Editing Bronze Age (section)

== Asia ==
[[File:World in 2000 BC.svg|thumb|upright=1.6|Political boundaries in 2000&nbsp;BC]]

=== Central Asia ===

==== Agropastoralism ====
For many decades, scholars made superficial reference to Central Asia as the "pastoral realm" or alternatively, the "nomadic world", in what researchers call the "Central Asian void": a 5,000-year span that was neglected in studies of the origins of agriculture. Foothill regions and glacial melt streams supported Bronze Age agro-pastoralists who developed complex east–west trade routes between Central Asia and China that introduced wheat and [[barley]] to China and [[millet]] to Central Asia.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Spengler |first=Robert N. |date=2015-09-01 |title=Agriculture in the Central Asian Bronze Age |journal=Journal of World Prehistory |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=215–253 |doi=10.1007/s10963-015-9087-3 |issn=1573-7802 |s2cid=161968192}}</ref>

==== Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex ====
{{Main|Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex}}

The [[Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex]] (BMAC), also known as the Oxus civilisation, was a Bronze Age civilisation in Central Asia, dated {{circa|2400|1600&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}E,<ref>Vidale, Massimo, 2017. Treasures from the Oxus, I. B. Tauris, pp. 8–10 & Table 1.</ref> located in present-day northern [[Afghanistan]], eastern [[Turkmenistan]], southern [[Uzbekistan]] and western [[Tajikistan]], centred on the upper [[Amu Darya]] (Oxus River). Its sites were discovered and named by the Soviet archaeologist [[Viktor Sarianidi]] (1976). [[Bactria]] was the Greek name for the area of [[Bactra]] (modern [[Balkh]]), in what is now northern Afghanistan, and [[Margiana]] was the Greek name for the Persian [[satrap]]y of [[Margiana|Marguš]], the capital of which was [[Merv]] in present-day Turkmenistan.

A wealth of information indicates that the BMAC had close international relations with the [[Indus Valley Civilisation|Indus Valley]], the [[Iranian plateau]], and possibly even indirectly with Mesopotamia. All civilisations were familiar with [[lost wax casting]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Possehl |first=Gregory L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pmAuAsi4ePIC |title=The Indus Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective |publisher=Rowman Altamira |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-7591-0172-2 |pages=215–232}}</ref>

According to a 2019 study,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Narasimhan |first1=Vagheesh M. |last2=Patterson |first2=Nick |last3=Moorjani |first3=Priya |last4=Rohland |first4=Nadin |last5=Bernardos |first5=Rebecca |last6=Mallick |first6=Swapan |last7=Lazaridis |first7=Iosif |last8=Nakatsuka |first8=Nathan |last9=Olalde |first9=Iñigo |last10=Lipson |first10=Mark |last11=Kim |first11=Alexander M. |last12=Olivieri |first12=Luca M. |last13=Coppa |first13=Alfredo |last14=Vidale |first14=Massimo |last15=Mallory |first15=James |display-authors=1 |year=2019 |title=The formation of human populations in South and Central Asia |journal=Science |volume=365 |issue=6457 |biorxiv=10.1101/292581 |doi=10.1126/science.aat7487 |pmc=6822619 |pmid=31488661 |last16=Moiseyev |first16=Vyacheslav |last17=Kitov |first17=Egor |last18=Monge |first18=Janet |last19=Adamski |first19=Nicole |last20=Alex |first20=Neel |last21=Broomandkhoshbacht |first21=Nasreen |last22=Candilio |first22=Francesca |last23=Callan |first23=Kimberly |last24=Cheronet |first24=Olivia |last25=Culleton |first25=Brendan J. |last26=Ferry |first26=Matthew |last27=Fernandes |first27=Daniel |last28=Freilich |first28=Suzanne |last29=Gamarra |first29=Beatriz |last30=Gaudio |first30=Daniel}}</ref> the BMAC was not a primary contributor to later South-Asian genetics.

