The
history of Vietnam can be traced back to around 25,000 years ago. Archaeological findings from 1965, still under research, show the remains of two
hominins closely related to
Sinanthropus, dating as far back as the
Middle Pleistocene era, roughly half a million years ago. Ancient Vietnam was home to some of the world's earliest
civilizations and societies—making them one of the world's first people who practiced agriculture. The
Red River valley formed a natural geographic and economic unit, bounded to the north and west by mountains and jungles, to the east by the sea and to the south by the
Red River Delta. The need to have a single authority to prevent floods of the Red River, to cooperate in constructing hydraulic systems, trade exchange, and to fight invaders, led to the creation of the first Vietnamese
states approximately 2879 BC. Another truly influential part of history in Vietnam occurred during the late
Bronze Age, when the
Đông Sơn culture dramatically advanced the civilization. Vietnam's peculiar geography made it a difficult country to attack, which is why
Vietnam under the Hùng kings was for so long an independent and self-contained state. The
Xích Tỵs and
Qins were among the earliest foreign aggressors of Vietnam, but the ancient Vietnamese managed to regain control of the country soon after the invasions.