An AusTRONESiAN-speaking population of unknown origin (possibly Borneo or the Philippines) who settled Vietnam from about 1000 bc. Their early prehistory appears to be associated with the Sa-Huynh culture, with its strong Philippine connections. From the 2nd century ad the Chams developed the powerful Indianized kingdom of Champa on the east coast of the Indochinese Peninsula. This lasted until 1471, when it was overrun by the southwardexpanding Vietnamese. Chams continued to occupy the Mekong Delta until the 17th century. In the 1950s there were about 105,000 Chams left, of whom about 70,000 lived in Cambodia; their present fate is unknown. "
The Macmillan dictionary of archaeology, Ruth D. Whitehouse, 1983Copied