Erh-li-t'ou

The Erh-li-t'ou was a culture in China predating the early Shang dynasty. Archeologists believe that the Erh-li-t'ou culture occurred during the early Hsia dynasty, which was 17^th century BC. Erh-li-t'ou is in north central Honan. The artifacts found in this area link the early Shang culture to the late Neolithic culture. Most of the artifacts have been recovered from the Yellow River valley.

The Erh-li-t'ou was first discovered in 1957 by Hsu Hsu Sheng of the Institute of Archeology and his team when they set out to find the ruins of Hsia, Hsia-hsu. Archeologists found two foundations for palaces and in these places they found elite burials sites, ceremonial jade bowls, bronze daggers and axes. The items found in the Erh-li-t'ou area is said to be the oldest in China.

There is little known about the Hsia dynasty. It is a legendary dynasty Yu the emperor was a model man. The emperor Yu is rumored to have controlled floods by building dykes. The Hsia dynasty was the Bronze Age civilization in China. In the capital Erh-li-t'ou writing was being developed. The family Hsia is the first ruling family and they ruled over China from circa 2200 B.C. to 1500 B.C.

The Hsia dynasty had developed cities, built large palaces, and had a mobilized work force. Around the city of the Erh-li-t'ou there were no walls, no defenses that have been found yet. The city had pottery drainpipes to carry out waste. The burials were anything from elaborate lacquered coffins to nothing at all. Some burials had oracle bones, jade and turquoise in lays, and other riches. The cities had subsidiary buildings, and platforms for what might have been palaces. The platforms have a gate to the south and the building north, which became a widely used technique.

Archeologists don't agree when the Erh-li-t'ou lived or what dynasty they came from, the opinions range from the Shang dynasty, or the Hsia dynasty, at one point the Shang and Hsia dynasty's were thought to be myths but archeologists have documentation that in fact they did exist. There is some documentation from the Shang dynasty that describes a civilization already a thousand years old. The documentations told the historians and archeologists that the dynasties were unusually successful families of rulers of states in China.

References:

http://jgw.ayinfo.ha.cn/en/Shangdynasty.htm

http://www.npm.gov.tw/english/collections/n101.htm

http://www.delphi.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0038495.html

http://www.cis.umassd.edu/~gleung/history/yxia23en.html

http://www.along2000.com.cn/art/html/art-02-e.htm

http://members.aol.com/wprehist/EMC9f20.htm

Written by Amy Strand, 2003