==== Seima-Turbino phenomenon ====
{{Main|Seima-Turbino phenomenon}}
The [[Altai Mountains]], in what is now southern Russia and central [[Mongolia]], have been identified as the point of origin of a cultural enigma termed the [[Seima-Turbino Phenomenon]].<ref name="Keys2009">{{Cite journal |last=Keys |first=David |author-link=David Keys (author) |date=January 2009 |title=Scholars crack the code of an ancient enigma |journal=BBC History Magazine |volume=10 |issue=1 |page=9}}</ref> It is conjectured that changes in climate in this region {{circa|2000&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}E, and the ensuing ecological, economic, and political changes, triggered a rapid and massive migration westward into northeast Europe, eastward into China, and southward into Vietnam and Thailand<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=White |first1=Joyce |last2=Hamilton |first2=Elizabeth |year=2009 |title=The Transmission of Early Bronze Technology to Thailand: New Perspectives |journal=Journal of World Prehistory |volume=22 |issue=4 |pages=357–397 |doi=10.1007/s10963-009-9029-z |s2cid=9400588}}</ref> across a frontier of some {{cvt|4000|mi|km|sigfig=1}}.<ref name="Keys2009" /> This migration took place in just five to six generations and led to peoples from Finland in the west to Thailand in the east employing the same metalworking technology and, in some areas, horse breeding and riding.<ref name="Keys2009" /> However, recent genetic testings of sites in south Siberia and [[Kazakhstan]] ([[Andronovo]] horizon) would rather support spreading of the bronze technology via [[Indo-European migrations]] eastwards, as this technology had been well known for quite a while in western regions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lalueza-Fox |first1=C. |last2=Sampietro |first2=M. L. |last3=Gilbert |first3=M. T. |last4=Castri |first4=L. |last5=Facchini |first5=F. |last6=Pettener |first6=D. |last7=Bertranpetit |first7=J. |year=2004 |title=Unravelling migrations in the steppe: Mitochondrial DNA sequences from ancient central Asians |journal=Proceedings. Biological Sciences |volume=271 |issue=1542 |pages=941–947 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2004.2698 |pmc=1691686 |pmid=15255049}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Keyser |first1=Christine |last2=Bouakaze |first2=Caroline |last3=Crubézy |first3=Eric |last4=Nikolaev |first4=Valery G. |last5=Montagnon |first5=Daniel |last6=Reis |first6=Tatiana |last7=Ludes |first7=Bertrand |year=2009 |title=Ancient DNA provides new insights into the history of south Siberian Kurgan people |journal=Human Genetics |volume=126 |issue=3 |pages=395–410 |doi=10.1007/s00439-009-0683-0 |pmid=19449030 |s2cid=21347353}}</ref>

It is further conjectured that the same migrations spread the [[Uralic]] group of languages across Europe and Asia, with extant members of the family including [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]], [[Finnish language|Finnish]] and [[Estonian language|Estonian]].<ref name="Keys2009" />

=== East Asia ===

==== China ====
{{main|Erlitou culture|Shang dynasty|Sanxingdui|Lower Xiajiadian culture}}
[[File:Gefuding Gui.jpg|thumb|A [[Shang dynasty]] two-handled bronze ''gefuding gui'' (1600–1046&nbsp;BCE)]]
[[File:Pu with openwork interlaced dragons design.jpg|thumb|[[Spring and Autumn period]] ''pu'' bronze vessel with interlaced [[Chinese dragon|dragon]] design ({{circa|770|481&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}E)]]

In China, the earliest bronze artefacts have been found in the [[Majiayao culture]] site (3100–2700&nbsp;BCE).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Martini |first=I. Peter |title=Landscapes and Societies: Selected Cases |publisher=Springer |year=2010 |isbn=978-90-481-9412-4 |page=310}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Higham |first=Charles |author-link=Charles Higham (archaeologist) |title=Encyclopedia of ancient Asian civilizations |publisher=Infobase |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-8160-4640-9 |page=200}}</ref>

