Erlitou culture

Erlitou culture
Relief map of eastern China with oval marking an area in western Henan, and the Erlitou site just south of the Yellow River
Erlitou in eastern China
Geographical rangeWestern Henan
PeriodBronze Age China
Datesc. 1900–1500 BC
Type siteErlitou
Preceded byLongshan culture
Followed byErligang culture
Defined byXu Xusheng
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese二里頭文化
Simplified Chinese二里头文化
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinÈrlǐtóu wénhuà

34°41′35″N 112°41′20″E / 34.693°N 112.689°E / 34.693; 112.689

The Erlitou culture (Chinese: 二里頭; pinyin: Èrlǐtóu) was an early Bronze Age society and archaeological culture. It existed in the Yellow River valley from approximately 1900 to 1500 BC.[1][2] A 2007 study using radiocarbon dating proposed a narrower date range of 1750–1530 BC.[3] The culture is named after Erlitou, an archaeological site in Yanshi, Henan. It was widely spread throughout Henan and Shanxi and later appeared in Shaanxi and Hubei. Most archaeologists consider Erlitou the first state-level society in China.[4] Chinese archaeologists generally identify the Erlitou culture as the site of the Xia dynasty, but there is no firm evidence, such as writing, to substantiate such a linkage,[5][6][7] as the earliest evidence of Chinese writing dates to the Late Shang period.

  1. ^ Allan 2007, p. 475.
  2. ^ Liu & Xu 2007, p. 886.
  3. ^ Zhang et al. 2014, p. 206.
  4. ^ Shelach-Lavi 2015, p. 185.
  5. ^ Allan 2007, pp. 489–490.
  6. ^ Liu 2004, p. 238.
  7. ^ Liu & Xu 2007, pp. 897–899.