrs A. Rappaport of Columbia University, and Richard Pearson of the University
of Toronto, Canada. Harvard University and the American Museum of Natural
History conducted research under the direction of Dr Douglas Oliver assisted by
Mr Roger Green. This co-operative relation of the two groups was of considerable
mutual advantage. The Bishop Museum programme, directed primarily toward
archreological investigations, consisted in a survey of the archreological resources
of the entire Society group including both Windward and Leeward Islands.
During the first season, it was possible to make investigations on Tahiti, Mo'orea,
Ra'i'atea, Taha'a, Maupiti, and Bora Bora primarily in their coastal regions where
open habitation sites and rock shelters were located and tested. Prospects were
sufficiently good to justify test excavations on Tahiti (Puna'auia and Pa'ea),
Ra'i'atea (Hapapara shelter), Taha'a (Ana Teva), Maupiti, Mo'orea (Aha Paa'ia in
Ha'apiti), and Bora Bora. Despite this extensive survey and testing, the Bishop
Museum field party was unable to locate sites with heavy concentrations of habitation
debris, such as have been found in Hawaii, the Marquesas, and New Zealand.
The native habitation in the areas tested and excavated appears to have been thin
and disturbance of archreological deposits by land-crabs and other natural elements
was great. However, surface collections, excavated artifacts and more than a
thousand artifacts from private collections gave a valuable start for future work;
progress was also made in the discovery and analysis of marae and above-surface
stone ruins.
Four charcoal samples from the Society Islands collected by the Bishop Museum
party were dated by the radiocarbon method. The dates from these are as follows:
POLYNESIA ROBERT C. SUGGS
TRC-I
680 ± 60 B.P. = A.ri. 1220-1340 (GRN-2902)
Sample from a charcoal layer in association with oven stones at the base of
sea eroded bank 28 inches below surface at Matira Point, Bora Bora.
TRC-2
550 ± 55 B.P. = A.D. 1355-1465 (GRN-2960)
Sample from square C8, at bottom, below 30-35 inches from surface at Ana
Paia shelter, Mo'orea.
TRC-3
598 ± 75 B.P. = A.D. 1288-1438 (G-652)
Sample from test pit NO.4, at bottom of second cultural layer, II inches below
surface at Ana Teva shelter, Taha'a.
TRC-4
a. 670 ± 75 B.P. == A.D. 1215-1365 (G-654)
b. 493 ± 69 B.P. == A.D. 1398- 1536 (G-655)
Samples from earth oven, 30 inches below surface, which was also eroded by
sea activity at Motu Tiapaa, Maupiti.
The Harvard University-American Museum programme was carried out on
the island of Mo'orea from March to September 1960 by Mr Roger Green. This
archreological field programme was an integral part of a broader programme of
study of the culture of the entire Society Group on the modern, ethnological and
archreologicallevels. On the island of Mo'orea, the Opunohu Valley was selected
as a suitable cultural and geographical unit for the study of prehistoric settlement
patterns, social organization and island population. In Opunohu, a survey of all
stone remains was followed by stratigraphic excavations at selected sites in the
interior of the valley and finally by investigations of coastal midden deposits in the
vicinity of Papeto'ai village. This later work was completed with the co-operation
of two members of the Bishop Museum party.
The Opunohu survey revealed a heavy prehistoric settlement in the inland
regions of the valley with only faint traces of coastal settlement. One particular
cluster of stone structures in the eastern half of the valley is of particular interest;
it is located in a roughly oval area about 1,5 km. in diameter, situated about 3 km.
from the coast. In this area Green found 89 marae, 34 shrines, 16 round-ended
house foundations, 28 rectangular houses, 5 raised stone-platforms, 3 small raised
platforms, and 3 'archery' platforms. A large part of these structures were enclosed
by a stone wall two to four feet high and three to four feet thick. Green believes
that these remains represent a settlement of sociological complexity: one coastal
marae, assembly platforms, archery platforms, round-ended houses and boundary
walls indicate the presence of persons belonging to the upper status levels, while
the large number of family marae, shrines, rectangular house remains and agricultural
terraces represent the lower strata of society.
ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
On the basis of his study of the structures in this area of concentrated settlement
and those in the remainder of the valley, Green has developed a tentative structuralfunctional
classification of ruins which, he points out, must await further data
analysis, additional excavations and radiocarbon age determinations from selected
sites. Green's classification is a further refinement of Emory's original classification
of structures (Emory, K. P., Stone Remains in the Society Islands, B. P. Bishop
Museum Bulletin 116, 1933).
Group I-Agricultural terraces: These are of two types: i. wet terraces, which
are generally low structures consisting of three to six terraces, designed to hold
run-off; and ii. dry terraces, much restricted in size and distribution. The occurrence
of terraces in Opunohu was so frequent that Green found it impossible to record
all of them.
Group II-Residence areas: This includes all structures or remains that were
associated with household life, such as house sites of rectangular or oval shape,
built on terraces or on flat-ground, with terraces, stone walls, or curbing.
Group III-Religious structures: Green distinguishes between a shrine [a
rectangular pavement averaging about 10 by 15 ft. with one or more rows of
uprights at one end and a backrest at the other] and a marae [a structure of the
type described by Emory, ibid]. In Opunohu, shrines were associated with marae in
slightly less than half of the recorded cases, and five of the six stone-images discovered
were found in situ on shrine platforms. Green believes that some of the
detached shrines had to do with fertility ceremonies, as they are frequently associated
with agricultural terraces.
In the Opunohu, all of the marae types originally described by Emory were
observed, but Green found it useful to define sub-types within the Coastal-Intermediate-
Inland typology based on significant architectural differences, usually
involving ahu construction features.
Group IV-Specialized structures: Among these, Green includes the elongated,
paved platforms which may have been intended for use by chiefs, and the settlement
boundary walls.
Group V-Functionally unassigned structures: This includes isolated pavements,
enclosures, rock strewn areas, etc., remnants of destroyed structures or
structures requiring excavation.
Excavations on a well-preserved house-site in Opunohu were carried out in
April. The site was that of a large, round-ended house with a front pavement and
an adjoining rectangular building. Excavation uncovered traces of architectural
features, such as post moulds, breadfruit pits and ovens, and evidence of an earlier
house on the same site. A radiocarbon age determination on a sample collected
from the earlier house has been made:
I (AMNH)-194
700 ± 80 B.P. = A.D. 1I80-A.D. 1340
Site ScMO-4; Amahiti, Opunohu, Mo'orea
Sample removed from small oven beneath the west wall of stone curbs outlining
the latest house structure on this site.
POLYNESIA ROBERT C. SUGGS
In July and August of 1960, Green spent six weeks investigating the extensive
archreological deposits in Papetoai Bay. Cultural material was thin but excavations
at six points produced quantities of midden debris and an array of shell fish-hooks
of the one-piece and compound variety in various stages of manufacture, stone
adzes, shell chisels, stone pounders, pearl shell coconut graters and coral files.
Samples for radiocarbon age determinations were collected, two of which have
been processed thus far:
I (AMNH)-188
760 ± 80 B.P.=== A.D. 1120-A.D. 1280
Site ScMF-5; Te Ama Ama, Papetoai, Mo'orea
Sample collected from a large oven at the base of the midden deposit associated
with an adze, shell chisels and other cultural remains.
I (AMNH)-189
540 ± 75 B.P. === A.D. 1345-A.D. 1485
Site ScMF-3; Vai Ohu'a, Papetoai, Mo'orea
Sample collected from an oven at the base of cultural deposits.
For this research M. Pierre Verin, a French graduate of Paris University, was
sent to Tahiti by ORSTOM at the request of the Bishop Museum to help with the
programme. Verin has also taken charge of tasks of a practical nature such as i. the
documented archreological collections in the Museum of Pape'ete; ii. the registration
of newly discovered archreological sites; iii. salvage of sites threatened by new
constructions; iv. inventory of private collections. He was helpful in obtaining
official permissions for excavations and exportation of artifacts, and aided the
Bishop Museum and Harvard-American Museum parties in furthering understanding
and interest among the public in the purposes and methods of the
archreological investigations going on.
After the departure of the Bishop Museum party Verin continued prospecting in
the Society Islands. He made test excavations and surveys in Maiao, Mopelia,
Meepia, Tepiaroa, and located sites in Tahiti and Mo'orea. With the Societe des
Etudes Oceaniennes he plans: i. restoration of a marae on Mo'orea or Ra'i'atea;
ii. protection of archreological monuments; and iii. translation and revision of
general sections of Emory's Stone Remains of the Society Islands to aid local people
who are interested in participation in archreological research.
MANGAREVA
Prior to the Society Islands archreological surveys, the first stratigraphic excavations
were made on the island of Mangareva by Roger Green under the sponsorship
of the Department of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History.
Green located a number of stratified sites on the islets of Mangareva. Particularly
impressive were several rock shelters with thick habitation debris (up to three
metres) containing numerous artifacts: fish hooks (one and two piece), shell knives,
stone flakes, sinkers, net weights, adzes, etc. From the cultural material recovered
92 ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
in these archreological contexts, Green was able to construct a tentative sequence
for the island. Radiocarbon age determinations have also been completed on four
samples obtained from three sites.
Artifacts from the earliest site excavated, Kitchen Cave on Kamaka Islet, closely
resemble those of the Marquesan Developmental Period, leading Green to believe
that Mangareva may have been settled by Marquesans, as suggested in Laval's
volume on the ethnohistory of Mangareva and by Emory in Eastern Polynesia, its
Cultural Relationships. A radiocarbon date was obtained from the lowest level of
Kitchen Cave:
I (AMNH)-190
760 ± 80 B.P. === A.D. 1120-A.D. 1280
Site GK-I, Layer J, Kitchen Cave, Kamaka
From a fire pit excavated into the sterile floor of the cave.
This date according to Green should be construed as a minimal date for the
settlement of the island, as Kamaka is a peripheral islet which would probably not
have been inhabited immediately. Green therefore inclines to think that the island
may have been settled sometime between A.D. 900 and A.D. 1000.
Other radiocarbon dates from Mangareva are:
I (AMNH)-191
330 ± 80 === A.D.1550-A.D.1710
Site GK-I, Layer G, Kitchen Cave, Kamaka
From a fire-pit more recent than I (AMNH)-190
I (AMNH)-192 :::;: 100
Site GK-S, Layer C, Te Pito no Pokiri, Sancho's Cove, Kamaka
Sample from a layer beneath a marae pavement on the beach of the cove.
Should date ca. A.D. 1775.
I (AMNH)-193
520 ± 80 === A.D. I36o-A.D. 1520
Site GA-l, Layer C, Te Ana Puta Fua, Aukena
Sample from a charcoal lens just above the sterile substratum of the site.
A summary of the Mangarevan work is being prepared.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BARTHEL, T. S.
1960a Zu einigen Polynesischen Verwandtschaftsnamen, ZFE, 8s, 2.
1960b Rezitationen auf der Osterinsel, Anthropos, 5S, 5-6.
1960c Masken-und Theaterwesen in der Alten Kultur der Osterinsel. Paper delivered at the
34th International Congress of Americanists, Vienna, 17-25 July 1960.
BONg, W. J.
1961 Prehistoric man in Hawaii, A rchceology, 14(2), 88-94.
POLYNESIA ROBERT C. SUGGS 93
BOUTINOV, N. A.
1960 Les 'oreilles longues' et les 'oreilles courtes' it l'ile de Paques, Sovietskaya Ethnographica, I.
DUFF, R.
1960 Pacific adzes and migrations, JPS, 69(3), 276-282.
EDWARDS, C. R.
1960 Sailing rafts of Sechura: history and problems of origin, SjA, 16(3), 368-391.
EMORY, K. P. .
1946 Eastern Polynesia, its Cultural Relationships, Yale University Ph.D. dissertation.
FIRTH, R.
1960 Tikopia woodworking ornament, M, 6o(Art. 27), 17-20.
GOLSON, J.
1959 L'Archeologie du Pacifique Sl!-d: resultats et perspectives, lSO, 15, I-54·
HEINE-GELDERN, R.
1960 Politische Zweiteilung, Exogamie und Kreigsursachen auf der Osterinsel, Ethnologica
N.F., 2.
HEYERDAHL, T.
1960 Merrill's reappraisal of ethnobotanical evidence for prehistoric contact between South
America and Polynesia. Paper delivered at the 34th International Congress of Americanists,
Vienna, 17-25 July.
SCHMITZ, C.
1961 Das Problem der Austro-Melaniden Kultur, Acta Tropica, 18, 2.
SMITH, C. S.
1960 The Stratigraphic occurrence of the 'mataa' in two caves on Easter Island. Paper
delivered at the 34th International Congress of Americanists, Vienna, July 17-25.
SUGGS, R. C.
1960 Historical Traditions and Archreology in Polynesia, AA, 62, 5, 764-773.
1961 The Derivation of Marquesan Culture,lRAI, 91, I.
YEN, D.
1960 The Sweet Potato in the Pacific, lPS, 69, 4, 368-375.
Book Review
HOVER, OTTO, Alt-Asiaten unter Segel: im Indischen und Pazijischen Ozean, durch Monsune und
Passate, Kulturgeschichtliche Forschungen, 9, 248 pp., 80 drawings, 8 plates, DM28. Albert
Limbach Verlag, Braunschweig.
Dr Otto Hover, a naval historian with considerable sea experience, discusses in his book a topic
of evident interest to Oceanists and naval historians: the story of Oceanian sailing and ship design.
For Hover, the history of Oceanian sailing is that of the development of the fore-and-aft rig
(Liingszeug), a rig is one of the great naval inventions of human history, and possessing a number
of unusual and unique qualities.
In the opening chapter, Hover discusses the mechanics of sailing, explaining the aerodynamic
and hydrodynamic bases of the fore-and-aft rig, drawing on Oceanian ethnology for examples.
He says that an ordinary square-rigged ship (Querzeug) is in a very literal sense a 'windjammer'
for it must go before the wind (sacrificing course stability); or tack and cruise, demanding much
additional effort of the crew with loss of time. This rig on the other hand, Hover points out, is the
first example of a dynamic principle of sailing. Because of the position of its sail, its centre of gravity
is related to the centre of gravity of the ship's hull in the same manner as the extremities of a lever,
so that pressure on one end yields mechanical advantage at the other. The relation of sail to hull is
such that the sail does not go with the wind as in the 'static-sailing' square-riggers, but past and
across it, converting the lateral force exerted upon the sail into forward motion. Further, Hover
points out that the fore-and-aft rig gives unusual stability on course, which is not so with the squarerigged
ships which veer continually into a lateral wind.
The origin of this clever method of harnessing and utilizing natural forces is due to two major
factors, according to Hover. The first is environmental: Hover does not think it to be an accident
that the rig originated on the coast of Asia, in the monsoon region. In order to be able to sail under
the conditions of northeast-southwest seasonal variations in wind and currents it was necessary to
94 ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
develop some sort of method for sailing across the winds. The technological advances contributing
to the development of the rig are represented by a number of excursions into the field of primitive
aerodynamics and hydrodynamics: the boomerang, windmills, kites, fishing-trawls, and experience
gained on swift streams in small boats. Further, Hover believes that o~servation of animals, birds,
butterflies, etc. played a role in the. development of the fore-and-aft rIg.
Given the technological background and the environmental pressure to make such an innovation,
the fore-and-aft rig gradually developed by a modification of the rigging an? design of existi~gAsian
square-rigged river craft (of which the junks and sampans are modern survIvals) to the requIrements
of high-sea sailing. The development of the fore-and-aft rig as t.he Oce~nian sprit-sail at an e~rly
date, opened the way for exploration and settlement of the PacIfic, whIch ~ccurre~ as a nautI.cal
extension'of a series of migrations which began in the Near East and created chaIn-reactIon population
movements in both Asia and Europe. (Hover subscribes to culture-historical interpretations, particularly
those of Heine-Geldern).
In the Pacific, the double canoe and outrigger receive their ultimate forms and a number of variations
on the Oceanian sprit-sail arose, the principal being the lateen sail. Hover discusses the distributions
of variants of these forms in Polynesia, New Guinea and the Indian Ocean.
For those interested in Trans-Pacific contacts Hover has much of importance. He points out that
the fisher-people of the north Asian coast were in the best position to make such contacts; they had
the benefit of proper craft, currents and winds, and were further favoured by the convergence of the
Asian and American continents. As evidence that such conditions did produce contact, as has been
suggested by Heine-Geldern, Ekholm, and others, Hover cites a report of some twenty recorded
cases of Japanese junks wrecked on the North American continent in the 19th century alone.
Perhaps ofmost interest to Polynesianists are Hover's comments on Heyerdahl, and the implications
of his data for the Sharp 'theory' of accidental settlement.