The term "Bronze Age" has been transferred to the archaeology of China from that of Western Eurasia, and there is no consensus or universally used convention delimiting the "Bronze Age" in the context of [[Chinese prehistory]].<ref>The archaeological term "Bronze Age" was first introduced for Europe in the 1830s and soon extended to the Near East. By the 1860s, there was some debate as to whether the term should be extended to China ([[John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury|John Lubbock]], ''Prehistoric Times'' (1868), cited after ''The Athenaeum'' No. 2121, 20 June 1868, [https://books.google.com/books?id=VpRGAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA870 p. 870]).</ref> The "Early Bronze Age" in China is sometimes taken to be coterminous with the reign of the [[Shang dynasty]] (16th–11th centuries&nbsp;BCE),<ref>Robert L. Thorp, ''China in the Early Bronze Age: Shang Civilization'', University of Pennsylvania Press (2013).</ref> and the Later Bronze Age with the subsequent [[Zhou dynasty]] (11th–3rd centuries&nbsp;BCE), from the 5th century, called [[Iron Age China]] although there is an argument to be made that the Bronze Age never properly ended in China, as there is no recognisable transition to an Iron Age.<ref>" Without entering on the vexed question whether or not there ever was a bronze age in any part of the world distinguished by the sole use of that metal, in China and Japan to the present day, amid an iron age, bronze is in constant use for cutting instruments, either alone or in combination with steel."
''The Rectangular Review'', Volume 1 (1871), [https://books.google.com/books?id=CXwtAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA408 p. 408]</ref> Together with the jade art that precedes it, bronze was seen as a fine material for ritual art when compared with iron or stone.<ref>[[Wu Hung]] (1995). ''Monumentality in Early Chinese Art and Architecture''. pp. 11, 13 {{ISBN?}}</ref>

Bronze metallurgy in China originated in what is referred to as the [[Erlitou]] period, which some historians argue places it within the Shang.<ref>Chang, K. C.: "Studies of Shang Archaeology", pp. 6–7, 1. Yale University Press, 1982.</ref> Others believe the Erlitou sites belong to the preceding [[Xia dynasty]].<ref>Chang, K. C.: "Studies of Shang Archaeology", p. 1. Yale University Press, 1982.</ref> The United States [[National Gallery of Art]] defines the Chinese Bronze Age as {{circa|2000|771&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}E, a period that begins with the Erlitou culture and ends abruptly with the disintegration of [[Western Zhou]] rule.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Teaching Chinese Archaeology, Part Two |url=http://www.nga.gov/education/chinatp_pt2.shtm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080213205159/http://www.nga.gov/education/chinatp_pt2.shtm |archive-date=13 February 2008 |access-date=24 September 2016 |publisher=Nga.gov}}</ref>

There is reason to believe that bronze work developed inside of China apart from outside influence.<ref>Li-Liu; The Chinese Neolithic, Cambridge University Press, 2005.
[http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/shzh/hd_shzh.htm ''Shang and Zhou Dynasties: The Bronze Age of China'' Heilbrunn Timeline] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210074557/http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/shzh/hd_shzh.htm |date=10 February 2015}} Retrieved 13 May 2010</ref> However, the discovery of the Europoid [[Tarim mummies]] in Xinjiang has caused some archaeologists such as [[Johan Gunnar Andersson]], Jan Romgard, and An Zhimin to suggest a possible route of transmission from the West eastwards. According to An Zhimin, "It can be imagined that initially, bronze and iron technology took its rise in West Asia, first influenced the Xinjiang region, and then reached the Yellow River valley, providing external impetus for the rise of the Shang and Zhou civilizations." According to Jan Romgard, "bronze and iron tools seem to have traveled from west to east as well as the use of wheeled wagons and the domestication of the horse." There are also possible links to [[Seima-Turbino culture]], "a transcultural complex across northern Eurasia", the Eurasian steppe, and the Urals.<ref>{{Cite journal |first=Jan |last=Romgard |year=2008 |title=Questions of Ancient Human Settlements in Xinjiang and the Early Silk Road Trade, with an Overview of the Silk Road Research Institutions and Scholars in Beijing, Gansu, and Xinjiang |url=http://sino-platonic.org/complete/spp185_silk_road.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Sino-Platonic Papers |pages=30–32 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206060414/http://sino-platonic.org/complete/spp185_silk_road.pdf |archive-date=6 February 2012 |access-date=21 May 2012 |number=185}}</ref> However, the oldest bronze objects found in China so far were discovered at the [[Majiayao]] site in [[Gansu]] rather than at [[Xinjiang]].<ref>{{Cite journal |year=2003 |title=A Discussion on Early Metals and the Origins of Bronze Casting in China |url=http://www.kaogu.cn/en/Chinese%20Archaeology/3/A%20Discussion%20on%20Early%20Metals%20and%20the%20Origins%20of%20Bronze%20Casting%20in%20China.pdf |journal=Chinese Archaeology |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=157–165 |doi=10.1515/char.2003.3.1.157 |s2cid=164920328 |surname=Bai |given=Yunxiang}}</ref>

