| Certain finds show that the Indonesians
were able to give an individual touch of their own to this new addition
to their culture - although this was not the case with the socketed
axes, which were used in everyday toil, because the shape of this
implement was determined by considerations of practical utility, and
in this respect the socketed axe could not be surpassed. But there
have also been found bronze equivalents to the stone axes mentioned
above which were used for ceremonial purposes, and in the case of
these 'implements' the function which they performed was completely
different: since it was irrational, the shape acquired characteristics
of its own.-Although the axes used for ceremonial purposes which have
been found in Indonesia correspond to a certain exient with those
from Dong-Son, both types being asymmetrical, in the case of the Indonesian
axes this asymmetrical is striking, and of Len touches upon the bizarre
- in contrast to the axes
In addition to the above-mentioned axes, other bronze objects of
great importance for the history of Indonesia's cultural development
have also been found, the kettle-drums mentioned in the last chapter,
which have been found both in Indonesia as well as In Further India
and some other areas of South-east Asia. But it is difficult to
decide whether these bronze drums were actually produced in Indonesia,
or whether they were imported from South-east Asia. In order to
appreciate the complexity of this problem, one has to know how these
drums were made.
|