Hover notes Heyerdahl's myopia in failing to recognize anything but the trade-winds along the
South American west coast. He points out that even the voyage of the Kon-Tiki raft did not begin
from Guayaquil where the raft was constructed but 600 miles further south from Callao (reached
overland) where Heyerdahl knew he would catch the trades. Had the voyage been made from Guayaquil,
it would have never got out of coastal waters of Eucador.
The Kon-Tiki sail, Hover says, is an anchronism and an emergency'Jury rig', a truly primitive
sail in the Pacific, an ocean of advanced sailors. The Kon-Tiki voyage is likened to an attempt by a
modern captain to sail a reconstruction of Fulton's 'Claremont' across the Atlantic to prove that
Fulton could have done it.
In discussing the Spanish historical sources for aboriginal sailing, Hover shows that the much
discussed sailing raft drawing in Benzoni's volume is not good evidence of real sailing in the New
World. The sail in the drawing was apparently used only for steadying the ungainly raft, for the six
paddlers seem to be supplying the major propulsion. About the rigging displayed by early Spanish
sources, Hover presents additional evidence to support the belief that coastal sailing in South America
drew very heavily from European sources.
Referring to the more recent Heyerdahl opus, Aku-Aku, Hover discusses the ship petroglyph
'discovered' on an Easter Island statue (other examples were reported earlier by Metraux). Although
Heyerdahl sees this as a rendering of a full-rigged balsa-ship, to Hover it is nothing but a native
rendering of a European square rigger.
Of significance for Sharp's theory are Hover views on the stability of the fore-and-aft rig, its
ability to sail into the wind; his views on navigation (systems of orientation based on Orion's belt,
and two triangles: Pollux-Betelgeuse-Pleiades and Sirius-Canopus-Southern Cross); and his welcome
obs~rvationthat the islands of Polynesia lend themselves, by their positions to discovery, something
O~VIOUS from the experiences of European discoverers. It is interesting to note that many of those
WIth real experience in navigation and seamanship like Hover, Gatty and others do not see very
great obstacles in Polynesian voyaging.
Hover's book, it must be said, is not an anthropological treatise, by any manner, and the reader
must not expect detailed trait analyses, distribution plotting and heavy documentation. It is rather
an historical treatment flavoured with Hover's love of the sea and drawing freely on world-wide
examples for illumination. Anthropologists who may be concerned over Hover's choice and use of
an~hropological concepts and sources should remember the standpoint from which the book is
wrItten and judge it by the considerable light which it casts upon Oceanian navigation (and the
f~cts ~nd fantasies surrounding it), and the numerous tantalizing topics for research that Hover
pInpOInts.
16
Melanesia
RICHARD SHUTLER, JR.
Received IS July I96I
The information on Melanesia was gathered from various sources covering the
period from June 1960 through May 1961. I am indebted to Mrs Susan Bulmer
for the summary of her field work in New Guinea.
FIELD WORK
New Guinea
An archreological field survey of the Central Highlands of Australian New
Guinea was conducted by Mrs Susan Bulmer, graduate student in the Anthropology
Department at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. The research, which
was carried out between October 1959 and May 1960, was made possible by a
grant from the American Museum of Natural History. The survey and recording
of sites and collections in the areas near Baiyer River, Mt. Hagen, Banz, Mingende,
Kundiawa and Chuave took four months; the rest of the time was spent on the
excavation of two rock shelter sites.
The origin of the present-day Highlanders is of great interest, since they are in
language, physical type and culture markedly different from the coastal and lowland
populations of New Guinea.
A large number of valuable accidental finds have been reported from the Central
Highlands. Most ofthe artifacts found have been sent to various Australian, American
and European museums; they include types which are. not made by the modern
Highlanders: stone club-heads, pestles, mortars, and stone carvings of human heads,
human figures and birds. In the course of her survey Mrs Bulmer examined and recorded
five collections which still remain in the Highlands, including about sixty artifacts,
and she collected an additional two dozen pieces. Moreover she discovered that
axe-adze blades of lenticular or oval cross-section (distinct from the quadrangularsectioned
axes used until recent times by Highlanders), are accidentally found in
the Western Highlands and attributed by local residents to an earlier people.
Mrs Bulmer's field work was primarily exploratory, since no archreological work
had previously been done in the Highlands. Over sixty sites were investigated,
among them sites of gardening, domestic habitation, rock shelters and caves, axe
quarries and salt 'factories'.
Rock shelters were the only sites discovered archreologically rewarding. They
were and are used in the Highlands for camping on hunting trips, domestic cooking,
stone-working, burial (both primary and secondary), refuge in time of war, and, in
one case, residence. The majority of shelters had little or no signs of habitation,
96 ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
and trial excavations at six, other than the two described below, yielded no artifacts.
Some rock shelters and caves visited had drawings and paintings, which for the
most part appeared to be recent, both in terms of their design and the freshness
of the charcoal and pigment used.
Most productive was the excavation of two rock shelters, one at Yuku, in the
gorge of the Lanim, a tributary of the Lai River (Western Highlands), and the
other about 80 miles away at Kiowa, near Chuave Government Station (Eastern
Highlands). Yuku is a contemporary cooking site, and Kiowa until recent years
was a burial place. Excavations showed that in the past both sites had been used
for cooking, burial and stone-working.
The habitation deposit at the Yuku shelter reached a depth of 12 feet (seven
layers). The two sites were comparable in that the upper layers consisted of disturbed
and mixed ash and soil, the middle layers were the stratified deposit of fire
ash and soil representing the periods of occupation of the sites, and the lowest
layers were mainly soil and waterworn stones. Scattered throughout the deposits
were earth-oven stones, innumerable bones of birds and animals cooked and eaten on
the sites and the remains of flake and axe manufacture. However, the Yuku deposit
was heavily calcified below a depth of 4 feet, whereas this was not the case at Kiowa.
Two stone industries not previously described for New Guinea were discovered.
At Yuku, a series of fifteen 'waisted' axes were taken from Layers 3-7. These
implements were roughly flaked from waterworn stones, with an indentation about
halfway down each side forming the 'waist'. Only the three most recent 'waisted'
axes show grinding. They range from 3·9 to 8·4 in. in length. A crude flake industry
was associated with these axes, as well as two uniface pebble-choppers or scrapers
and two bifacial implements.
At Kiowa the commonest implement was the unifacially-flaked pebble chopper
or scraper. These were found throughout the deposit, except for the surface layer.
Partly polished axes and stone fragments were found in Layers 2, 3 and 5, indicating
that these implements and the choppers overlapped in time. Also two small rough
'waisted' implements were found in Layers 3 and 5, suggesting that the Yuku-type
industry may have been known in this area. A crude flake industry was associated
with all of these type of implements.
The flake material and pebble choppers and scrapers appear to be virtually
identical with many pieces recently illustrated from Southeast Asia and interpreted
as palreolithic and of Pleistocene date on typological or geological grounds. The
distinctive 'waisted' axes from Yuku seem, on the basis of available reports, to be
closely comparable to material found in Japan and the Szechuan province of China,
although it is possible that they are typologically related to the Philippine and
Southeast Asiatic 'shouldered' axes.
Ash samples have been submitted for radiocarbon analysis.
Netherlands New Guinea
Davie Eyde, from Yale, has been carrying on anthropological field work on the
south coast of Netherlands New Guinea under a grant from the National Institute
of Mental Health.
MELANESIA RICHARD SHUTLER, JR 97
William Davenport, of Yale, has completed two years of work in the Solomon
Islands under a Tri-Institutional Pacific Program grant.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
EMST, P. VAN
1958 In der Ban der Voorouders (Kunst uit Australish Nieuiv Guinea Collectie Dr P. Wirz).
Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen, 129. Amsterdam. 3I pp, 63 plates (photographs
by R. L. Mellema). [Reviewed in 0, 30 (1959-1960): 159-160]
GARDI, RENE
1960 Tambaran: an Encounter with Cultures in Decline in New Guinea (trans. by Eric Northcott).
Constable, London, 201 pp., illus., map.
GOODENOUGH, WARD H.
1961 Migrations implied by relationships of New Britain dialects to Central Pacific languages,
JPS, 70(1), 112-126.
GROVES, MURRAY
1960 Motu pottery, JPS, 69(1), 3-22. Southern coast of mainland Papua, between Netherlands
New Guinea border and the East Cape.
GUIART, JEAN
1956 Un siecle et demi de contacts cultureIs aTanna, Nouvelles-Hebrides. Musee de I'Homme,
Publications de la Societe des Oceanistes, 5, Paris.
Describes and interprets the John Frum movement on Tanna, in terms of its sources in the
aboriginal culture and its development through the contact period.
HOLLYMAN, K. J.
1959 Polynesian influences in New Caledonia: the linguistic aspect, JPS, 68(4), 357-389.
1960 The new Caledonian vocabularies of Cook and the Forsters, JPS, 69(3), 215-227.
KOOIJMAN, S.
1959 The Arts of Lake Sentani, Mus. Prim. Art, New York. 64 pp., 117 illus.
1960 A Papuan lunar 'calendar': the reckoning of moons and seasons by the Marind-Anun
of Netherlands New Guinea, M, 60(Art. 21 I), 165-168. .
MAHER, ROBERT, F.
1961 New Men of Papua: A Study in Cultural Change. University of Wisconsin Press. xii,
148 pp., illus., map.
O'REILLY, PATRICK, and J. POIRIER
1959 Nouvelle-Caledonie: documents iconographiques anciens. Publications du Centenaire
de la Nouvelle-Caledonie, 3, Paris.
REAY, MARIE
1959 The Kuma. Freedom and Conformity in the New Guinea Highlands. Melbourne University
Press, for Australian National University, Melbourne. xvi, 221 pp., 19 plates. [Reviewed
in 0, 30 (1959-1960): 159-160]
WIRZ, PAUL
1959 Kunst und Kult des Sepik-Gebietes. Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen, 133.
Amsterdam. 78 pp, 87 plates, 1 map.
17
Australia
FREDERICK D. McCARTHY
Received I7 August I96I
FIELD WORK AND RESEARCH
Excavation work progresses slowly in Australia because active archreologists are
few and the area of the field to be studied vast. Mulvaney (1960) published the
results of his Fromm's Landing and Glen Aire sites. Excavations elsewhere include
the completion of five sites by McCarthy in the Capertee district of New South
Wales, of sites on the Fitzmaurice River, Kimberleys, Western Australia, by Dr
W. E. H. Stanner and of a deposit in western Queensland by Mulvaney, all of which
are awaiting description and publication. Miss H. McBryde is continuing her excavation
of rock shelter deposits on the north coast of New South Wales, and Dr Gallus
of a deposit in a deep limestone cavern in the Nullarbor plain in South Australia.
In describing the results of the Fromm's Landing excavation, Mulvaney (1960)
proposed some important changes in the nomenclature and horizons of this lower
Murray area. One of his most important results was the finding of a series of geometric
microliths in the Mudukian and Pirrian layers. He pointed out that the PirrianMudukian-
Murundian sequence (preceded by Tartangan) of Hale and Tindale,
which has been so assiduously applied as the cultural sequence for the whole of
Australia ever since by Tindale, needs revision because it is questionable whether
changes in implement types in this area represent any cultural differentiation; and
there is no evidence to support the claim that abrupt changes of occupation took
place at the beginning of either the Mudukian or Murundian phases. The Pirrian,
according to Mulvaney, emerges as the only established culture. He is of the
opinion that there are insufficient specialized implements in the Tartangan to
warrant it being distinguished as a culture, that the Mudukian as a period be
abandoned, and Murundian be used in a local sense only. The present writer has
advocated since 1949 that there exists in the lower Murray sites one basic culture, in
which the tula adze worn to a slug of two kinds was used throughout. This culture
survived from about 6,000 years ago to the end of the occupation. Into this basic
culture diffused the geometric microliths and p£rr£ point. It remains now to name
this basic culture of which the Pirrian is a definite phase.
Five sites have been excavated in the Capertee valley, in the vicinity of Glen
Davis, by the present writer, together with members of the Sydney University
Rover Scout Crew and the Anthropological Society of New South Wales. Several of
the deposits were down to 10 ft. deep. The top culture is typical Bondaian, in which
geometrical microliths and Bondi points are abundant, and the use of the groundedge
axe and gum hafting appear; burins are common, and the implements on the
whole are small. Elouera, flake fabricators, and blocks are scarce in this industry
AUSTRALIA F. D. MCCARTHY 99
here. Below the Bondaian, and occupying about four-fifths of the deposit in depth,
is a new culture, the Capertian. It consists of large primary flakes used in the hand,
bearing either roughly chipped edges on which the concave and nosed working
edges are common, or a neatly dentated edge equally as well worked as on the
Kimberley biface points. A small series of uniface pebble implements, with horsehoof
cores and hammerstones, characteristic of the Kartan industry of Kangaroo
Island and nearby South Australia, were found in the middle of the Capertian
period. This new culture is the earliest known in eastern Australia and is a significant
one from both typological and cultural points of view. It contains flake and blade
implements similar to those of the Tasmanians, and dentated saws which are found
throughout the greater part of New South Wales west of the Great Dividing Range
but not in Tasmania. It is a generic industry which preceded not only the eastern
sequence of Bondaian and Eloueran, but also the inland sequence of which the
saws and scrapers are typical. The Kartan uniface pebble industry is part of the
Capertian. C-14 dates are awaited for comparison with the early South Australian
industries at Cape Martin and Tartanga.
Cooper (1960) continued his corpus of large Kangaroo Island implements,
putting forward the suggestions that the 'horsehoof' core was taken there from the
mainland, and the uniface pebble implements evolved on the island. He believes
that the first occupation of the island was by Tasmanoids. Campbell (1960) analyzed
the South Australian p£rr£ point and distinguished two major sub-types; his
conclusion that the pirri originated in South Australia does not take into consideration
the occurrence of equally fine examples in the Northern Territory, Kimberleys,
and Arnhem Land.
In art, McCarthy (1961 b) described the remarkable series of rock engravings on
Depuch Island, north western Australia, in which a great variety of human,
animal, hunting, fighting, ritual and other motifs are fashioned in a classical peckedintaglio
technique. He established an outline, linear design, and pecked-intaglio
phases of engraving, with several sub-phases of the intaglio period. The same author
(1961c) described some unusually fine series of cave drawings in eastern New
South Wales, recording the occurrence of a large four-colour polychrome striped
anthropomorphic figure, with an animal's head, of similar form and striped decoration
to the Wondjina heroes of the Kimberleys. McCarthy also recorded a number
of composite human and animal heroes among the engravings of this area. Superimpositions
detected in the Cordeaux, Woronora, and Hawkesbury sites of stencil,
red and/or white, black and/or white, were verified as definite phases of cave art in
eastern New South Wales, and to these was added a late polychrome period. An
interesting superimposition of a human hand stencil over abraded grooves and bird
tracks was established on Gracevale Station, Central Queensland.
Additional sites of rock engravings were described from central Australia by
Mountford (1960) among which he could not obtain interpretations of nonrepresentative
designs, and of cave paintings in the Flinders ranges; but in both
papers the illustrations are reduced to an almost useless size. Playford (1960)
described Wondjina and other kinds of paintings from the Oscar and Napier ranges
in the Fitzroy basin of the Kimberleys, and Stanner (1960) revealed the existence
of a wide range of subjects and styles among newly discovered paintings on the
100 ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
Fitzmaurice River in this region. Simple drawings of animals, and their tracks, men
and linear figures in red continue to be found in Victoria by Massola and others.
An important monograph on hunting and trapping methods in Australia and
Oceania by Anell (1960) has appeared; this study of food getting customs of living
nomadic and gardening peoples should be of interest to the archreologist in Europe
and elsewhere because of its bearing on prehistoric man's methods of hunting.
In this respect, too, the study by Abbie (1960) of the physical characters, growth
patterns, pigmentation, blood pressure, and chemistry of aboriginal tribes in
Arnhem Land, Central Australia and the south coast of South Australia, yielded
