GOLD BEADS OF THE OC EO CULTURE: TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND EAST-WEST CULTURAL INTERACTIONS

Abstract

Gold beads are among the characteristic types of jewelry associated with the Oc Eo culture (1st–7th centuries CE), reflecting both the advanced development of goldsmithing techniques and Oc Eo’s position within ancient networks of cultural interaction and trade. Based on a direct examination of the Oc Eo gold bead collection currently housed at the Ho Chi Minh City Museum of History, combined with evidence from several archaeological sites and museums in southwestern Vietnam and comparative archaeological data from Southeast Asia, South Asia, and China, this study analyzes the typological characteristics, manufacturing techniques, and cultural contexts of this group of artifacts. The results demonstrate considerable diversity in the forms and structures of Oc Eo gold beads, including spherical, cylindrical, polyhedral, “eye” beads, and dodecahedral beads. Of particular significance are hollow polyhedral beads manufactured using granulation techniques, which exhibit notable similarities in both form and technique to goldsmithing traditions that were once widespread in Western Asia and the Mediterranean and were later documented extensively in South Asia and Southeast Asia. These similarities raise the possibility that such forms and techniques were transmitted through maritime trade networks. Thus, Oc Eo gold beads are not only typologically diverse and exquisite products of goldsmithing, but also material evidence of interregional contact, cultural integration, and cultural interaction and transformation in the course of history.