The production of Erlitou represents the earliest large-scale metallurgy industry in the Central Plains of China. The influence of the Seima-Turbino metalworking tradition from the north is supported by a series of recent discoveries in China of many unique perforated spearheads with downward hooks and small loops on the same or opposite side of the socket, which could be associated with the Seima-Turbino visual vocabulary of southern Siberia. The metallurgical centres of northwestern China, especially the [[Qijia culture]] in Gansu and [[Longshan culture]] in [[Shaanxi]], played an intermediary role in this process.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Meicun Lin |date=2016-06-30 |title=Seima-Turbino Culture and the Proto-Silk Road |url=http://dlib.eastview.com/browse/doc/48032340 |journal=Chinese Cultural Relics |language=en |volume=3 |issue=1–002 |pages=241–262 |doi=10.21557/CCR.48032340 |issn=2330-5169}}</ref>

Iron use in China dates as early as the [[Zhou dynasty]] ({{circa|1046|lk=no}}{{snd}}256&nbsp;BCE), but remained minimal. Chinese literature authored during the 6th century&nbsp;BCE attests to knowledge of iron smelting, yet bronze continues to occupy the seat of significance in the archaeological and historical record for some time after this.<ref>Barnard, N. "Bronze Casting and Bronze Alloys in Ancient China", p.&nbsp;14. The Australian National University and Monumenta Serica, 1961.</ref> W. C. White argues that iron did not supplant bronze "at any period before the end of the Zhou dynasty (256&nbsp;BCE)" and that bronze vessels make up the majority of metal vessels through the [[Eastern Han period]], or to 221&nbsp;BCE.<ref>White, W. C. "Bronze Culture of Ancient China", p.&nbsp;208. University of Toronto Press, 1956.</ref><!-- It is unclear what White referred to: The former Han dynasty was 206–25 BCE, and the later Han dynasty ended in 220 AD. On iron, readers may prefer to refer to this newer book: Wagner, Donald B. Iron, and Steel in Ancient China. Leiden, Netherlands; New York: E.J. Brill, 1993. -->

The Chinese bronze artefacts generally are either utilitarian, like spear points or [[adze]] heads, or [[Chinese ritual bronzes|"ritual bronzes"]], which are more elaborate versions in precious materials of everyday vessels, as well as tools and weapons. Examples are the numerous large sacrificial tripods known as ''[[Ding (vessel)|dings]]''; there are many other distinct shapes. Surviving identified Chinese ritual bronzes tend to be highly decorated, often with the ''[[taotie]]'' motif, which involves stylised animal faces. These appear in three main motif types: those of demons, symbolic animals, and abstract symbols.<ref>{{Cite book |last=von Erdberg |first=Elizabeth |title=Ancient Chinese Bronzes: Terminology and Iconology |publisher=Siebenbad-Verlag |year=1993 |isbn=978-3877470633 |page=20}}</ref> Many large bronzes also bear [[Chinese bronze inscriptions|cast inscriptions]] that are the bulk of the surviving body of early [[Chinese writing]] and have helped historians and archaeologists piece together the history of China, especially during the Zhou dynasty.

The bronzes of the Western Zhou document large portions of history not found in the extant texts that were often composed by persons of varying rank and possibly even social class. Further, the medium of cast bronze lends the record they preserve a permanence not enjoyed by manuscripts.<ref>Shaughnessy, E. L. "Sources of Western Zhou History", pp. xv–xvi. University of California Press, 1982.</ref> These inscriptions can commonly be subdivided into four parts: a reference to the date and place, the naming of the event commemorated, the list of gifts given to the artisan in exchange for the bronze, and a dedication.<ref>Shaughnessy, E. L. "Sources of Western Zhou History", pp. 76–83. University of California Press, 1982.</ref> The relative points of reference these vessels provide have enabled historians to place most of the vessels within a certain time frame of the Western Zhou period, allowing them to trace the evolution of the vessels and the events they record.<ref>Shaughnessy, E. L. "Sources of Western Zhou History", p. 107.</ref>