no data to support the tri-hybrid hypothesis of Birdsell.
In the field of material culture an old example of the skin cloak from Condah,
Victoria, was described (Mountford 1960), the Geneva Museum has built up a
collection of 600 Australian specimens (Dellenbach 1960); and the Australian
Museum has featured in its Aboriginal gallery functional exhibits among which
those on stone shaping techniques and archreology are of particular interest. A
constructive advance in Victoria was the publication of a bibliography of the literature
on the aborigines of that state by Massola (1959).
EXHIBITIONS AND MUSEUMS
A conference of unprecedented importance was organized by the Commonwealth
Government of Australia through the auspices of the Social Science Research
Council and Mr W. C. Wentworth, M.L.A. This Conference on Aboriginal Studies
was under the chairmanship of Dr W. E. H. Stanner, and was held in May 1961. In
twenty data papers the existing knowledge of the life and culture of the Aborigines
was assessed, the gaps to be filled defined, and the urgent and vital problems and
lines of research set out. Papers on the archreology, material culture and economic
life, physical anthropology, population and tribes, art, and geochronology of the
Quaternary period, are of particular interest in this bibliography. The contributors
in all sections stressed the need for depth studies that only archreology can provide.
A major need for linguists, musicologists, ethnographers, physical anthropologists,
and other disciplines is to ascertain the length of time Man has been in Australia.
The State Art Galleries of Australia organized a travelling exhibition of bark
paintings, carved figures, sacred and secular objects, to illustrate the art of the
aborigines. The bark paintings illustrate the range of styles and subjects, and progressive
refinement in the painters' skill, from 1912 to 1959.
The appointment of archreologists to the staffs of the Australian National
University and Western Australian Museum, should stimulate and extend considerably
the scope of work in this field in the future.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books and Papers
ABBIE, A. A.
1961a Recent field work on the physical anthropology of Australian aborigines, AjS, 23, 210-1 I.
After briefly reviewing past work, the author compares the physical characteristics, growth patterns,
pigmentation, blood pressures and chemistry of the Yalata tribe on the south coast of South Australia,
Pintubi and Wailbri in central Australia, and Burera on the Liverpool river, Arhnem Land, as a north
AUSTRALIA F. D. MCCARTHY 101
..~NELL, B.
1960
to south cross-section of the aboriginal population. Aborigines are compared with whites in these
characteristics, for which the means are given. The survey yeilded no evidence to support the trihybrid
hypothesis of Aboriginal origin.
1961b The physical anthropology of the aborigines, Soc. Sci. Res. Council Aust., Conference on
Abor. Stud., Canberra, 2, 1-16.
A brief description is given of techniques in field research and of our present knowledge of the
physical anthropology ofthe Aborigines. The need for statistical data from Aborigines on the east and
west coasts for an east to west cross section study, blood grouping of individual tribes, growth
patterns of ~hildren,and analyses of extant medical records of Aborigines, are gaps in research on
which future work should be done.
Hunting and Trapping Methods in Australia and Oceania, Studia Ethnogr. Upsaliensis,
Stockholm. Almquist and Wiksell. (not seen).
BERNDT> C. H.
1961 Art and resthetic expression, Soc. Sci. Res. Council Aust., Conference on Abor., Stud.,
Canberra, 12, 1-11.
After reviewing the present state of knowledge of visual art, oral literature and song, ritual, ceremonial
and dramatic performances in detail, suggestions for future research include style, variation
in the telling myths, study of non-sacred ceremonies, song series, humour, technical aspects of dance
and drama, case history material, ways in which children are taught myth and song material, impact
of tourism on visual art, ritual and ceremonial behavior.
BROOKS, A. E.
1960 The aboriginal well at Beaumaris, Viet. Nat., 77, 191. Discusses need for preservation.
BROWNE, W. R.
1961 Problems of quaternary geochronology, Soc. Sci. Res. Council of Aust., Conference on
Abor. Stud., Canberra, 5, 1-14.
The author mentions that not more than three glaciations have been recognized in New South
Wales and Tasmania, but there is no firm correlation ofthem with those of the Northern Hemisphere;
he describes briefly the Arid period, changes of sea level and eustatic emergences that have produced
raised beaches, terraces and other features. He refers briefly to the dune ridges, inland and coastal
swamp, lake, and lake-shore deposits, alluvium in upland valleys and cave deposits. A table of the
physiographic changes in Australia during the Pleistocene and Recent is given, together with discussion
of the determination of sequences, modern methods of dating and correlation, and suggestions
for future research on the above problems.
CAMPBELL, T. D.
1960 The Pirri-an interesting Australian aboriginal implement, Rec. S. Aust. Mus., 13,
5°9-524·
Previous work on the pirri uniface point is discussed, and two types, the Eyrean and Fulham,
are defined by distribution and statistical analysis. Pirri from South Australia, south-western Queensland
and western New South Wales are described, with variations in form, and it is pointed out
that the distribution in western Central Australia is as yet undefined. The author says that the use
of the pirri is unknown and the Lake Eyre specimens in the South Australian Museum are not valid
aboriginal haftings, as it is a prehistoric implement. He concludes that the pirri evolved in South
Australia, as he does not regard those in the Kimberly as true pirri.
COOPER, H. M.
1960 The archreology of Kangaroo Island, South Australia, Rec. S. Aust. Mus., 13, 481-5°3.
Describes a large series of uniface pebble and 'horsehoof' core implements, with worn back and
battered edges, from Kangaroo Island and others from Discovery Lagoon, Hog Bay, on the mainland.
The autor is of the opinion that the 'horsehoof' core was taken by the original Tasmanoid migrants
to the island, but that the uniface pebble choppers evolved on the island. A small collection of
flake implements, some of microlithic size, is described, together with Tasmanian Post-European
implements and food remains, and the myth of Ngurunderi who made the island. He believes the
original occupants were Tasmanoids who reached the island by a land bridge and subsequently
became extinct on it.
DELLENBACH, M. L.
1960 Vne exposition d'ethnographie au Musee Rath: Australie, Rev. Coll. Mus. Geneve, 5,
12-1 3.
The collections contain 600 Australian specimens.
102 ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
ELKIN, A. P.
1961 The development of scientific knowledge of the aborigines, Soc. Sci. Res. Council Aust.,
Conference on Ahor. Stud., Canberra, I, 1-13·
Deals with phases I, incidental anthropology; 2, compiling and collat!ng. phase; 3, fortuitous,
individual field projects; 4, organized, systematic research, and finally the sIgnIficance of each phase.
GARTELL, M.
1960 Kurdaitcha shoes, W, November, 14·
GATES, D. R.
1960 The Australian aborigines in a new setting, M, 60(art. 71), 53-56.
Discusses the basis of his research on mixed bloods in central Australia and elsewhere, and the
relationship between Neanderthal man and the Australian Aboriginal. He conclud.es th~t ~hile the
Aborigines are neanthropic, the N ea~derthal char~cters pres:nt a~ong then: are belt~gelImInated ~y
natural selection. They are best claSSIfied as archaIc CaucasoId. DIscusses pIgm~ntatIon,~awn~ ha!r,
marked brow ridges, retreating glabella, depressed nose root and sunken o.rbIts as raCIal cnte~Ia.
In supporting Birdsell's tri-hybrid theory the author. equ~tes the Murraylan typ~ of AustralIan
Aboriginal with the Ainu of Japan. Neanderthal relatIonshIps generally are also dIscussed.
GLADSTONE, F.
1960 Discovery of Native Drawings, Viet. Nat., 77, 96.
Drawings of goanna, spear, and kangaroo in red at Beechworth.
HARNEY, W. E.
1960 Ritual and behaviour at Ayers Rock, 0, 31 , 63-76.
A detailed description of the mythology, with a map of the ritual sites.
MCCARTHY, F. D.
1960a Australian aboriginal art. Introduction to Catalogue of an exhibition of bark paintings,
carved figures, sacred and secular objects, arranged by the State Art Galleries of Australia.
General description of aboriginal art, its technical features, and prehistoric developments in cave
paintings and rock engravings revealed by studies of superimpositions of techniques, subjects and
colours.
1960b The significance of aboriginal art, Hemisphere, October, 14-19.
1961a Rock art in Central Queensland, Mankind, 5, 400-404.
Describes three galleries, one at Gracevale of abraded grooves and linear engravings, with a
human hand stenciled over some figures; one at Erne of stencils, red, and bichrome figures of snake
and man; and one in Ranger's Valley of stencils.
1961b The rock engravings of Depuch Island, Northwest Australia, Rec. Aust. Mus., 25,121-148.
Several hundred motifs from the southern coast and Watering Valley are described, among which
anthropomorphs, zoomorphs, weapons, and linear designs are common, together with a wide range
ofcompositions. 18 styles are noted. Superimpositions indicate three periods of engraving, comprising
early naturalistic outlines and stickmen; intermediate linear designs; and later pecked intaglios in
which there are several phases.
1961C A remarkable ritual gallery of cave paintings in eastern New South Wales, Rec. Aust.
Mus., 25, 115-120.
Description of a rock shelter containing one hundred figures in superimpositions of five phases,
comprising stencils, red and white figures, black and white figures, four colour polychrome and
solid red silhouette, and post-white stencil. The polychrome anthropomorph is a large striped figure
with an animal's head, somewhat similar in form to the Wandjina of the Kimberleys, and to figures
among the local engravings.
196Id Aboriginal cave art on Woronora and Cordeaux Catchment Areas, Sydney Water Bd.
Jour., 10, 97-103.
Description of three sites of black drawings at Woronora which extend the range of subjects known
in this period, and of a site at Cordeaux in which superimpositions of early stencil, intermediate red
and white, late black and white, and finally polychrome are present among a wide range of human
and animal subjects.
I961e New aboriginal exhibits at the Museum, Aust. Mus. Mag., 13, 279-282.
Exhibits on the making and uses of stone implements, and prehistory of Australia, among others,
are described.
AUSTRALIA F. D. MCCARTHY 1°3
I96If Aboriginal material life: ecology, equipment, economy, and trade, Soc. Sci. Res. Council
Aust., Conference on Abor. Stud., Canberra, 8, 1-19·
After assessing the knowledge and literature on these aspects or Aboriginal life and culture, the
author stresses the need for more detailed economic studies, distributional and field studies of the
material culture, and for a monograph on the latter subject.
MCCARTHY, F. D. and HANSEN, F.
1960 Records of the rock engravings of the Sydney District, Nos. 72-102, Mankind, 5,385-400.
Describes groups between Cowan and Berowra creeks, among which are some unique snakeheaded
anthropomorphs, a giant spiritual being with a series of smaller human figures as though
depicting initiation, and many other interesting figures.
MASSOLA, A.
1959 Bibliography of printed literature upon Victoria aborigines, MNMV, 24, 103-56.
1960a Two new painted shelters at Glen Isla, Viet. Nat., 76, 234-2 35.
Describes paintings in red of bird and kangaroo tracks in one shelter, and of a man and indeterminate
figure in the other one.
1960b Native painted shelter at Beechworth, Viet. Nat., 77, 97-99·
Describes red drawings of goanna, spear and kangaroo.
1960c The shelter at the camp of the Emu's Foot, Viet. Nat., 77, 188-191.
Describes red drawings of lizards, barred circle, barbed spearhead, and linear human figures.
1961 The surface archreology of Wooloomanata, Viet. Nat., 78, 16-20.
In addition to the cores, scrapers, microliths, hammer, anvil and axe grinding stones described,
52 wooden pointed artifacts were found which might have been used as spear heads, fish gorges,
nose sticks or wit-wit throwing darts.
MOUNTFORD, C. P.
1960a Phallic objects of the Australian aborigines, M, 6o(Art. 118), 81.
Eight specimens are figured of stone penes, five of which are from the collection of the Western
Australian Museum. Although it is stated that the locality of manufacture of these object is unknown,
the investigation of Davidson who established the Liverygna river in the Kimberleys as the area, is
not mentioned.
1960b Decorated aboriginal skin rugs, Rec. S. Aust. Mus., 13, 505-508.
Describes and illustrates a skin rug from Condah, Victoria, in the National Museum of Victoria.
196oc Cave paintings in the Mount Lofty Ranges, South Australia, Rec. S. Aust. Mus., 13,
467-47°.
Describes a series of faded-red human figures, shown dancing and hunting a kangaroo, women
with digging sticks, and people in other spirited postures. Some are in the stick-man style.
1960d Simple rock engravings in Central Australia, M, 6o(art. 192), 145-147.
Maps the known sites of engravings in Central Australia. Inquires have revealed that the living
aborigines did not know of these at Deception Gorge, and attribute those at Korporilya, Iromba,
Kamalba, Watelbring and Ngama to mythical origin, with meanings unknown. The Ewaninga site
is described.
MULVANEY, }. D.
1960a Recent archreological excavations in Australia, JPS, 69, 151-153.
Current work mentioned includes an excavation at Grafton by the New England University, and
continuation of McCarthy's excavation at Capertee, with significant results, and application of
Capertian to a new and early culture. A summary is given of the Fromm's Landing results, an
excavation completed by the author, recording the important discovery of geometric microliths in
the Pirrian and Mudukian horizons. An adjoining shelter excavated yielded numerous hammerstones
and bone points, with a few trimmed flakes among an immense number of waste pieces which the
author thinks is a late industry not more than 500 years old.
1960b Archreological excavations at Fromm's Landing on the Lower Murray River, South
Australia, Proc. Roy. Soc. Viet., 72, 53-85.
A similar range of stone and bone implements were excavated to those in the Devon Downs cave,
"vith the addition of geometric microliths in the Pirrian and Mudukian periods. The author proposes
that the term Mudukian be abandoned, that Murundian be restricted to local usage, and that the
Tartangan is too generalized to form a distinct culture. The degeneration of stone working in this
area from the Pirrian phase onwards is stressed, as in the Devon Downs excavation, but no evidence
of climatic change was observed during the 5,000 years of occupation of the Fromm's Landing site.
CI4 dates are given for each cultural period, the Pirrian phase ranging from 3,756 to 4,850 years B.P.
Many controversial problems of lower Murray archreology are discussed.
1°4 ASIAN PERSPECTIVES
1961 Australian prehistory, Soc. Sci. Res. Council Aust., Conference on Abor. Stud., Canberra,
4, 1-13·
The scope of archreological research in Australia is discussed, together with criteria of objective
methods of prehistory, the present state of our knowledge of Keilor man, the Kartan, Tartangan,
Pirrian, Mudukian and Murudian of the lower Murray, in which it is claimed that Pirrian is the
only definitive culture, and the Bondaian and Eloueran of eastern New South Wales. Tasmanian
and Indonesian affinities are also discussed briefly. A long list of urgent archreological problems
needing research in the future is given.
NATIONAL ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES
1960 Purchases and Acquisitions for I959. Nos. I44-2II.
These form a collection of grave posts, baskets, and ornaments from Melville island, and bark
paintings of the Djunggawul and Laintjung series from Yirrkalla, north-eastern Arnhem Land, all
obtained and presented by Dr S. D. Scougall. Detailed explanations of the relevant myths are given.
PLAYFORD, P. E.
1960 Aboriginal rock paintings of the West Kimberly Region, Western Australia, Jour. Roy.
Soc. W. Aust., 43, 111-122.
Sites of previously unknown paintings in the Oscar and Napier Ranges, Fitzroy Basin, are described.
One series resemble the Wandjina art and has a similar function and mythology. The other
series is of linear type and represents paths taken by the All-Father during the Dreamtime.
ROSE, R.
1960 The Skills of Our Aborigines, Dept. of Territories, Canberra.
Describes the economic life and material culture, and deals with the social situation in and near
white communities of the Aborigines.
SERVENTY, V.
1961 Journey through a wilderness, W, 27, 26-28.
Observations on water-holes, sacred places and other customs of the Great Victoria Desert, where
40 Aborigines are still living.
STANNER, W. E. H.
1960 Aboriginal rock paintings, Etruscan, 9, 18-23.
A rich series of hitherto unknown cave paintings is described on the Fitzmaurice River, eastern
Kimberleys. Many styles are represented and the subjects include striped human figures, stencils,
weapons, and other artifacts, fauna, especially large animals, and linear designs. Few interpretations
were known to the aborigines.
TucKsoN, J. A.
1960 Catalogue of Australian Aboriginal Art, an Exhibition arranged by the State Art Galleries
of Australia, 1960-61.
Detailed annotations are given of bark paintings, carved figures, sacred and secular objects.
Book Review
MOUNTFORD, C. P.
1960 The Tiwi: Their Art, Myth, and Ceremony. Review by A. Lommel inM, 6o(art. 176),128.
The reviewer discusses possible outside origin of the pukamarni grave posts from Timor, India,
New Ireland or Papua, and claims that the absence of certain mainland traits denotes that the
Bathurst-Melville Islands culture may be equated with Worm's Older Stratum in the northwest.

