At the end of the Paleolithic era, about 20,000 to 11,000 years ago, there were traces of humans living on Co Loa land.
In 1971 - 1972, archaeologists found in Dong Thanh area on Duong Ca - also known as Duong Cam Xu some cobblestones with traces of human hands chiseling and processing. Searching further on the remaining mounds in Dam Ca area on Duong But, Duong Riu, archaeologists also found many similar cobblestones. In March 1983, archaeologists also found in Thu Cuu mound in Cuu hamlet some cobblestones with traces of chiseling and processing. These types of tools are classified by archaeologists as belonging to Son Vi culture.
Son Vi Culture belongs to the Late Paleolithic period, first discovered in Son Vi commune, Lam Thao district (Phu Tho province) in 1968. The owners of Son Vi Culture lived in a large area from Lao Cai, Son La, Lai Chau in Viet Bac, Tay Bac, through the hilly areas of Phu Tho, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Ba Vi (Ha Tay), Dong Anh (Hanoi) provinces... in the North, to Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Tri in the Central region and all the way to Lam Dong area in the South. At that time, there were groups of primitive people living in limestone caves, but most of them lived outdoors, setting up tents on the hillsides which were still dense forests at that time. Son Vi primitive people made a living by gathering and hunting, with scattered food sources, in which plant food was more dominant than animal food. People were also scattered into groups, each group consisting of a number of families following the maternal lineage...
However, the primitive Son Vi people did not have the conditions to live permanently on the remaining mound in Co Loa.
When primitive people appeared on Co Loa land, the world witnessed a period of sea level rise, the sea level rose, submerging the low-lying areas south of Hanoi. The primitive Son Vi people in Co Loa had to face the sea, and had to retreat to the foothills of the mountains in limestone caves or high terraces. Throughout the Neolithic period, from about 10,000 years ago to about 4,000 years ago, Co Loa land in particular and Hanoi area in general were completely deserted.
Based on the stone crafting technique that had reached its peak, the residents of the Late Neolithic period in our country discovered a new material, bronze. One of those tribal groups was the owner of the Phung Nguyen culture. On the high land on both sides of the Hoang Giang River, archaeologists have discovered the sites of Dong Vong (Duc Tu), Bai Men (Co Loa), Dinh Trang (Duc Tu), Xuan Kieu, Lo Khe (Lien Ha) belonging to the Phung Nguyen period; the sites of Tien Hoi, Bai Men, Dinh Trang (continuing Phung Nguyen), Xuan Kieu belonging to the Dong Dau period and Duong May (Co Loa), Dinh Trang (upper layer, Duc Tu) belonging to the Dong Son period. In addition, in the Co Loa area, Dong Son bronze artifacts such as bronze arrowheads, bronze plowshares, bronze drums, bronze axes, etc. Among the Dong Son artifacts discovered in Co Loa, there are many very typical and valuable relics. The Co Loa I bronze drum, along with the Ngoc Lu and Hoang Ha bronze drums, are beautiful bronze drums and are among the earliest in Vietnam. The bronze arrowheads and bronze plowshares are large in volume and have unique features in terms of type and design. Recently, archaeologists have found a mold for casting three-sided bronze arrowheads right in the Thuong Temple area, which is evidence of the typical Dong Son weapon making right in the center of Co Loa land.
Those relics and tangible cultural relics are traces of settled villages, living by farming, fishing, hunting, existing for a long time and continuously developing from the early Bronze Age to the early Iron Age, that is, present throughout the nation's founding period. Before becoming the capital of Au Lac, Co Loa had the stature of an important population center, political, economic and cultural center of the country.
MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT OF CỔ LOA VESTIGE SITE