==== Japan ====
{{Main|Yayoi period}}
[[File:Dotaku LACMA M.58.9.3 (1 of 2).jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|2nd-century&nbsp;BCE Yayoi [[dōtaku]] bronze bell]]
[[File:YayoiBronzeSpearTip1-2ndCenturyKyushu.jpg|thumb|2nd-century&nbsp;BCE Yayoi bronze spearheads]]

The Japanese archipelago saw the introduction of bronze during the early [[Yayoi period]] ({{circa|300&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}E), which saw the introduction of metalworking and agricultural practices brought by settlers arriving from the continent. Bronze and iron smelting spread to the Japanese archipelago through contact with other ancient East Asian civilisations, particularly immigration and trade from the ancient Korean peninsula, and ancient mainland China. Iron was mainly used for agricultural and other tools, whereas ritual and ceremonial artefacts were mainly made of bronze.{{clarify|reason=What about weapons? |date=July 2023}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kyoto National Museum |url=https://www.kyohaku.go.jp/eng/exhibitions/feature/b/seidou_2024/ |access-date=2023-08-02 |website=Kyoto National Museum}}</ref>

==== Korea ====
{{main|Gojoseon|Mumun pottery period}}
[[File:화순 대곡리 청동기 일괄.jpg|thumb|Bronze artefacts from Daegok-ri, [[Hwasun County|Hwasun]], Korea]]
On the Korean Peninsula, the Bronze Age began {{circa|1000–800&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}E.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Eckert |first1=Carter J. |title=Korea, Old and New: A History |last2=Lee |first2=Ki-Baik |last3=Lew |first3=Young Ick |last4=Robinson |first4=Michael |last5=Wagner |first5=Edward W. |publisher=Korea Institute, Harvard University |year=1990 |isbn=978-0962771309 |page=9}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=1000 BC to 300 AD: Korea |url=http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/tps/1000bce_ko.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012085309/http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/tps/1000bce_ko.htm |archive-date=12 October 2011 |access-date=24 September 2016 |website=Asia for Educators |publisher=Columbia University}}</ref> Initially centred around [[Liaoning bronze dagger culture|Liaoning]] and southern Manchuria, Korean Bronze Age culture exhibits unique typology and styles, especially in ritual objects.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

The [[Mumun pottery period]] is named after the Korean name for undecorated or plain cooking and storage vessels that form a large part of the pottery assemblage over the entire length of the period, but especially between 850 and 550&nbsp;BCE. The Mumun period is known for the origins of intensive agriculture and complex societies in both the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese Archipelago.

The Middle Mumun pottery period culture of the southern [[Korean Peninsula]] gradually adopted bronze production ({{circa|700–600&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}E after a period when [[Liaoning bronze dagger culture|Liaoning-style bronze daggers]] and other bronze artefacts were exchanged as far as the interior part of the Southern Peninsula ({{circa|900–700&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}E). The bronze daggers lent prestige and authority to the personages who wielded and were buried with them in high-status megalithic burials at south-coastal centres such as the [[Igeum-dong site]]. Bronze was an important element in ceremonies and for mortuary offerings until 100&nbsp;BCE.
{{Clear}}

=== South Asia ===
(Dates are approximate, consult linked articles for details)
<timeline>
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 bar:India color:age
 from: -3300 till: -1550 shift:(0,7) text:[[Bronze Age India]]
 from: -3300 till: -2700 text:[[Indus Valley Civilization|Early Indus]]
 from: -2700 till: -1900 text:[[Mature Harappan]]
 from: -1900 till: -1550 text:[[Cemetery H culture|Late Harappa]]
 from: -1500 till: -1200 text:[[Vedic period#Early Vedic period (c. 1500 – c. 1200 BCE)|Rigvedic]]
</timeline>