4. THE PRESENT ECHOES OF THE ANCIENT BRONZE DRUM

Explorations

in Southeast Asian Studies

A Journal of the Southeast Asian Studies Student Association

Vol 2, No. 2 Fall 1998

Contents Article 1 Article 2 Article 3

Unfortunately, the graphics have been lost.

The Present Echoes of the Ancient Bronze Drum:

Nationalism and Archeology in Modern Vietnam and China

by Han Xiaorong

Han Xiaorong is a Ph.D. candidate in the History Department at the Uhiversity of Hawaii at Manoa. He is currently conducting dissertation research on peasants in twentieth-century Chinese thought.

Notes References

Introduction

Bronze drums are one of the most important archaeological artifacts to be found in southern China and Southeast Asia. Their use by many ethnic groups in that area has lasted from pre-historic times to the present. Northern Vietnam and southwestern China (especially Yunnan Province and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region) are the two areas where the majority of bronze drums have been discovered. According to a 1988 report, China has stored about 1460 bronze drums.[11 The Provincial Museum of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region actually boasts the largest collection of Bronze drums in the world. The total number of bronze drums discovered in Vietnam reached about 360 in the 1980s, among which about 140 were Dong Son drums.[2]

The earliest historical records relating to bronze drums appeared in the Shi Ben, a Chinese book dating from at least the 3rd century BCE. This book is no longer extant; however a small portion of it appears in another classic, the Tongdian by Du You.[3] The Hou Han Shu, a Chinese chronicle of the late Han period compiled in the 5th century CE, describes how the Han dynasty general, Ma Yuan, collected bronze drums from Jiaozhi (northern Vietnam) to melt down and then recast into bronze horses. From that point on, many official and unofficial Chinese historical records contain references to bronze drums. In Vietnam, two 14th century literary works written in Chinese by Vietnamese scholars, the Viet Dien U Linh and the Linh Nam Chich Quai record many legends about bronze drums. Later works such as the Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu, a historical work written in the 15th century, and the Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi, a book about the historical geography of Vietnam compiled in the late 19th century, also mention bronze drums.[4] Additionally, a wooden tablet found in Vietnam dating from the early 19th century describes the discovery of some bronze drums.[5]

Modern archaeological research on bronze drums did not begin until the late 19th century, after the arrival of Westerners in the region. Before the 1950s, almost all of the important works on bronze drums were written by Western scholars: most particularly, F. Heger.[6] Due to the social-political circumstances, few Vietnamese scholars were able to engage in research on bronze drums during those years. Although a few Chinese scholars, such as Zheng Shixu, Xu Songshi, and Luo Xianglin, conducted research on bronze drums, interest in the topic was not as widespread as it was in the West.
After the establishment of the PRC in 1949 and the division of Vietnam in 1954, Vietnamese and Chinese scholars began to dominate research on bronze drums. In the 1950s and 1960s, many excavation reports and some general studies on bronze drums were published. However, on the whole, bronze drums did not attract serious attention in either country. Moreover, although China and Vietnam maintained good bilateral relations during that period, very little academic exchange took place between bronze drum experts from the two countries. It was not until the mid-1970s, shortly before the break-up of the Sino-Vietnamese alliance, that several important articles began to be published in both countries.

The late 1970s and early 1980s then saw the publication of many more books and articles on the topic in both China and Vietnam, and heated debates between Vietnamese and Chinese scholars ensued. In March 1980, the first Chinese symposium on ancient bronze drums was held in Nanning, the capital city of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China. The Chinese Association for Ancient Bronze Drum Studies was formed immediately following the conference. Another symposium was held in Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan Province, in late 1984.[7] In 1987, Vietnamese scholars summed up their views in a book titled Trong Dong Son (The Dong Son Drum).[8] The following year, the Chinese Association for Ancient Bronze Drum Studies (ZGTY) also completed a conclusive monograph entitled Zhongguo Gudai Tonggu (The Ancient Bronze Drums of China). In October 1988, Vietnamese and Chinese archaeologists finally met at the International Symposium on The Bronze Drum and Bronze Culture of South China and Southeast Asia to discuss their differences. The publication of the above-mentioned two books and this symposium actually put an end to the protracted controversy that had ensued between scholars from the two countries. Since then, no important works on bronze drums have been published in either Vietnam or China.

The timing of this Vietnamese and Chinese research on bronze drums is laden with political implications. The boom in bronze drum research started when Sino-Vietnamese friendship was about to turn sour and ended when the two countries were ready to seek a solution to their problematic relations. The political influence on research is also reflected in the issues that the Vietnamese and Chinese archaeologists chose to address in the 1970s and 1980s. While in the previous period, scholars had tended to give more or less equal attention to the classification, dating, origin, functions, and other issues relating to bronze drums, in the 1970s and 1980s, scholars paid much more attention to the geographic and ethnic origins of bronze drums than to other issues. Where the first bronze drum was made and who made it were the core issues in the controversy between Chinese and Vietnamese scholars during that period. The answers to these questions seem to have been largely determined by the nationality of the scholars concerned. Hence, the Vietnamese scholars unanimously claimed that the first bronze drum was invented in the Red and Black River valleys in northern Vietnam by the Lac Viet, the remote ancestors of the Vietnamese people, and then spread to other parts of Southeast Asia and southern China. Meanwhile, Chinese archaeologists declared that the real inventor of the bronze drum was the Pu, an ancient ethnic group who inhabited southern China. Chinese scholars argued that the Pu made the first bronze drum in central Yunnan in southwestern China, and that the technique was then adopted by other ethnic groups living in the surrounding areas, including the Lac Viet in the Red River delta.

In this article, I intend to make a brief review of the major works on bronze drums published in Vietnam and China in the 1970s and 1980s in order to demonstrate how nationalism predetermined the positions of the scholars researching the issue of the origin of the bronze drum. I will also discuss how their theories about the origin of the bronze drum in turn influenced their understanding of other aspects of the bronze drum, such as its typology, dating, and decoration. My chief concern here is not to prove which side is right or wrong, but to try to explain why the issue of the origins of the bronze drum became so important to the Vietnamese and Chinese scholars during this period and why none of the scholars, either Vietnamese or Chinese, expressed views different from those of their compatriots.

Classification and Dating

The most well-known classification of the bronze drums was made by the Austrian archaeologist F. Heger in 1902 in his Alte metalltrommeln aus Südost Asien. He collected 22 bronze drums and the records or photographs of another 143, which he divided into four types (I, II, III, IV) and three transitory types (I-II, II-IV, I-IV) based on their form, distribution, decoration, and chemical composition. He believed that Type I, found mainly in northern Vietnam and referred to as the Dong Son drum by Vietnamese scholars, was the earliest (see Figure 1).[9] Before the 1950s, some other classifications were proposed, but none of them were as widely adopted as Heger's.
Did Heger's classification stand the test of time and the excavation of many more bronze drums? Vietnamese scholars thought that the general framework of Heger's classification was still valid and could be modified or expanded but should not be replaced. Since they continued to use Heger's general framework, Vietnamese scholars did not expend any time on working out new schemes. Instead, they chose to concentrate on the details of the classification system with the aim of further proving Heger's classification with evidence discovered after 1902. With many more bronze drums in hand, they began to divide each of Heger's types into several sub-types.
Vietnamese scholars focused their efforts on Heger's Type I, the Dong Son drum, referred to above. For example, in 1963, Le Van Lan, Pham Van
Figure 1: Dong Son Drum[10]

Kinh, and Nguyen Linh proposed to subdivide Heger's Type I according to the proportion between the diameter of the face and the height of the drum. In 1975, Nguyen Van Huyen and Hoang Vinh subdivided Heger's Type I into three subtypes. That same year, in an article published in Nhung Phat Hien Moi Ve Kao Co Hoc (New Archaeological Discoveries), Pham Van Kinh and Quang Van Cay suggested that Heger's Type I be subdivided into seven subtypes belonging to four consecutive stages.[11] Meanwhile, Tran Manh Phu,[12] as well as Luu Tran Tieu and Nguyen Minh Chuong subdivided it into four subtypes.[13] Chu Van Tan proposed two subtypes with five transitory types.[14] Diep Dinh Hoa and Pham Minh Huyen suggested seven sub-types.[15] However, the most complicated scheme was proposed by Pham Minh Huyen, Nhuyen Van Huyen and Trinh Sinh, who divided Heger's Type I into six sub-types with 24 styles.[16]

Vietnamese scholars paid much more attention to the Dong Son drum than to the other types of bronze drum that Heger had identified. They saw these other types as later in date and thus less related to the Vietnamese people.[17] Therefore, they were much less important than the Type I drums for proving the Vietnamese origin of bronze drums.
The attitude of Chinese archaeologists toward Heger's classification is sharply contrasted with that of Vietnamese scholars. They believed that Heger's classification was so outdated that it necessitate a complete overhaul. After the break-up of bilateral relations, Chinese scholars began to openly criticize Vietnamese scholars for what they saw as blind adherence to Heger's classification for un-academic reasons. One Chinese book explained that Heger could be forgiven for asserting that the Dong Son drum was the earliest because he did not have enough evidence at that time. Vietnamese scholars, however, could not be forgiven because they had so much more information than Heger and still refused to pay due attention to this new evidence.[18]

From the 1950s to the 1980s, Chinese scholars strove continuously to make new schemes of classification (see Table 1). They made at least seven schemes during those four decades. From the 1950s to the mid 1970s, the Chinese scholars endeavored to reverse the order of Heger's first three types by categorizing the Type II as the earliest, and arguing that Heger's Type I developed from the Type II. Three out of four classifications made by Chinese scholars during that period did precisely that.[19] Only the Yunnan Provincial Museum continued to support Heger's order.[20] The above modifications of Heger's classification naturally led to much suspicion from the Vietnamese side. Vietnamese scholars were aware that China had very few of Heger's Type I bronze drums at that time, and that the great majority of Heger's Type II drums had been discovered in Guangxi, in southern China.

By the mid to late 1970s, China had discovered many bronze drums believed to belong to Heger's Type I. Moreover, after the excavation of Wanjiaba in Yunnan Province in 1975-1976, Chinese archaeologists believed that they had found the most archaic form of Heger's Type I bronze drum. As a result, they began to discard the schemes made by Chinese archaeologists in the previous period and to go back to Heger's classification. Here, however, they made one important modification: they added the newly-found Wanjiaba drums to Heger's plan as the earliest type. Wang Ningsheng,[21] Li Weiqing,[22] and Shi Zhongjian[23] represented this new, revisionist school. This revisionist school maintained the earlier Chinese view that southern China was the place of origin of the first bronze drum. Yet their works differed greatly from the previous classifications in that they took Yunnan, instead of Guangxi, as the specific place of origin of the bronze drum within southern China.

