Dong Son Early Culture

The Dong Son culture of the 8th to 2nd centuries BC was based in the north, around the Red, Ma and Ca river basins.  There were different states, capital cities, tribes, languages and the beginning of states.
  One of the shared features was the drum, made of bronze and with distinctive designs, see below.  The drum was spread from northern Vietnam along the coast and beyond to Malaysia and Indonesia.
  There were plentiful and relatively sophisticated weapons, see below.
  Dong Son culture was the largest and most powerful in early times in what would later become Vietnam.  The central coast had the Dong Nai and the Mekong Delta had Sa Huynh culture.  There were many other tribes and alliances; these are the three highlighted in the Museum of Vietnamese History.