Metal artifacts in Southeast Asia challenge long-held archaeological theory

In archaeometallurgy, the study of ancient metal, archaeologists have historically taken a top-down approach, meaning that the jewelry, tools, weapons, and other artifacts they discover have come to signify a dominant ruling group that exerted overarching control over how to use such resources. An individual can create a stone tool or a pot without assistance, but creating a metal tool like the  spear here is a group endeavor—and a complex one. Artifacts like this found in...