THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE THACH TRAI SON DRUM AND THE BRONZE DRUMS OF DONG SON CULTURE

Abstract

The debate of archeological scholars about the origin of the bronze
drums, which lasted from the late 19th century until today, has not
yet "lowered the resolution". The question "Which people invented
the bronze drum?", "The bronze drum comes from North Vietnam
or South China?" still a deep concern, attracting the enthusiasm of
archaeologists Vietnam and China, especially since 19 bronze drums
were unearthed at the ancient tomb in Thach Trai Son (Tan Ninh,
Yunnan, China) (from 1955 to 1966) and was named by the Chinese
as the Dien drum or the Thach Trai Son type drum, until today.
After many years of research, many field visits, through many
domestic and international seminars with many debates among
archeology scholars, the author of this article has given many points to
confirm: Bronze drums were not created by Dien people (China), but
bronze drums belonged to Dong Son culture of Vietnamese people.
The relationship between the Thach Trai Son drums (also known as
the Dien drums of the Dien people in Yunnan, China) and the bronze
drums of Dong Son culture is also one of the next important points
to clarify reveals the problem of bronze drum origin.