25 April 2007 (Viet Nam Net Bridge) – The Quang Ninh Museum and the National Museum of Vietnamese Revolution in Hanoi have launched a month-long exhibition showcasing prehistoric Ha Long culture, located in the vicinity of Ha Long bay and city.
Ancient Ha Long culture exhibited in Hanoi
Ha Long city is widely famous for its beautiful Ha Long Bay. But few know that it is also the site of an uninterrupted ancient culture dating from the first period of the Stone Age, no less than 5,000 years ago.
Of a series of archeological items discovered within the past 20 years, there are bones of ancient Vietnamese. These suggest that ancient Ha Long culture is an endogenous culture, which was doubted by some famous foreign archeologists in the first half of the 20th century such as M. Colani (France), and J.G. Andersson (Sweden).
All of the cultural layers unearthed at 34 sites throughout Quang Ninh Province contain countless vestiges of ancient Vietnamese. Though human bones weren’t found in those well-known sites (Ba Vung, Bai Tu Long, and Bo Chuyen), in 2001, in the Hon Hai – Co Tien are in Ha Long city, archeologists discovered 43 graves of ancient Vietnamese as well as jewelry, ceramic works and working tools.
This discovery has since then dispersed any doubt about the endogenous ancient Ha Long culture. It also shows that 3,500 years ago, Ha Long culture was at its peak. Humans who knew how to create working tools started to explore the sea and trade with those from other areas.
Related Books:
Some references to the Ha Long culture can be found in
– Southeast Asia: From Prehistory to History by P. S. Bellwood and I. Glover (Eds)
– The Bronze Age of Southeast Asia (Cambridge World Archaeology) by C. Higham
