Erlitou culture

Erlitou culture

Erlitou in eastern China
Geographical range	Western Henan
Period	Bronze Age China
Dates	c. 1900–1500 BC
Type site	Erlitou
Preceded by	Longshan culture
Followed by	Erligang culture
Defined by	Xu Xusheng
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	二里頭文化
Simplified Chinese	二里头文化
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Èrlǐtóu 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 of radiocarbon dating proposed a narrower date range of 1750 to 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.