Bảo tàng lịch sử Quốc gia

Sa Huynh Culture is known in 1909, the first objects of this culture are discovered in Sa Huynh salt-field (Duc Pho district, Quang Ngai province). The mysterious things of this culture are researched domestic and foreign scientists, archaeologists, and from that time, approximate 80 relics of this culture are dicovered, tens of these are studied and excavated as: Ha Tinh, Binh Dinh, Hue, Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Dong Nai, Khanh Hoa, Tay Nguyen…etc.. to affirm the native origin and exchange between Sa Huynh Culture with others at the same time, famous in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. To introduce part heritage of this famous culture to the audience, National Museum of Vietnamese History organize a special exhibition: “Sa Huynh culture – 100 years of discovery and research” with many new are selected collections, in there, burial jar collection is appreciated at the most original.

The most salient characteristic of Sa Huynh culture in the early iron age (2.500 – 2.000 years ago) is the burial jar. The burrial jar is buried in group, usually on the riverside and coastal sand dunes with the ways: secondary burial, cremation, first burial children and symbol tomb. Sa Huynh burial jar diversity in size and form, as cylinder jar, oval one, the intermediary between the cylinder and the oval, the sphere pot, the pot cage each other…etc.. The pot usually has the truncated conical lid with the flat bottom, the common type of the conical pyramid with the near pointed bottom, the type of sphere with the hollow bottom…etc.. The pot size is rather diversified, the biggest pot is 1.8 m high, diameter is 1 m, almost have the hieght under 1m, diameter 50 - 60 cm. Beside the burial jar, Sa Huynh culture also has the type of the land tomb, the pot tomb but it has less popular.

The size as well as the distribution tombs in Sa Huynh relic are also different, there are hundreds of burial jars in a site as in Thach Duc, Phu Khuong, Sa Huynh, Quang Ngai. In Cån Rµng relic (Thua Thien Hue province), perhap it’s the biggest among burial jars to discovered 207 burial jars and 6 eathern graves on the area of 2.200 sq.m excavation. But there are also some in others. Inside the containt burial things as pottery, stone tools, bronze and iron tools, and the jewellries…etc.. The iron is specific of Sa Huynh Culture. With the manufacture technology the iron thing, decisive is hot forge, were made by Sa Huynh, many the iron products with the high quality, to get use popularly in the daily life as: sword, lance, javelin, axe, spade…etc.. Talk about Sa Huynh jewellry cannot but accept the two animal head earrings and the three knobs earrings made of stone and glass, which is specific product, express the creative mind of Sa Huynh’s people. The jewellry made of beads made agate, beads were discoveried a lot and researchers believe that they originate from India, to show the trading exchange with the outside world of Sa Huynh’s people.

Thus, the burial things express not only an individual belief of Sa Huynh people

but also of the inhabitants live in coastal area in many areas in the world. Theirlife connected closely to the sea and until they die, the relatives bring them come back to the sea.

Especially the burial jar with the peach - shaped newly discover in the end of the year 2008, in Bai Coi vestige (Vien Xuan commune, Nghi Xuan district, Ha Tinh province) is being displayed in the special exhibition: “Sa Huynh culture – 100 years of discovery and research” make visitors surprise. The open - cast pot has the depth 0.38m put to lie on its side toward east - west, the sphereshaped pot, covered the mouth by a truncated cone. In the rim of the mouth has the bias decoration, incised the body pot decorate with rope design, there isn’t any burial things in the jar, next to the jar there is fruit bowl that broken and has the phenomenon “Kill the object” before buried, fragments of pottery were chocked surrounding the tomb. This show us the burial method of Bai Coi’s inhabitant is close to Sa Huynh’s.

Through the burial jar collection display in special exhibition: “Sa Huynh culture – 100 years of discovery and research” reappeared a part of the material and spirit life of Sa Huynh inhabitant develope to a high level. Along with Dong Son Culture, Sa Huynh Culture is a brilliant civilization center in the early time of establishing the country. The exchange, mixing diversity and unification factors made the origin of Sa Huynh Culture what we need that’s necessary to keep discovering and researching.

Pham Thanh Huyen