Art of East Asia: Neolithic & Bronze Age China
Almost exactly in the center of this map is the site of Erlitou (at the
juncture of the Huang and Lou rivers) in Henan province. It is at this
site that archaeologists believe that they have identified the capitol of
the (previously presumed to have been legendary) Xia (Hsia) dynasty.
Although there is still debate as to the reality and importance of the
Xia (one arguement is that they were one of many small kingdoms and that
they were important only because they were the predecessors of the Shang),
the finds there are clearly consistent with something that must be considered
pre-Shang. Most importantly, the earliest bronze artifact yet discovered
in China were discovered at Erlitou, clearly marking the transition from
the Neolithic to bronze age as having taken place (at least in part) at
this site.