**Table 1: Summary of Chinese Modifications on Heger's Classification**
Author	Classification								Year
Heger		I			II		III	IV	1902
Wen You		II (western)			I (eastern)		III		1957
Yunnan Museum		I	II				III	IV	1959
Huang Zengqing		II			III	I	IV		1964
Hong Sheng		III			II	I	IV		1974
Wang Ningsheng	A	B	C		D		F	E	1978
Li Weiqing	I:a	I:b	I:c		II:a	II:b	III:a	III:b	1979
Shi Zhongjian*	1	2	3	4	6	7	8	5	1983
ZGTY	1	2	3	4	6	7	8	5	1988
*One way to bolster claims regarding the origins of the bronze drum was to name each type of drum after the place where it was found: a practice carried on by both Vietnamese and Chinese scholars. For example, Shi Zhongjian and the Chinese Association for Ancient Bronze Drum Studies chose the following Chinese place names to designate their eight types of bronze drum: 1. Wanjiaba (Yunnan); 2. Shizhaishan (Yunnan); 3. Lengshuichong (Guangxi); 4. Zunyi (Guizhou); 5. Majiang (Guizhou); 6. Beiliu (Guangxi); 7. Lingshan (Guangxi); 8. Ximeng (Yunnan). The conclusive volume edited by the Chinese Association for Ancient Bronze Drum Studies (ZGTY) followed Shi Zhongjian's classification. Shi was the director of the Board of Directors of the Association at the time of writing and wrote the preface to the volume.

This indicated some differences between the Chinese scholars in Guangxi and their colleagues in Yunnan. These differences were not new, considering that among the four classifications made by Chinese scholars between the early 1950s and the mid-1970s, only the one made by the Yunnan Provincial Museum refused to recongnize Heger's Type II, found mostly in Guangxi, as the earliest bronze drum. It was probably not a coincidence that two of the three scholars who claimed the Guangxi origin of the bronze drum, Huang Zengqing and Hong Sheng, were from Guangxi (the other, Wen You,[24] hailed from Sichuan). Incidentally, two of the scholars who claimed the Yunnan origin of the bronze drum, Wang Ningsheng and Li Weiqing, were from Yunnan (the other, Shi Zhongjian, from Beijing). It was reported in 1982, however, that a majority of Chinese archaeologists had agreed that the bronze drum originated in Yunnan.[25] This implied that there was still a minority that did not agree. The debate with Vietnamese scholars had probably prevented this minority from expressing their views. By 1995, it was finally announced that Chinese archaeologists had all agreed that the Wanjiaba type bronze drum was the earliest in the world and that Chuxiong prefecture in Yunnan, where Wanjiaba is located, was thus the birth place of the bronze drum.[26]
Figure 2: Wanjiaba Drum (China)[27]

Vietnamese scholars claimed that the attempts by Chinese archaeologists to reclassify the bronze drums were all groundless. They argued that besides the fact that China had very few of Heger's Type I drums, the Chinese had reversed the order of Heger's first three types before the mid-1970s because they believed that the bronze culture in the south could not have developed without the influence of Chinese culture from the north. Heger's Type II, the Vietnamese noted, had something which the Chinese were looking for: decorations similar to those found in the Central Plain area of China. These classifications, just like the traditional Chinese belief that the bronze drum had been invented by Ma Yuan---the Han general who crushed the Trung sisters' rebellion in Vietnam in 40 CE---and Zhuge Liang---the famous prime minister of the state of Shu during the Three Kingdoms period (220-265 CE)[28]---reflected the mentality of Han chauvinism. To Vietnamese scholars, Chinese classification schemes were not reflective of historical realities, but precisely the opposite, constructions of the present.[29]

The more recent Chinese classifications, which returned to, but adapted, Heger's plan to include the Wanjiaba drums as the earliest type, were based in part on the idea that the form and decoration of the Wanjiaba drums were very simple: the premise being that the simpler the form and decoration, the more ancient the drum. Vietnamese scholars believed that this was another misinterpretation. The three principles used by Chinese scholars in their classification---namely that "the face of the drum grew bigger and bigger, the body of the drum decreased from three to two parts, and the decorations became more and more complex"---were considered to be oversimplifications by Vietnamese scholars. They argued that the simple form and decorations could also be indications of decline, thereby implying that the Wanjiaba drum was not the earliest of the various types of bronze drum, but the latest.[30] Phan Huy Thong was a Vietnamese scholar who argued this point. According to him, drums of the same type were found in Vietnam during the 1930s and had long since been judged to be coarse, but late.[31] Thus, in the most complicated Vietnamese classification proposed in the publication Trong Dong Son (The Dong Son Drum), the Wanjiaba Drum was listed as the fourth sub-type of the Dong Son Drum (Heger's Type I). The Thuong Nong drum, a Wanjiaba style bronze drum found in Vietnam in the 1980s, was put in the same sub-type (see Figure 3).

Figure 3: Thuong Nong Drum (Vietnam)[32]
The aim of all of these classifications was to determine the relative dating of the bronze drums. To date, scholars in the two countries have not found common ground on this issue. The biggest problem concerns the first two types of Heger's classification, which are directly linked to the issue of the origins of the bronze drum. Since relative dating proved unconvincing to both sides, Chinese and Vietnamese scholars then made attempts at absolute dating. However, this proved to be as controversial as relative dating.

The Vietnamese scholar Vu Tang proclaimed in 1974 that he dated one bronze drum to the 13th-10th centuries BCE and another one to the beginning of the late second millenium BCE. This is the earliest absolute dating so far proclaimed for any bronze drum by any scholar. However, this dating later led to much criticism from Chinese scholars, according to whom the method used to date those two drums had been unscientific.[33] The dating of the first drum was based on the motifs of rings and parallel lines, which are believed to be similar to those found on ceramics of that period of time. Apparently, Vietnamese scholars later discarded this dating scheme, as it was not included in Trong Dong Son (The Dong Son Drum), the conclusive volume published in 1987.

Other Vietnamese scholars believed that the earliest Dong Son drum can be dated alternately to the 7th century BCE;[34] or the 8th century BCE;[35] or sometime before the 7th century BCE.[36] Vietnamese scholars later admitted that it was difficult to reach an exact date for the Dong Son drum because many drums were discovered accidentally, and thus, the sites were not well protected. Further, it is very difficult to find any biological materials directly related to the drum which may be useful in arriving at an absolute date.[37]

The earliest C14 date established for a bronze drum excavated in China by Chinese scholars is 2640+- 90 before 1950, or 690 +- 90 BCE.[38] The dating was based on the materials that coexisted with the drum in the tombs. Chinese scholars claimed that this is the earliest credible C14 dating for any bronze drum. They argued that the Wanjiaba type bronze drums were mostly made between the 7th and 5th centuries BCE, and that the Shizhaishan (or Dong Son) type was popular between the 6th century BCE and the 1st century CE: the latter representing a more developed form of the former.[39]

However, according to Vietnamese scholars, this dating is erroneous. Vietnamese archaeologists conducted an experiment on a piece of wood obtained from an excavated coffin and found that the margin of error for such dating could be as much as 235 years. They believed that the Chinese archaeologists deliberately chose that date in order to support their claim of the southern China origin of the bronze drum. According to Vietnamese scholars, the dating of bronze drums should not be based solely on C14 statistics. Instead, other factors should also be taken into consideration. They even went so far as to set an example for the Chinese. A bronze drum was found in an ancient tomb at Viet Khe. C14 dating indicated that the tomb was from 2480+-100 years before 1950 CE, or around 530 BCE.[40] However, based on its style, it was decided that the drum could only be dated to the 3rd or 4th centuries BCE. To date, scholars from the two countries have failed to reach common ground regarding absolute dating, just as they have not achieved a consensus on relative dating.

Interpretation of the Decoration

The decoration of the bronze drum is another major field of controversy between Vietnamese and Chinese scholars. Decoration is important because it is believed to reflect the social and spiritual life of the people who invented and used the drum and, thus, can help determine its ethnic and geographical affiliations. The most popular motifs on the early drums (Heger's first two types plus the Wanjiaba) include various species of birds and other animals, as well as boats, shining entities, and geometrical lines.
A flying bird with a long beak and long feet appeared very frequently on the early drums, and a good deal of scholarly attention was devoted toward trying to determine what kind of bird it was (see Figure 4).[41] Dao Duy Anh, the Vietnamese historian, believed that it was the legendary "lac bird," the symbol of the ancient Viet people. Dao Tu Khai, however, argued that the bird was not a lac bird because the lac bird was a magpie or some other species whose appearance was rather different from that of the bird on the bronze drum. According to Dao Thu Khai, the bird was, instead, a heron.[42] Still other scholars argued that the lac bird and the heron were the same.[43] What is more, it was argued that herons lived in every part of Vietnam, and the ancient Viet people regarded them as the symbol of the laborious peasants because it was believed to be diligent. As one Vietnamese scholar put it, "We believe that since the bronze drum is a product of Vietnam made by the Viet people, it should reflect something real in the Vietnamese landscape. The flying bird on bronze drums should be something that the Viet people were very familiar with, and it should have a Vietnamese name. We believe that our interpretation of the bird with its long beak and long feet on bronze drums as a heron is in conformity with the reality of Vietnamese history and culture."[44]
Figure 4: Flying Birds on Bronze Drums[45]

Most Chinese scholars also believe that the bird is a heron. However, they do not agree that the heron is a symbol of the ancient Vietnamese peasants. Instead, they interpret it more as a result of Chinese influence. They argued that the heron is considered to be the spirit of the drum in the Central Plain of China. This belief first spread to the Chu area in southern China and then reached other ethnic groups living to the south of Chu. According to the Chinese Association of Bronze Drum Studies,

The flying heron is the major motif on Shizhaishan drums (Dong Son drums). There is a long tradition of decorating drums with the motif of herons in the Central Plain. The feather drums excavated from the Chu tombs in Xinyang, Henan and Jiangling, Hubei and the Zenghouyi tomb in Suixian, Hubei are all decorated with the motif of the heron...there is clear evidence to support the idea that the motif of the flying heron on the Shizhaishan drums originated in the Chu area.[46]

In addition to the bird motifs, there are also small three-dimentional animals on the face of some Dong Son (Shizhaishan) drums and other types of drums which archaeologists have argued are either frogs or toads (see Figure 5). Chinese scholars argued that they were frogs and explained them as decorations without special meaning,[47] or something related to the ceremony of rain-seeking, or the frog-worshipping custom of the ancient Yue people of southern China, a group believed to be related to the ancient Viet people.[48] Edward Schafer agreed that the animals were frogs, "for the drum embodied a frog spirit---that is a spirit of water and rain---and its voice was the booming rumble of the bullfrog." He retold a story of the Tang period recorded in a Chinese source to show that the drum could even take the form of a living frog. According to the story, a frog pursued by a person leaped into a hole, which turned out to be the grave of a Man (barbarian) chieftain containing a bronze drum with a rich green patina, covered with batrachian figures. The bronze drum was believed to be the reincarnation of the frog.[49] Vietnamese scholars initially agreed that the animals were frogs in the 1970s,[50] but later interpreted them as toads because "a widely known popular saying in Vietnam calls the toad 'the uncle of the heavenly god' and maintains that rain will inevitably fall when the toad raises his head and croaks."[51]

Figure 5: Frogs or Toads on a Dong Son drum[52]
The motif of a long boat is another very popular decoration on the surface of the Dong Son (or Shizhaishan) drums (see Figure 6). Usually the two ends of the boat are decorated with the head and tail of a bird. In the boat are numerous ornamented human figures. There are fish under the boat and birds around the boat. Following Goloubew, Dao Duy Anh believed this was the "golden boat" described in the belief system of the Dayak people of Kalimantan in Indonesia that carries the spirits of dead people, symbolized by the birds, to heaven. He further concluded that there was a possible blood relationship between the Dayaks and the Lac Viet, and that the ancient Lac Viet could be the ancestors of the Dayaks.[53]

Figure 6: Boats on bronze drums[54]
Feng Hanji, a Chinese archaeologist, did not agree. He believed the motif of the long boat was a reflection of the popular custom of boat racing in southern China. According to Feng, the boat does not have an outrigger, thus, it could only have been used in rivers or small inner waters like the Dian Lake. Further, to decorate boats with birds was also an old tradition in China. He also believed that the motif might indicate some connections with the Chu.[55] Ling Shunsheng, a Chinese ethnologist, wrote in 1950 that the motif of the long boat was a direct reflection of the custom of boat racing in ancient Chu. Although legend has it that the custom was to pay tribute to the memory of Qu Yuan, a Chu poet from the 3rd century BCE, Ling argued that the custom had an even earlier origin.[56] Chinese scholars later pointed out that the boats on bronze drums were involved in four different kinds of activities which were all popular in ancient southern China, namely, fishing, navigating, boat racing, and offering sacrifices to the spirits of the river.[57]

Vietnamese scholars later accepted the idea that the motif was about boat racing. However, they interpreted it as a part of the ancient Viet ceremony for seeking rain and water.[58]
As for the shining entity located in the center of the surface of bronze drums, some scholars have interpreted this as a star, while others have viewed it as the sun (see Figure 7). Vietnamese scholars have taken the position that this reflects the ancient Viet custom of worshipping the sun.[59] Meanwhile, Chinese scholars have argued that many ancient ethnic groups in China, such as the Shang (or Yin), the Chu, and other southern peoples, all worshipped the sun. Moreover, rulers tended to use the sun as a symbol of themselves.[60]

Figure 7: Shining Entities on Bronze Drums[61]

The two most common geometric motiffs on bronze drums are believed to represent clouds and thunder. According to Chinese scholars, the same motifs can be found on the ancient carved-motif pottery of southern China, as well as the bronze wares of the Central Plain. The motifs, it was argued in the Zhongguo Gudai Tonggu, "prove the uniformity and continuity of the cultural development of ancient southern China and the frequent cultural exchange between southern China and the Central Plain."[62] They also reflect the custom of worshipping clouds and thunder in ancient China. These motifs appear only occasionally on Dong Son drums but can be frequently seen on Heger's Type II drums, most of which have been found in southern China especially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Vietnamese scholars did not openly object to the Chinese claim that such motifs reflect Chinese influence; however, they strongly rejected the idea that such an influence proves that the bronze culture of the south developed under Chinese influence and that drums bearing such motifs are the most ancient.[63]

In sum, Vietnamese scholars tend to view the decorations of early bronze drums, especially the Dong Son drums, as a reflection of the special cultural characteristics of the ancient Viet people. They believe that the various motifs on the bronze drum describe the various aspects of the life of the ancient agrarian Viet culture of the Dong Son age.[64] They, therfore, argue that the decorations prove that the Dong Son drum belonged to the ancient Viet people. However, Chinese scholars interpret the decorations as a reflection of the cultural exchange between interior China and China's frontier, arguing that they represent the cultural features of the various peoples living in that area, and not just the Lac Viet. They do not deny the affiliation between the Dong Son drum and the Lac Viet, but they believe the same type of drum was also used by other ancient ethnic groups---such as the Dian, the Laojin, the Mimo, the Yelang and the Juding---believed to be the relatives of the Lac Viet. They thus contend that the earliest type drum was invented in a region belonging to modern China. According to them, "the Dong Son drum is a developed form of the imported Chinese Shizhaishan drum, which spread from Yunnan to Vietnam along the Red River."[65] Citing both historical records and archaeological findings, Chinese scholars have tried to prove that the earliest drum was invented by the Pu-Liao groups which included the Dian from the Dian Lake area of Yunnan, the Yeyu and Mifei of the Chuxiong and Erhai areas of Yunnan, the Yelang and Juding of western Guizhou, and the Qiongdu of southwestern Sichuan. According to Chinese scholars, the bronze drum was first invented by the Pu-Liao people on the eastern Yunnan plateau and then spread to the surrounding areas.[66] Chinese scholars have proposed that the Lac Viet also belonged to this Pu-Liao group and have cited the similarities between the Dian culture in Yunnan and the Dong Son culture of Vietnam as evidence.[67]

Nationalism and the Bronze Drum

The functions and the molding methods of the bronze drum also caused much controversy. However, these issues are less related to the origins of the bronze drum and, hence, differences on such issues have been more individual than national. Only in regards to issues that are more relevant to the ethnic and geographical origins of the bronze drum, such as its classification, dating and the interpretation of the decorations, can a clear national difference be discerned. In fact, the issue of the origin of the bronze drum came to resemble a sacred topic in both countries. The scholars in each country debated freely among themselves about many details. For example, there are Vietnamese scholars who support the Chinese claim that the flying bird is a heron, and Chinese scholars who believe that the bird is the totem of the Lac people.[68] However, once the debate touched on the key issue of origin, all scholars took a national stand. Therefore, the Vietnamese scholars who support the heron interpretation do not believe that there is a connection between the heron and the Chinese spirit of the drum, while the Chinese scholars following the Lac bird explanation do not think it has anything to do with the Vietnamese origin of the bronze drum. Hence, they have quarreled freely about the smaller details, but no one has dared to challenge the larger conclusions.

