A century has passed since French archaeologists found relics that dated from 2,500 - 3,000 years ago in the Sa Huynh sand dune (in Duc Pho District, Quang Ngai Province ). New archaeological sites of the Sa Huynh culture have been continuously discovered and many diversified objects have been found…

Imprints of a well-known culture

In 1909, it was written in the yearbook of the French School of the Far East that a store of about 200 jars had been found lying barely under the surface of a sand dune in Sa Huynh coastal area. To date, hundreds of objects of this culture have been found along the coastal provinces in Central Vietnam, from Quang Binh Province to Binh Thuan Province and some neighbouring areas. Excavations have been carried out over a large area, including the Central coastal area, Tay Nguyen (the Central Highlands) and eastern South Vietnam . The greatest number of excavations were conducted in Quang Ngai Province, including the excavation in Ma Vuong Mound (Pho Khanh Commune, Duc Pho District) in 1976; in Oc Hamlet (Ly Son District) in 1998; in Chinh (Ly Son District) in 2000; in Binh Dong Commune (Binh Son District) in 2005 and most recently in Duc Thang Commune (Mo Duc District) in 2009. The objects found from these excavations allow archaeologists to reconstruct the Sa Huynh cultural space that is much larger than the French archaeologists’ original imagination. The excavations have showed the existence of an early cultural period, the precursor of classical Sa Huynh that has been named the pre-Sa Huynh period or early Sa Huynh.

This scientific discovery enables a confirmation that the Sa Huynh culture, discovered by the French and defined as having an indigenous origin, has developed in a region stretching from Quang Binh to the eastern South Vietnam, the Central Highlands, some islands on the central coastal area and perhaps in other places in Indochina. By 2009, over 80 Sa Huynh culture sites had been discovered and researched. The relics and artefacts were scattered densely and related to other cultures of the same time. The Sa Huynh culture is connected with other cultures but it neither mixes with them nor comes from other areas. Results of the excavations and studies conducted by French and Vietnamese archaeologists provide basic features of the life, daily activities and the religious believes of the Sa Huynh residents who lived in groups and knew how to use tools to make jewellery ornaments and weaponsnbsp; made of stone, animal bones, glass, agate, pottery, bronze and iron. They also caught fish, embellished themselves with jewellery, designed utensils and created many unique patterns of high aesthetics, especially on pottery wares.

New discoveries and research

In the 1990s the discovery and excavation of the relic complex of Giong Ca Vo - Giong Phet in Can Gio District, Ho Chi Minh City shocked archaeological and historical circles. The relics included large grounds of burial jars with objects diverse in materials and types. The objects included iron swords and knives, ear rings, strings of glass beads, strings of golden beads, golden ear rings, etc. In late 2008 and early 2009 during an archaeological excavation at Bai Goi relic site in Xuan Vien Commune, Nghi Xuan District of Ha Tinh Province, many typical objects of the Sa Huynh culture, such as ear rings featuring two headed animals, burial vases, vertical burial pots and burial jars together with many pottery wares, such as jars, pots, bowls and hat’s caps, and three-coloured ear-rings made of glass and terracotta, especially an apricot-shaped burial jar were found. These items show that although the Sa Huynh culture has been discovered and researched, it still contains unexpected things which are not only interesting but also challenge the researchers and scientists at home and abroad.

In recent years many archaeological excavations have been carried out to learn about the relationship between the Sa Huynh and Champa cultures. In many relic sites, archaeologists have found ceramic pieces with characteristics of both Sa Huynh and Champa ceramics. These are important sources that prove the development process from the Sa Huynh culture to the Champa culture. Besides, from the ancient bibliographies, the research has also provided some “Sa Huynh factors” in the Champa society and culture.

On the basis of the archaeological documents, it can be said that the Champa State was the succession of the Sa Huynh culture. It was formed on the Sa Huynh culture foundation under the impact of the external cultural factors of Dong Son – Ancient Viet, China and India.

All objects found and our knowledge about the Sa Huynh residents and culture over the past 100 years are enough to help imagine the Sa Huynh residents and their culture, from origin to stages of development, from relics and artefacts to cultural identities.

Story: Nguyen Dang Lam – Vinh Hung

Photos: Vietnam Museum of History – Vu Hieu – Bui Van Liem – Thanh Long