page_title: Hồng Bàng dynasty
section_title: Bronze tools
hierarchical_section_title: Hồng Bàng dynasty / Technology / Bronze tools
caption_attribution_description: Dong Son drums
context_page_description: The Hồng Bàng period, also called the Hồng Bàng dynasty, was a legendary, semi-mythical period in Vietnamese historiography, spanning from the beginning of the rule of Kinh Dương Vương over the state of Văn Lang in 2879 BC until the conquest of the state by An Dương Vương in 258 BC.
  The 15th century Vietnamese chronicle Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư claimed that the period began with Kinh Dương Vương as the first Hùng king, a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Vietnamese rulers of this period. The Hùng king was the absolute monarch of the country and, at least in theory, wielded complete control of the land and its resources. The Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư also recorded that the nation's capital was Phong Châu in present-day Phú Thọ Province. It was bordered to the east by the East Sea, to the west by Ba Thục, to the north by Dongting Lake, and to the south by Champa.
context_section_description: By about 1200 BC., the development of wet-rice cultivation and bronze casting in the Mã River and Red River plains led to the development of the Đông Sơn culture, notable for its elaborate bronze drums. The bronze weapons, tools, and drums of Đông Sơn sites show a Southeast Asian influence that indicates an indigenous origin for the bronze-casting technology. Many small, ancient copper mine sites have been found in northern Vietnam. Some of the similarities between the Đông Sơn sites and other Southeast Asian sites include the presence of boat-shaped coffins and burial jars, stilt dwellings, and evidence of the customs of betel-nut-chewing and teeth-blackening.
caption: Image on the Ngoc Lu bronze drum's surface
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