The Dong Son culture of the Red River Delta in northern Vietnam was a Bronze Age civilization famous for its exceptional metalworking. Their most iconic artifacts are the Dong Son drums—massive, intricately cast bronze drums used for rituals, warfare, and as symbols of status. The drums are decorated with geometric patterns and scenes of daily life, including houses on stilts, dancing figures, and longboats, providing a rare visual record of Southeast Asian life over 2,000 years ago. The most famous is the Ngoc Lu drum. The spread of these drums across Southeast Asia and the Indonesian archipelago proves the existence of a wide-reaching maritime trade network. The Dong Son people were also among the earliest in the region to practice wet-rice cultivation, a development that supported large populations and led to the formation of early organized states in Vietnam.