Archaeologists working in the Central Highlands of Vietnam have unearthed a series of ochre-stained musical lithophones dating back 3,000 years. These stone percussion instruments, found near ritual burial sites, provide the earliest physical evidence for communal musical gatherings in the region.
The discovery suggests that the ancestors of the Giarai people held elaborate harvest festivals centered around these "singing stones." The presence of charred seed remains and communal cooking pits nearby indicates that these ceremonies involved massive feasts and rhythmic performances intended to ensure agricultural fertility.