Dong Son culture bronze vessels in a range of zoomorphic shapes have emerged in recent years. However, the elephant motif is rare. The profuse spiral patterning is similar to the densely patterned animal motifs of the bronze-age cultures in Yunnan in southwest China. During this period the elephant was an important symbol of Vietnamese warfare. They appear in the tales of the heroic Trung sisters who rode into battle on elephants to fight the Chinese during the first century CE.The sophisticated technology used in bronze-casting suggests Dong Son society was advanced enough to have specialists who would have worked full-time in this field. This can be seen in the spread of bronze goods and technology throughout the Southeast Asian region.