The origin of the bronze drum was deemed important by scholars in China and Vietnam during this period of time not only because of its academic significance, but also because of its political value, the latter probably outweighing the former. To the Chinese and Vietnamese scholars, the bronze drum was not just an archaeological artifact, but, more importantly, a crucial part of their national culture and national identity. The sound of the ancient bronze drum stimulated the modern nationalistic nerves of the archaeologists.

Communist victory in China and Vietnam brought about a process of reconstructing history which was in both countries guided by the two important principles of Marxism and nationalism. The research of sensitive topics concerning the past relationship between the two countries, such as the issue of the bronze drum, was always permeated by a strong nationalistic spirit. When the two countries enjoyed "comradeship plus brotherhood" (in Chinese, "Tongzhi jia xiongdi") from the 1950s to the mid 1970s, that spirit was covered with a Marxist Internationalist coating. Hence, the Vietnamese and Chinese scholars made their own nationalistic claims but never openly accused each other. For example, both Wen You and Dao Duy Anh published their works in the 1950s, Wen was the first Chinese scholar to attempt to modify Heger's classification to propose a China origin of the bronze drum, while Dao made the claim that the bronze drum was invented by the Lac Viet and then spread to some minority areas of Vietnam, southern China, and insular Southeast Asia. Their works went unnoticed for about two decades. It was not until the late 1970s that they were accused of mixing academic work with chauvinist or nationalistic agendas. The break-down of Sino-Vietnamese bilateral relations in the late 1970s brought nationalism to the fore in both countries, thereby overriding the internationalism of the previous years.

For Vietnamese scholars, an essential part of reconstructing Vietnamese history was to prove the existence of the legendary Van Lang state established by the Hung Kings. This itself was in turn part of a larger program to prove that the Red River delta was an early center of civilization independent of the north. Their starting point was to establish a direct relationship between the Hung Kings and Dong Son culture, and then to prove that the Dong Son culture was native to northern Vietnam. To do so, they had to prove the native origin of the bronze drum because it is one of the most important artifacts of the Dong Son culture. Pham Huy Thong, who wrote the prefaces to the two special issues on bronze drums in the journal Khao Co Hoc (Archaeology) writes:

In our process of studying the dawn of human history, namely, the age of the Hung Kings, the artifact that has gradually emerged as the most deserving symbol of the Hung Kings civilization is the bronze drum. More accurately speaking, it is the Type I drum among the four types classified by Heger in the beginning of this century.[69]

In his work on bronze drums published posthumously in 1990, he declared that "the Dong son drums were cast on Vietnamese soil by the bearers of the Dong Son culture at the time of state formation. They were the handiwork of the forebears of the present-day Vietnamese, the ancient Viet state builders who were conscious of their ethnic and cultural identity."[70] According to Pham, the idea that the bronze drum was an original and typical artifact of the Dong Son culture was first brought up in the four-volume collective historical work Hung Vuong Duong Nuoc (The Founding of the State by the Hung Kings). Published between 1969 and 1971, it was to become the foundation on which all further studies of the Dong Son culture were based.[71] A later book about how the Hung Kings built the Vietnamese nation has a picture of a bronze drum on its cover and lists the bronze drum as the most typical artifact of the Dong Son culture.[72]

For Chinese archaeologists, bronze drums served different purposes at different times. For the older generation of Chinese scholars like Luo Xianglin and Xu Songshi, not only the Han Chinese, but also the various ethnic groups in southern China, were all considered to be branches of the larger Han Chinese race. They supported Sun Yat-sen's claim that China had only five ethnic groups, namely, Han, Hui (Muslims), Manchus, Mongols, and Tibetans. That classification included most ethnic minorities in southern China in the Han group.[73] Both Luo and Xu were southerners themselves. To them, the bronze drum served as an indicator of the cultural achievement of the southern Chinese as well as a symbol of southern identity. After 1949, the Chinese government officially identified many southern groups as ethnic minorities independent of the Han. It encouraged scholars to prove that the minority peoples had their own cultural achievements, but also that historically there had been much mutual influence between the Han Chinese and the Southern minorities.

As a result, the bronze drum, which was scorned by earlier Chinese scholars because of its "barbarian" origins,[74] was now regarded as one of the most magnificent material relics of the southern minority peoples and the symbol of interior/frontier cultural exchange. The Chinese archaeologist Wen You wrote, "If somebody asks, what is the most important ancient cultural relic of our minority siblings in southern China, we can answer him unhesitatingly that it is the bronze drum." The bronze drum, he further claimed, was the "common treasure of all the people of China."[75] The two authors of an article about the ethnic affiliations of the various types of bronze drum concluded that their study "reflects in a specific aspect the process of ethnic mixture and cultural exchange among the brotherly ethnic groups of China," and "sufficiently proves that the various ethnic groups in southern China, together with other ethnic groups of China, created the great, brillant ancient culture of the Chinese nation."[76] Such expressions are very common among Chinese archaeologists. Moreover, such research might also be related to the construction of local identities and the expressions of local pride, as evidenced by the subtle differences between the Guangxi and Yunnan scholars on the issue of the origins of the bronze drum.

The core issue is that both Vietnamese and Chinese scholars try to make exclusive claims to a tradition that was possibly shared by the ancestors of both the Vietnamese and the minority peoples of southern China. There was no boundary between southern China and northern Vietnam at the time the bronze drum was invented. Many of the groups living in that vast area were interrelated either biologically, culturally, or both. The people who invented the bronze drum would have had no consciousness of polities such as "Vietnam" or "China," as we do today. It is unfair to impose such modern concepts on ancient peoples and to determine exactly when, where, and who invented the bronze drum. Charles Higham, an outsider to these disputes, commented that the nationalistic bias of the Vietnamese and Chinese archaeologists had obscured the situation revealed by archaeology. He hypothesized that the bronze drum was created by the specialized artisans of a cluster of increasingly complex polities that spread across the present day Sino-Vietnamese border to arm the warriors of their polities and signal the high status of their leaders. He concludes,

Seeking the origins of this trend and the associated changes in material culture in one or other particular region misses the point. Changes were taking place across much of what is now southern China and the lower Red River Valley by groups which were exchanging goods and ideas, and responding to the expansion from the north of an aggressive, powerful state.[77]

Hence, the theme of the bronze drum could equally make for an excellent story about the cultural coprosperity and unity of the various peoples living in that area.
It is interesting to note that in order to prove the indigenous origins of the bronze drum (in either southern China or northern Vietnam), both Vietnamese and Chinese scholars have vehemently denied any possibility of a place of origin outside of the present-day southern China and northern Vietnam landmass. J.D.E. Schmeltz's (1896) theory about the Indian origin of the bronze drum, A.B. Meyer and W. Foy's (1897) theory about the Cambodian origin and R.Heine-Geldern's (1937) theory about the European origins of the Dong Son culture have all been criticised by both Vietnamese and Chinese scholars.[78] In fact, this is probably the only significant common ground for scholars from the two countries about the origin of the bronze drum.

The obscurity of the information about the bronze drum is an important element in the whole debate. There are no inscriptions on the bronze drums. The records in Chinese classics about the origins of the bronze drum are not supported by solid evidence and are often contradictory. Modern techniques have also failed to provide hard evidence about its origin. As a result, neither side has been able to persuade the other. All conclusions made about the origin of the bronze drum are more or less speculations, which are the result of limited archaeological information and nationalistic sentiment. In other words, the bronze drum is an artifact ambiguous enough for both sides to render some meaningful interpretation for themselves. The same ambiguity makes it difficult for an outsider to determine who is right and who is wrong.

Largely as a result of improved Sino-Vietnamese bilateral relations, the crossfire between Chinese and Vietnamese scholars over issues surrounding bronze drums has come to an end. However, neither side has changed its stand. They have just set the topic aside or have made their own claims from time to time without openly accusing the opposite side, a situation similar to that which prevailed in the 1950s and 1960s. The issue has become less important but remains unresolved, and it will probably reemerge under new circumstances. There may be more academic exchanges between Chinese and Vietnamese scholars in the future and more research on other aspects of the bronze drum may take place as well. However, the views on the origins of the bronze drum held by each respective side are not likely to change in the near future. This intransigence is the result of a tradition that has existed in the two countries for a long time: a tradition of making official history and using the past to serve the present.

http://www.hawaii.edu/cseas/pubs/explore/han.html

Notes

1 Zhongguo Gudai Tonggu Yanjiuhui, Zhongguo gudai tonggu (The Ancient Bronze Drums of China) (Beijing: Wenwu Press, 1988), 8. Hereafter, ZGTY. According to this book, the numbers of bronze drums stored in various provinces and cities are as follows: Guangxi: 560; Guangdong: 230; Shanghai: 230; Yunnan: 160; Guizhou: 88; Beijing: 84; Sichuan:51; Hunan: 27; Shandong: 8; Hubei: 6; Zhejiang: 6; Liaoning: 4. The total number of bronze drums stored in China remained unchanged in 1995. See Shijie ribao (World Journal), "Nanfang tonggu wenhua yanjiu you chengguo" (Results have been achieved in the Study of the bronze drums of southern China), 13 January 1995, 11.
2 Nguyen Duy Hinh, "Bronze Drums in Vietnam," The Vietnam Forum 9 (1987): 4-5; Pham Huy Thong, Dong Son Drums in Vietnam, (Hanoi: The Vietnam Social Science Publishing House, 1990), 265. Some more Dong Son drums have been found in Vietnam since then. For example, in 1994, a Dong Son drum later named a Ban Khooc drum was found in Son La Province in northwestern Vietnam. Pham Quoc Quan and Nguyen Van Doan, "Trong Dong Son La" (The Son La Bronze Drum), Khao Co Hoc 1 (1996): 10.
3 Xu Songshi, Baiyue xiongfeng lingnan tonggu (The Masculine Spirit of the Hundred-Yue and the Bronze Drums of Southern China), Asian Folklore & Social Life Monographs 95 (Taibei: The Orient Cultural Service, 1977), 7-8.
4 Nguyen Duy Hinh, "Trong dong trong su sach" (The Bronze Drums in Historical Records), Khao Co Hoc 13 (1974): 18-20.
5 Jiang Tingyu, Tonggu shihua (History of the Bronze Drum) (Beijing, Wen Wu Press, 1982), 18.
6 For a comprehensive introduction to and list of Western archaeological works on the bronze drum see Pham Minh Huyen, Nguyen Van Huyen and Trinh Sinh, Trong Dong Son (The Dong Son Drums) (Hanoi: Nha Xuat Ban Khoa Hoc Xa Hoi, 1987), 12-14, 306-309; ZGTY, 10-12.
7 Wenwu Bianji Weiyuanhui (Editorial Board of Cultural Relics), Wenwu kaogu gongzuo shinian: 1979-1989 (A Decade of Work in the Field of Cultural Relics and Archaeology: 1979-1989) (Beijing, Wenwu Press, 1990), 376, 380.
8 Pham, Nguyen and Trinh.
9 Pham, Nguyen and Trinh, 19-21; ZGTY, 10-11.
10 Pham Huy Thong, Dong Son Drums in Vietnam,, 4.
11 Pham, Nguyen and Trinh, 21-22.
12 Tran Manh Phu, "Thu chia nhom nhung trong dong loai I Hego phat hien o Viet Nam" (The Classification of Heger's Type I Bronze Drums Discovered in Vietnam), Khao Co Hoc 13 (1974): 83-94.
13 Luu Tran Tieu and Nguyen Minh Chuong, "Nien dai trong Dong Son" (The Dating of the Dong Son Drums), Khao Co Hoc 13 (1974): 117-121.
14 Chu Van Tan, "Nien dai trong Dong Son" (The Dating of the Dong Son Drum), Khao Co Hoc 13 (1974): 106-116.
15 Diep Dinh Hoa and Pham Minh Huyen, "Ve viec chia loai trong loai I Hego va moi quan he giua loai trong nay voi cac loai trong khac" (The Classification of Heger's Type I Bronze Drums and Its Relationship with Other Types of Bronze Drum), Khao Co Hoc 13 (1974): 126-134.
16 Pham, Nguyen and Trinh, 23-34, 120-123.
17 For example, Heger's Type II were mostly found in southern China and among the Muong minority of Vietnam; Type III existed in Burma and southern China but not in Vietnam; Type IV were believed to exist in southern China only. Pham Huy Thong, "Trong Dong" (The Bronze Drum), Khao Co Hoc 13(1974): 9-11. It was reported in the 1980s that 14 Type III drums and 6 Type IV drums had been found in Vietnam. Nguyen Duy Hinh, 4.
18 ZGTY, 12.
19 Wen You, Gu tonggu tulu (Collected Pictures of the Ancient Bronze Drums) (Beijing: Zhongguo gudian yishu Press, 1957), n.p.; Huang Zengqing, "Guangxi tonggu chutan" (The Bronze Drums of Guangxi), Kaogu 11 (1964), 578-588; Hong Sheng, "Guangxi gudai tonggu yanjiu" (The Ancient Bronze Drums in Guangxi), Kaogu Xuebao 1 (1974): 45-90.
20 Li Weiqing, "Zhongguo nanfang tonggu de fenlei he duandai" (The Classification and Dating of the Bronze Drums of Southern China), Kaogu 1 (1979): 66-78.
21 Wang Ningsheng, "Shilun zhongguo gudai tonggu" (On the Ancient Bronze Drums of China), in Minzu kaoguxue lunji (Collected Eaasys on Ethnoarchaeology) (Beijing: Wenwu Press, 1989), 277-306.
22 Li Weiqing, 66-78.
23 Shi Zhongjian, "Ancient Bronze Drums," China Pictorial 10 (1983): 24-25.
24 Wen You worked in Sichuan as a University professor for more than ten years before he moved to Beijing in the mid-1950s. He wrote in 1956 that he first became interested in the bronze drum when he saw a beautiful bronze drum in Hanoi more than a decade earlier. Wen You, preface.
25 Shi Zhongjian, "Shizheng Yue yu Luoyue chuzi tongyuan" (On the Common Origin of the Yue [Viet] and Luoyue [Lac Viet)], in Baiyue minzushi lunji, (Beijing: China Social Science Press, 1982), 203.
26 Shijie ribao, 13 January 1995, 11.
27 ZGTY, Plate IX.
28 Fan Chengda, a scholar-official of the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD) first suggested that the bronze drum was invented by Ma Yuan. A scholar in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) first recorded that the big bronze drum was invented by Ma Yuan, and the small one by Zhuge Liang. F. Hirth tried to prove these stories in two articles published in 1898 and 1904. Zheng Shixu (Cheng Shih-hsu), Tonggu kaolue (A Study of the Bronze Drum) (Shanghai: Shanghai Museum, 1936), 3-5, 14, 33-37.
29 Nguyen Duy Hinh, "Ve guan diem cua mot so hoc gia Trung Quoc nghien cuu trong dong nguoi Viet" (A Review of the Views of Some Chinese Scholars on the Bronze Drums of the Vietnamese People), Khao Co Hoc 4 (1979): 17-19.
30 Nguyen Duy Hinh, "Ve guan diem," 21; Chu Van Tan, "Phai chang ho da tim thay trong X?" (Have They Discovered Drum X?), Khao Co Hoc 9 (1982): 33.
31 Pham Huy Thong, Dong Son Drums in Vietnam, 269.
32 Pham Huy Thong, Dong Son Drums in Vietnam, 210.
33 Tong Enzheng, "Shilun zaoqi tonggu" (On the Early Bronze Drums), in Zhongguo xinan minzu kaogu lunwenji (Collected Essays on the Ethnoarchaeology of Southwestern China) (Beijing: Wenwu Press, 1990), 163-185.
34 Nyuyen Van Huyen, "Tu chia loai nhom den tim hieu nien dai va que huong cua trong dong co" (From the Classification and Sub-classification of the Ancient Bronze Drums to the Understanding of their Dating and Origins), Khao Co Hoc 13 (1974), 101; Chu Van Tan, "Nien dai trong Dong Son," 114.
35 Diep Dinh Hoa and Pham Minh Huyen, 131.
36 Luu Tran Tieu and Nguyen Minh Chuong, 119.
37 Pham, Nguyen and Trinh, 216-217.
38 ZGTY, 110.
39 Wang Dadao, "Yunnan qingtong wenhua jichi yu Yuenan Dongshan wenhua, Taiguo Banching wenhua de guanxi" (The Bronze Culture of Yunnan and its relations with the Dong Son Culture of Vietnam and the Ban Chiang Culture of Thailand), Kaogu 6 (1990): 536, 540.
40 Chu Van Tan, "Phai chang ho da tim thay trong X?," 30, 32.
41 Dao Tu Khai, "Chim Lac hay con co? Ngoi sao hay mat troi?" (Lac Bird or Heron? Star or Sun?), Khao Co Hoc 14 (1974 ): 27.
42 Dao Tu Khai, 27.
43 Vu The Long, "Hinh va tuong dong vat tren trong va cac do dong Dong Son" (The Motifs and Figurines of Animals on Drums and Other Dongsonian Bronze Artifacts), Khao Co Hoc 14 (1974): 9.
44 Dao Tu Khai, 28-29.
45 ZGTY, 157.

