Erlitou
Ancient city · People's Republic of China
- Abandoned
- unknown
- Founded
- —
- Population
- —
- Coordinates
- 34.693, 112.690
Why it was abandoned
🏛️ Ancient ruins
Detected automatically from the text: archaeological site in Yanshi, Henan, China
History
Erlitou, also known as Yanshi Erlitou, is a Chinese archaeological site in the Yiluo Basin of Yanshi District, Luoyang, Henan. Discovered by survey teams led by archaeologist Xu Xusheng in 1959, it was initially identified as Bo, the first capital of the Shang dynasty. Some Chinese archaeologists later recognized it as the capital of the Xia—a dynasty of debated existence. A center of early Bronze Age China, Erlitou is the type site and largest settlement of the eponymous Erlitou culture. More limited occupation has been found from the earlier Yangshao and Longshan cultures and the later Erligang culture.