| Abstract: |
This paper focuses on the role of Heger I drums and bronze halberds in burials of elites in the Mekong basin during the last millennium BC. The archaeological evidence clearly establishes that these items of material culture were status markers and prestige goods buried with groups in control of early exchange networks on the Southeast Asian mainland. While bronze drums might appear to be randomly distributed along the Mekong basin, this research shows that they are strategically located at critical points on river systems where water transport is interrupted.
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