46 ZGTY, 233.
47 Wen You, n.p.
48 ZGTY, 160-161.
49 Schafer Edward, The Vermilion Bird, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967), 254.
50 Vu The Long, 17.
51 Pham Huy Thong, Dong Son Drums in Vietnam, 268.
52 Pham Huy Thong, Dong Son Drums in Vietnam, 154.
53 Chen Guoqiang, Jiang Binzhao, Wu Mianqi, and Xing Tucheng, eds., Baiyue minzu shi (A History of the Hundred-Yue) (Beijing: China Social Science Press, 1988), 335.
54 Tong Enzheng, 178.
55 Feng Hanji, "Yunnan jinning chutu tonggu yanjiu" (A Study of the Bronze Drums of Jinning, Yunnan), Wen Wu 1 (1974): 56-58.
56 Ling Chunsheng, "Ji benxiao er tonggu jianluan tonggu de qiyuan he fenbu" (On the Two Bronze Drums Stored at National Taiwan University and the Origin and Distribution of the Bronze Drums), in Ling Chunsheng, ed., Zhongguo bianjiang yu huan taipingyang wenhua (The Culture of Chinese Border Areas and the Pacific), Vol. I, (Taipei: Lianjing chuban sheye gongsi, 1979), 542.
57 ZGTY, 175-181.
58 Pham, Nguyen and Trinh, 239.
59 Dao Tu Khai, 30.
60 ZGTY, 151.
61 ZGTY, 152.
62 ZGTY, 154.
63 Nguyen Duy Hinh, "Ve guan diem," 23.
64 Tran Quoc Vuong, "Trong dong va tam thuc Viet co" (The Bronze Drum and the Mentality of the Ancient Viet People), Khao Co Hoc 3 (1982): 25; Dao Tui Khai, 28-29.
65 ZGTY, 127-129.
66 Wang Ningsheng, 305; Tong Enzheng, 181.
67 Tong Enzheng, 173-174.
68 Shi Zhongjian, "Shizheng Yue yu Luoyue chuzi tongyuan," 194.
69 Pham Huy Thong, "Trong Dong" (The Bronze Drum), Khao Co Hoc 13 (1974), 9.
70 Phan Huy Thong, Dong Son Drums in Vietnam, 262.
71 Phan Huy Thong, Dong Son Drums in Vietnam, 264.
72 Cac Vua Hung da co cong dung nuoc..., Tap luan van ky niem 30 nam nhay Bac Ho den tham Den Hung: 19-9-1954--19-9-1984 (The Hung Kings have contributed to building our nation) (Vinh Phu: So Van Hoa-Thong Tin Vinh Phu, 1985), 133.
73 Luo Xianglin, Zhongxia xitong zhi Baiyue (The Hundred-Yue as a Branch of the Chinese Race) (Chongqing: Duli Press, 1943), 1-2; Xu Songshi, 96-97.
74 For example, Wen You lamented that traditional Chinese scholars before the Qing dynasty seldom paid serious attention to the bronze drum because it did not have inscriptions and was believed to have been made by "barbarians." During the Qing dynasty, however, more attention was paid to the bronze drum and several books were produced. Wen attributed this to the general increase in popularity of the Ma Yuan and Zhuge Liang myth after the Song dynasty. Wen You, preface.
75 Wen You, preface.
76 Li Weiqing and Xi Keding, "Shi tan zhong guo nan fang tong gu de zu shu" (An Inquiry into the Ethnic Affiliations of the Bronze Drums of Southern China), in Xinan minzu yanjiu (Studies on the Ethnic Groups of Southwestern China) (Chengdu: Sichuan Minzu Press, 1983), 427.
77 Charles Higham, The Bronze Age of Southeast Asia (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), 134.
78 ZGTY, 10-11; Phan Huy Thong, Dong Son Drums in Vietnam,, 263-264.

5. Đông Sơn culture

Paleolithic
Sơn Vi culture (20,000–12,000 BC)
Mesolithic
Hoabinhian (12,000–10,000 BC)
Neolithic
Bắc Sơn culture (10,000–8,000 BC)
Quỳnh Văn culture (8,000–6,000 BC)
Đa Bút culture (4,000–3,000 BC)
Bronze Age
Phùng Nguyên culture (2,000–1,500 BC)
Đồng Đậu culture (1,500–1,000 BC)
Gò Mun culture (1,000–800 BC)
Đông Sơn culture (1,000 BC–100 AD)
Iron Age
Sa Huỳnh culture (1,000 BC–200 AD)
Óc Eo culture (1–630 AD)

Drum from Sông Đà, Vietnam. Dong Son II culture. Mid-1st millennium BC. Bronze.

Close-up view of design of a typical Dong Son drum

The Đông Sơn culture (literally "East Mountain culture", but from the name of Đông Sơn village (archaeological site)) was a Bronze Age culture in ancient Vietnam centered at the Red River Valley of northern Vietnam during the late period of the Hong Bang Dynasty. It was the last great culture of Văn Lang (as Vietnam was known then) and cntinued well into the next Vietnamese state of Âu Lạc. Its influence flourished to other parts of Southeast Asia, including the Maritime Southeast Asia from about 1000 BC to 1 BC.^[1]^[2]^[3]
The Đông Sơn people, who are also known as Lạc or Lạc Việt, were skilled at cultivating rice, keeping buffaloes and pigs, fishing and sailing with long dug-out canoes. They also were skilled bronze casters, which is evidenced by the Đông Sơn drums found widely in Southeast Asia and Southern China.

Bronze figurine, Đông Sơn culture, 500 BC-300 AD. Thailand.

Similar artefacts have been found in Cambodia along the Mekong River dating back to the 4th millennium BC. Đông Sơn influence is seen throughout Southeast Asia, from the moko drum of Alor in Indonesia, which are suspected of originating with Đông Sơn bronze drums, to the design of keris knives.
To the south of the Đông Sơn culture was the proto-Cham Sa Huynh culture.

Origins

The origins of Đông Sơn culture may be traced back to ancient bronze castings. The traditional theory is based on the assumption that bronze casting in eastern Asia originated in northern China. However, this idea has been discredited by archaeological discoveries in north-eastern Thailand in the 1970s. The casting of bronze began in Southeast Asia first and with the Chinese second, not vice versa.^[4] The Đông Sơn and other southeast Asian cultures were known to have used lost-wax bronze casting techniques from a very early time - perhaps predating the first millennium BCE.^{[citation needed]}

This interpretation is supported by the work of modern Vietnamese archaeologists. They have found that the earliest bronze drums of Đông Sơn are closely related in their basic structural features and decorative design to the pottery of the Phùng Nguyên culture. It is uncertain whether the bronze drums were made for religious ceremonies, to rally men for war, or for another secular activity. The various discerning images and arrow points engraved on the drums have led to speculation that the drums may have been used as a local seasonal calendar.^{[citation needed]}

The bronze drums were made in significant proportions in Vietnam and parts of southern China and were then traded to the south and west to places such as Java and Bali.^{[citation needed]} Thus it became valued by people with very different cultures. The Đông Sơn bronze drums exhibit the advanced techniques and the great skill in the lost-wax casting of large objects, the Co Loa drum would have required the smelting of between 1 and 7 tons of copper ore and the use of up to 10 large casting crucibles at one time. Most scholars agree the Đông Sơn drums display an artistic level reaching perfection that few cultures of the time could rival.^{[citation needed]}

Expansion of the Dong Son culture

The discovery in the late 17th century of large, elaborately incised "Dum" drums in mainland and maritime southeast Asia first alerted Western scholars to the existence in the region of distinctive early bronze-working cultures. Ranging in height from a few inches to over six feet, up to four feet in diameter, and often of considerable weight, such drums are the most widely dispersed products of the Đông Sơn culture. Examples produced in Vietnam, in addition to works made locally, have been found in south China, in mainland southeast Asia, and in Sumatra, Java, Bali, and Irian Jaya.

The function of these drums, often found in burials, remains unclear: they may have been used in warfare or as part of funerary or other ceremonial rites. Models of the drums, produced in bronze or clay, were made to be included in burials. This small bronze example has the rounded top, curved middle, and splayed base often found in drums from Vietnam. The central loop and the four small frogs on the tympanum are characteristic features of examples produced from the 3rd century BC to the 1st century AD. The starburst pattern in the center of the tympanum, a standard motif on Đông Sơn drums, is surrounded by a row of linked concentric circles and crosshatching. These designs are repeated around the side of the top section and just above the base. On the center of the drum, four stylized scenes showing warriors. Many bronze drums of the Đông Sơn period have been reported in South and Southwest China, Burma, Thailand, Laos and Indonesia.

In Vietnam, approximately 140 drums were discovered in many locations throughout Vietnam from the high land region of the north to the plains of the south and as far as to the Phu Quoc island, in the Gulf of Thailand.

References

Jump up ^ Vietnam Tours
Jump up ^ Nola Cooke, Tana Li, James Anderson - The Tongking Gulf Through History - Page 46 2011 -"Nishimura actually suggested the Đông Sơn phase belonged in the late metal age, and some other Japanese scholars argued that, contrary to the conventional belief that the Han invasion ended Đông Sơn culture, Đông Sơn artifacts, ..."
Jump up ^ Vietnam Fine Arts Museum 2000 "... the bronze cylindrical jars, drums, Weapons and tools which were sophistically carved and belonged to the World famous Đông Sơn culture dating from thousands of years; the Sculptures in the round, the ornamental architectural Sculptures ..."
Jump up ^ Taylor, Keith W. (1991). The Birth of Vietnam. University of California Press. p. 313. ISBN 0-520-07417-3.

6. Đông Sơn drums

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Drum from Sông Đà, Vietnam. Dong Son II culture. Mid-1st millennium BCE. Bronze.

Close-up view of design of a typical Dong Son drum

Đông Sơn drums (also called Heger Type I drums) are bronze drums fabricated by the Dong Son culture, in the Red River Delta of northern Vietnam. The drums were produced from about 600 BC or earlier until the third century AD, and are one of the culture's finest examples of metalworking.
The drums, cast in bronze using the lost wax method, are up to a meter in height and weigh up to 100 kg. Dong Son drums were apparently both musical instruments and cult objects. They are decorated with geometric patterns, scenes of daily life and war, animals and birds, and boats. The latter alludes to the importance of trade to the culture in which they were made, and the drums themselves became objects of trade and heirlooms. More than 200 have been found, across an area from eastern Indonesia to Vietnam and parts of Southern China.^[1]

History

Find of Đông Sơn type drums

The earliest drum found in 1976 existed 2700 years ago in Wangjiaba in Yunnan Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture China. It is classified into the bigger and heavier Yue drums including the Dong Son drums, and the Dian drums, into 8 subtypes, purported to be invented by Ma Yuan and Zhuge Liang. But the Book of the Later Han said Ma melt the bronze drums seized from the rebel Lạc Việt in Jiaozhi into horse.
The discovery of Đông Sơn drums in New Guinea, is seen as proof of trade connections - spanning at least the past thousand years - between this region and the technologically advanced societies of Java and China.^[2]
In 1902, a collection of 165 large bronze drums was published by F. Heger, who subdivided them into a classification of four types.^[3]

Appearances

Image on the Ngoc Lu bronze drum's surface, Vietnam

The drums are have a symmetrical appearance with three parts:

the barrel (upper part)
the body (middle part)
the foot (lower part).