==== Indus Valley ====
{{Main|Indus Valley Civilisation}}
[[File:The Dancing Girl, in a photogravure by Alfred Nawrath,1938.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[Dancing Girl (prehistoric sculpture)|Dancing girl]]'' of [[Mohenjo-daro]], {{circa|2500&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}E]]
The Bronze Age on the [[Indian subcontinent]] began {{circa|3300&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}E with the beginning of the [[Indus Valley Civilization]]. Inhabitants of the Indus Valley, the [[Harappa]]ns, developed new techniques in metallurgy and produced copper, bronze, lead, and tin. The Late Harappan culture (1900–1400&nbsp;BCE), overlapped the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age; thus it is difficult to date this transition accurately. It has been claimed that a 6,000-year-old copper amulet manufactured in [[Mehrgarh]] in the shape of a wheel spoke is the earliest example of [[lost-wax casting]] in the world.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bertrand |first1=L. |last2=Jarrige |first2=J.-F. |last3=Réfrégiers |first3=M. |last4=Robbiola |first4=L. |last5=Séverin-Fabiani |first5=T. |last6=Mille |first6=B. |last7=Thoury |first7=M. |date=15 November 2016 |title=High spatial dynamics-photoluminescence imaging reveals the metallurgy of the earliest lost-wax cast object |journal=Nature Communications |volume=7 |pages=13356 |bibcode=2016NatCo...713356T |doi=10.1038/ncomms13356 |issn=2041-1723 |pmc=5116070 |pmid=27843139}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT) |url=http://ccrtindia.gov.in/induscivilisculp.php |access-date=2020-07-08 |website=ccrtindia.gov.in}}</ref>

The civilisation's cities were noted for their urban planning, baked brick houses, elaborate drainage systems, water supply systems, clusters of large non-residential buildings, and new techniques in handicraft (carnelian products, seal carving) and metallurgy (copper, bronze, lead, and tin).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wright |first=Rita P. |author-link=Rita P. Wright |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gAgFPQAACAAJ |title=The Ancient Indus: Urbanism, Economy, and Society |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-521-57219-4 |pages=115–125}}</ref> The large cities of [[Mohenjo-daro]] and [[Harappa]] likely grew to contain between 30,000 and 60,000 people,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dyson |first=Tim |author-link=Tim Dyson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA29 |title=A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-19-882905-8 |page=29 |quote=Mohenjo-daro and Harappa may each have contained between 30,000 and 60,000 people (perhaps more in the former case). Water transport was crucial for the provisioning of these and other cities. That said, the vast majority of people lived in rural areas. At the height of the Indus valley civilization the subcontinent may have contained 4–6 million people.}}</ref> and the civilisation during its florescence may have contained between one and five million people.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McIntosh |first=Jane |author-link=Jane McIntosh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1AJO2A-CbccC |title=The Ancient Indus Valley: New Perspectives |publisher=ABC-ClIO |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-57607-907-2 |page=387 |quote=The enormous potential of the greater Indus region offered scope for huge population increase; by the end of the Mature Harappan period, the Harappans are estimated to have numbered somewhere between 1 and 5 million, probably well below the region's carrying capacity.}}</ref>

=== Southeast Asia ===
The [[Vilabouly Complex, Laos|Vilabouly Complex]] in Laos is a significant archaeological site for dating the origin of bronze metallurgy in Southeast Asia.

==== Thailand ====
In [[Ban Chiang]], Thailand, bronze [[artifact (archaeology)|artefacts]] have been discovered that date to 2100&nbsp;BCE.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://penn.museum/documents/publications/expedition/PDFs/43-2/Science.pdf |title=Bronze from Ban Chiang, Thailand: A view from the Laboratory |publisher=Penn Museum |access-date=24 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110427023505/http://penn.museum/documents/publications/expedition/PDFs/43-2/Science.pdf |archive-date=27 April 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> However, according to the radiocarbon dating on the human and pig bones in Ban Chiang, some scholars propose that the initial Bronze Age in Ban Chiang was in the late 2nd millennium.<ref name="Higham2011" /> In [[Nyaung-gan]], Myanmar, bronze tools have been excavated along with ceramics and stone artefacts. Dating is still currently broad (2300–500&nbsp;BCE).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pryce |first1=Thomas Oliver |title=A first absolute chronology for Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age Myanmar: new AMS 14C dates from Nyaung'gan and Oakaie |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/first-absolute-chronology-for-late-neolithic-to-early-bronze-age-myanmar-new-ams-14c-dates-from-nyaunggan-and-oakaie/B07D5550EA305C72B89A52D4DFBB108C |website=Cambridge Core |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |access-date=9 February 2025 |date=27 June 2018}}</ref> [[Ban Non Wat]], excavated by [[Charles Higham (archaeologist)|Charles Higham]], was a rich site with over 640 graves excavated that gleaned many complex bronze items that may have had social value connected to them.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Higham |first=C. F. W. |year=2011 |title=The Bronze Age of Southeast Asia: New insight on social change from Ban Non Wat |journal=Cambridge Archaeological Journal |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=365–389 |doi=10.1017/s0959774311000424 |s2cid=162729367}}</ref>

