Periodization of the Shang dynasty

Erlitou

Zhengzhou

Panlongcheng

Anyang

Sanxingdui

Wucheng

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Major archaeological sites of the second millennium BC in north and central China

The periodization of the Shang dynasty is the use of periodization to organize the history of the Shang dynasty (ca. 1600-1046 BC) in ancient China. The Shang dynasty was a Chinese royal dynasty that ruled in the Yellow River valley for over 500 years, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Zhou dynasty. According to the conventional narrative of later transmitted texts, the Shang clan, led by their great leader Tang, defeated Jie of the Xia dynasty and founded a new dynasty known as Shang. The Shang moved their capital several times during the existence of the dynasty, eventually settling in a place called Yin, later known in the transmitted texts as Yinxu, located on the outskirts of the modern city of Anyang.^[1] It was eventually conquered by the Predynastic Zhou led by King Wu following the Battle of Muye in ca. 1046 BC, which led to the establishment of the Western Zhou dynasty. Scholars divide the Shang dynasty into periods for convenience, usually relating to the location of the dynasty's capital.