Abstract
The Dongson Culture, a highly developed civilization, existed in the southern region of the “Southern Civilizations” of China. The Dongson Culture and her forerunners bear a distinct course of historical development since the end of the Neolithic to the Iron Age. Evidence indicates that certain kinds of contacts existed between northern Vietnam and southern China or even northern China. Chinese scholars once held that these contacts manifested themselves as a unidirectional path of cultural transmission in which China was the donor of the cultural assemblage which eventually formed the Dongson Culture. However, cultural interaction is always a multi-directional process: In fact, archaeological evidence indicates that characteristic objects of the Dongson Culture, such as anthropomorphic-handled daggers, had made their way into the Hunan province of China. In this article, the author analyzes the available evidences related to this particular dagger and categorizes two types and six sub-types of them which were cast around the 3rd/4th century to the 1st/2nd century BCE. These daggers were certainly not common implements for daily use. Rather they were objects which were most likely used in certain ceremonial events or as prestige objects to represent the status of the owners. The exotic anthropomorphic-handled dagger was introduced into China during the 4th to 3rd century BCE through a certain manner and course which still remains unknown at this moment.
Keywords
Dongson Culture, anthropomorphic-handled dagger, civilization, Southern Civilizations, cultural contact
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