The patterns on drums bear a realistic style and show stilted houses, dancing people, people pounding rice, beating drums and sailing, together with animal and birds. The scenes depict daily life of ancient Viet and reflect the artistic talent and mind. The drums were used as musical instruments in festivals, such as prayers for rain, for good harvest and rituals, such as weddings and funerals, as well as command in army. They were also used as funerary objects and symbol of power of tribe leaders.

Classification

The Heger 1 drums of the Dong Son culture were classified and divided into five groups by the Vietnamese scholar Pham Huy Thong in 1990, a division that implied a chronological succession. The earliest, group A, comprisees a set of large and intricated decorated drums. Group B consists of a smaller drums which almost universally have a group of waterbirds in flight as their key motif on the tympanum and the mantle designs. Group C has a central panel on the tympanum made up of a row of plumed warriors placed inside another panel of waterbirds in flight. Toads line the tympanum's edge while the mantle was decorated with either patterns involving boats or geometric patterns.^[3]

Notable drums

Ngoc Lu

Ngoc Lu bronze drum's surface, Vietnam

Main article: Ngoc Lu drum

The Ngoc Lu drum is regarded as the most important of the Dong Son drums. The drum was accidentally discovered in 1893 in Hà Nam Province, southeast of Hanoi, rather than during a planned expedition. In contrast to most other drums of the Dong Son, the tympanum bears three concentric panels, which depict animals or humans, interleaved with bands of geometric or circular patterns. The innermost panel appears to be a self-referencing depiction, as it is decorated with pictures of humans who appear to be performing a ceremony involving the drums themselves. Other musical instruments and rice growing and harvesting activities are also shown. The two outer panels are decorated with scenes of deer, hornbills and crane egrets.^[4]

Hoàng Ha

Hoàng Ha bronze drum's surface, Vietnam

The Hoàng Ha drum is a notable specimen of the Dong Son culture of the Bronze Age that existed in the Red River Delta in approximately the first five centuries BCE.^[5]
It was discovered in Ha Son Binh Province in 1937 near the village of Hoàng Ha, with an outer panel of crane egrets and an inner panel which shows a procession similar to that described in the Ngoc Lu drum, the most famous of the Dong Son drums.^[5]
Four feathered men are depicted walking in a line, brandishing spears, with two musicians in tow. A person is depicted standing under the eaves of a house, beating a drum while the rice fields are unattended, allowing a bird to eat the rice that was intended for threshing. The boats depicted on the mantle of the drum are very similar, with an analogous cleft prow, archer standing on raised platform and a drum. However, the drum is different from the Ngoc Lu drum in that the animal is absent.^[5]

Co Loa

Co Loa bronze drum's surface, Vietnam

The Co Loa drum is a notable specimen of the Dong Son culture of the Bronze Age that existed in the Red River Delta in approximately the first five centuries BCE.^[5]
The drum shows a procession similar to that described in the Ngoc Lu drum, the most famous of the Dong Son drums. The drum only has two warriors with spears, in contrast to that of the Ngoc Lu drum. Another difference is that the ensemble of percussionists consists of three drummers, with one drum lying under the eaves of the house. Meanwhile, an extra person is depicted in the rice threshing process. The person has long hair and is winnowing grain into a bowl. The percussion ensemble is also depicted differently in that the drummers are not all drumming in synchronisation. Two of the drummers are depicted making contact with the drum, while the other two drummers have their batons in the raised position.^[5]

Song Da

The Song Da drum is a notable specimen of the Dong Son culture of the Bronze Age that existed in the Red River Delta in approximately the first five centuries BCE. It was discovered in Ha Son Binh Province in the 19th century.^[6]
The drum shows a procession similar to that described in the Ngoc Lu drum, the most famous of the Dong Son drums. This drum varies in that it depicts four sets of men in procession with feathered headgear, rather than two. Also, each set comprises three or four people none of whom appear to be armed. The posture of the men was interpreted as that they were participating in a dance rather than a military ceremony. In this drum, only one pair of people are depicted as threshing rice, and there is no cymbal player. However, the general motifs, such as the boats on the mantle, remain in place.^[6]

Others

Small sized bronze drums

The Quang Xuong drum from Thanh Hóa Province is another specimen, which is believed to be possibly later in origin. However, the drum is smaller and the images are harder to interpret.^[3]
Large drums found in northern Vietnam were generally in the minority, as most drums have simple decorations with fewer representations of people. The Ban Thom drum has only an inner panel with four houses and plumed humans standing alone or in couples.^[3]

Modern customs

Zhuang people in Yunnan practice ningdong wine, ningdong music, etc. The ningdongs used by them have same decoration with Dong Son drums.^[7]

Notes

Jump up ^ Heidhues, Mary Somers (2000). Southeast Asia: A Concise History. London: Thames and Hudson. pp. 19–20.
Jump up ^ Diamond, Jared (1997). Guns, Germs, and Steel - The Fate of Human Societies. New York: W. W. Norton & Co. p. 307. ISBN 0-393-03891-2.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d Higham, p. 128.
Jump up ^ Higham, p. 124.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Higham, p. 126.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Higham, p. 127.
Jump up ^ "Ningdong". Ndei Lai Biengz Raeuz. Season 1. CCTV.

References

Higham, Charles (1996). The Bronze Age of Southeast Asia. Cambridge World Archaeology. ISBN 0-521-56505-7.

7. Drumming Dong Son style

April 8, 2006

Of ancient relics that have survived into the present, few are more magnificent than the Dong Son drums of what is now Vietnam. Southeast Asia may have one of the world earliest bronze ages, but it's a matter of archaeological controversy. Researchers dated some very early bronze artifacts from sites like Ban Chiang and Non Nok Tha in Thailand going back possibly to 3600 BCE or earlier.
Probably the bronze making technology of the Dong Song culture in Vietnam's Red River Valley owes its origin to the early Thai sites. French collector L. Pajot first discovered artifacts from this culture in 1929.
Early examples of bronze drums turn up both in Vietnam and Yunnan in South China many centuries before the start of our era and possibly as early as 1000 BCE. The practice of bronze drum making eventually spread through much of Southeast Asia including Java and Bali below the equator.
Most observers recognize the Dong Son drums as the finest examples of early bronze drums and even of ancient bronze technology as a whole.

Dong Son culture is usually identified with Vietnam's first dynasty, the Van Lang. The people grew rice using water buffalo to tend their fields.
Drum-makers used the "lost wax" method to cast in bronze. Because of the complexity of the drums, different parts had to be cast separately in a multi-phase operation.
For the more sophisticated pieces, wax layers were poured into clay moulds with impressed decorations then lifted and placed over a hollow clay core model of the drum. Wax was also poured into a decorated clay mould for the tympanum. The two halves of the drum are placed on top of the tympanum mould and an outer clay layer was formed over the wax.

Molten bronze is poured into the conduit containing the wax, melting and displacing it to form the drum shape.
Bronze drums still play a role in Southeast Asian societies especially among indigenous cultures. Some drums are even the object of a type of animistic worship as in the case of the "Moon of Pejeng" drum of Bali. The drums are used to call the ancestors, for rain-making and similar shamanistic rituals.
Dong Son drums are shining examples of ancient bronze art that survive today in museums throughout the world.
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The Indonesian Masters of Đông Sơn Culture

14Feb11

I haven’t had much time to post to this blog recently. I still don’t have much time, but I’m putting up this article here for anyone who is interested. It is by Nguyễn Phương and appeared in the journal Bách khoa in 1965. Nguyễn Phương is largely forgotten these days, but he wrote a lot in the South in the 1960s. His ideas were controversial, as they definitely did not fit with the nationalist views which was coming to dominate scholarship in both the North and the South.
This article is a continuation of work which he earlier published in the journal Đại học from 1960-1964, and all of these articles were combined into his book, Việt Nam thời khai sinh [Vietnam at the Time of its Birth] (Huế: Phòng Nghiên Cứu Sử, Viện Đại Học Huế, 1965).
Nguyễn Phương starts by saying that he has stated many times already that the “masters” (chủ nhân) of the Đông Sơn culture were Indonesian (Anh-đô-nê), however, he has never explained why he thinks this way. That is what he proposes to do here. (Note: “Indonesian” was the term used at that time to refer to the peoples whom we would today refer to as “Austronesian.”)
Nguyễn Phương argues that there is archaeological evidence for Indonesian peoples in the area of Vietnam from both before and after the time of the Đông Sơn culture. In particular, he notes that French scholars who study prehistory have identified two early cultures in the region, one at Bắc Sơn and another at Hòa Bình, which they associate with Indonesian peoples based on the skeletal remains that have been unearthed at these two places. Further, Nguyễn Phương argues that today there are still Indonesian peoples living in the mountains of Vietnam, namely the Mường and especially the Mọi. (Note: today we would not consider the Mường to be Austronesian, but some of the minorities in the Central Highlands, “the Mọi,” are.)

Given that there is archaeological evidence for the presence of Indonesian peoples in Vietnam prior to the time of the Đông Sơn civilization, and that Indonesian peoples are still there today, Nguyễn Phương argues that the absence of any evidence which demonstrates that Indonesian peoples left and then came back indicates that they have been present all along. What he argues in detail in a later article is that the Indonesians who once originally lived in the deltas were displaced by Chinese who migrated into the region at the end of the B.C period and in the first few centuries A.D., and moved into the mountains, where they are still found today.

Finally, Nguyễn Phương also discusses the work of scholars like Olaf Janse and Victor Goloubew who saw connections between the Mọi and other Indonesian peoples like the Dayak in Borneo, and who noted that the similar cultural practices (from material culture to religion) of these peoples are reflected in the scenes on the bronze drums.
From all of this, Nguyễn Phương concludes that the masters of the Đông Sơn culture were Indonesian.
While this might not please the Vietnamese nationalists in our midst, before we dismiss Nguyễn Phương as a misguided scholar of a bygone age, we should note that a recent monograph on the bronze drums makes a similar argument.
In her The Distribution of Bronze Drums in Early Southeast Asia (Oxford: Archeopress, 2009), Ambra Calò argues that we presently have no way of determining what the ethnicity of the people who made the Đông Sơn bronze drums was. However, the similarities in the imagery on the bronze drums with the cultural practices of Austronesian peoples, like the Dayak on Borneo, and what we know of the ancient migrations of Austronesians and the spread of their languages, all lead Calò to argue that the Đông Sơn bronze drums at least represent cultural contact with Austronesian peoples.
A lot of scholars who wrote about Vietnamese history before nationalism hijacked it in the late 1960s were on the right track. There were problems with their ideas (Nguyễn Phương overemphasized the historical role of Chinese migrants to the region, for instance), but their instincts were right and they were pushing scholarship in a positive direction.
It is still difficult to say who “the masters of Đông Sơn culture” were. However, by picking up where Nguyễn Phương left off, and by critically dismissing much of the scholarship of the 1970s-1990s, I think Ambra Calò is again moving in the right direction.

Nguyễn Phương, “Lịch sử Lạc Việt” [History of the Lạc Việt], Bách Khoa 196 (1965): 29-37.

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8. Đông Sơn Headhunters

27Nov12

A couple of weeks ago I met someone who told me about Bác sĩ Kiều Quang Chẩn and said that she had heard him give an interesting talk in California on the Đông Sơn bronze drums.

That same week someone else told me about the journal Tạp chí Nghiên cứu và Phát triển, and praised it for publishing better articles on premodern history than the “mainstream” journals in Vietnam.

As luck would have it, today I came across a web page that hosts this journal, and I found an article in it by Bác sĩ Kiều Quang Chẩn entitled “Văn hóa Đông Sơn và tục săn đầu người” [Đông Sơn Culture and the Custom of Headhunting].

In this article, Bác sĩ Kiều Quang Chẩn points to evidence of headhunting in some of the images on Đông Sơn bronze drums and notes, by citing the work of respected authorities on headhunting, that this was a widespread practice in the past.

While the evidence he provides is not 100% conclusive, it nonetheless strongly suggests that there were headhunters in the area of what is today the greater Red River delta region in the first millennium BC.

I totally agree with his argument. I’ve been thinking about this over the past couple of years, and it’s clear to me now that in the first millennium BC, people from at least the Yangzi River southward through what is now Southeast Asia all lived a similar lifestyle.

While nothing stays unchanged through time, nonetheless, if we were to go back in time 100 years and visit peoples like the Dayak on Borneo, the Batak on Sumatra, and the various indigenous groups in the mountains of Taiwan, I think that the type of lifestyles that those people lived still shared similarities with the common lifestyle of people in the first millennium BC.

What were some of those similarities? Living in houses on stilts, eating (sticky) rice, engaging in slash and burn agriculture, and. . . headhunting.

The one point I don’t agree with in this article, however, is Bác sĩ Kiều Quang Chẩn’s use of the term “Việt cổ” [ancient Việt] to refer to the people who lived in the Red River delta in the first millennium BC.

We have no idea what the connection was between the people who made the Đông Sơn bronze drums and the people whom we today refer to as “Việt.” Indeed, we don’t even know if there is a connection.

What we can surmise is that at the very least the educated elite in the Red River delta who started to record information about themselves after the 10th century AD in classical Chinese were culturally very different from peoples who had lived in that same area over 1,000 years earlier.

Did they share the same blood as those earlier peoples? Probably some. But various migrations over the intervening 1,000-year period had undoubtedly complicated the blood/gene pool as well.

To put this another way, there were people who lived in the area of what is today Italy in the first millennium BC, but we don’t refer to them as “ancient Italians.” We call them “Romans” because Italy is something that came much later.

There were people who lived in the area of what is today France in the first millennium BC as well, but here again we do not refer to them as “ancient Frenchmen.” We call them “Gauls” because France and the French emerged many centuries later.

What is more, there was nothing inevitable about the emergence of “Italy” and “France.” Historical developments could have been very different, such that the concept of a nation, and the actual nations of Italy and France might never have emerged. This is all the more reason not to project connections back into a past where they do not exist.

To call the headhunters who lived in the Red River delta in the first millennium BC “ancient Việt” is thus like calling Caesar an “ancient Italian.”

Caesar was not an Italian, and the people who made the Đông Sơn bronze drums were not “ancient Việt.” However, they were probably headhunters, and Bác Sĩ Kiều Quang Chẩn does a very good job of making that point. His article is well worth reading.

The image above is from gallica.bnf.fr / Bibliothèque nationale de France.

(http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b23003686/f10.item)

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