Ban Chiang, however, is the most thoroughly documented site and has the clearest evidence of metallurgy when in Southeast Asia. With a rough date range from the late 3rd millennium&nbsp;BCE to the 1st millennium&nbsp;CE, this site has artefacts such as burial pottery (dated 2100–1700&nbsp;BCE) and fragments of bronze and copper-base bangles. This technology suggested on-site casting from the beginning. The on-site casting supports the theory that bronze was first introduced in Southeast Asia from a different country.<ref name="White1995">{{Cite journal |last=White |first=J. C. |year=1995 |title=Incorporating Heterarchy into Theory on Socio-political Development: The Case from Southeast Asia |journal=Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=101–123 |citeseerx=10.1.1.522.1061 |doi=10.1525/ap3a.1995.6.1.101 |s2cid=129026022}}</ref> Some scholars believe that copper-based metallurgy was disseminated from northwest and central China south and southwest via areas such as [[Guangdong]] and [[Yunnan]] and finally into southeast Asia {{circa|1000&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}E.<ref name="Higham2011">{{Cite journal |last1=Higham |first1=C. |last2=Higham |first2=T. |last3=Ciarla |first3=R. |last4=Douka |first4=K. |last5=Kijngam |first5=A. |last6=Rispoli |first6=F. |year=2011 |title=The Origins of the Bronze Age of Southeast Asia |journal=Journal of World Prehistory |volume=24 |issue=4 |pages=227–274 |doi=10.1007/s10963-011-9054-6 |s2cid=162300712}}</ref> Archaeology also suggests that Bronze Age metallurgy may not have been as significant a catalyst in social stratification and warfare in Southeast Asia as in other regions, and that social distribution shifted away from chiefdoms to a [[heterarchical]] network.<ref name="White1995" /> Data analyses of sites such as Ban Lum Khao, Ban Na Di, Non-Nok Tha, Khok Phanom Di, and Nong Nor have consistently led researchers to conclude that there was no entrenched hierarchy.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=O'Reilly |first=D. J. W. |year=2003 |title=Further evidence of heterarchy in Bronze Age Thailand |journal=Current Anthropology |volume=44 |issue=2 |pages=300–306 |doi=10.1086/367973 |s2cid=145310194}}</ref>

==== Vietnam ====
{{further|Dong Son culture}}
Dating to the Neolithic, the first bronze drums, called the [[Dong Son drum]]s, were uncovered in and around the [[Red River Delta]] regions of northern Vietnam and Southern China. These relate to the [[Dong Son culture]] of Vietnam.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Taylor |first=Keith Weller |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rCl_02LnNVIC&q=Dong+Son+Culture+of+Vietnam&pg=PA313 |title=The Birth of Vietnam |publisher=University of California Press |year=1991 |isbn=978-0520074170}}</ref>

Archaeological research in Northern Vietnam indicates an increase in rates of infectious disease following the advent of metallurgy; skeletal fragments in sites dating to the early and mid-Bronze Age evidence a greater proportion of lesions than in sites of earlier periods.<ref name="Oxenham2005">{{Cite journal |last1=Oxenham |first1=M. F. |last2=Thuy |first2=N. K. |last3=Cuong |first3=N. L. |year=2005 |title=Skeletal evidence for the emergence of infectious disease in bronze and iron age northern Vietnam |journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology |volume=126 |issue=4 |pages=359–376 |doi=10.1002/ajpa.20048 |pmid=15386222}}</ref> There are a few possible implications of this. One is the increased contact with bacterial and/or fungal pathogens due to increased population density and land clearing/cultivation. Another implication is decreased levels of immunocompetence in the Metal Age due to changes in diet caused by agriculture. The last implication is that there may have been an emergence of infectious diseases that evolved into a more virulent form in the metal period.<ref name="Oxenham2005" />