SAILING INTO VIETNAM: MARITIME NETWORKS ACROSS THE EAST SEA AND THE ARRIVAL OF AUSTRONESIAN-SPEAKING POPULATIONS

Abstract

This study examines the arrival of Austronesian-speaking populations in Mainland Southeast Asia through maritime networks across the East Sea. Archaeological, linguistic, genetic and physical-anthropological evidence suggests that seafaring communities from the Philippines and Borneo reached southern Vietnam around 2,500 years ago. Taiwan nephrite (jade), Philippine green mica, pottery and jar burial traditions reveal sustained mobility and cultural interaction. Southern Vietnam became a major hub connecting Island and Mainland Southeast Asia, laying foundations for later maritime polities, including Funan.