10/15/2012

Erlitou Culture China

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Erlitou Culture China

Xia (21-16th century BC) and Shang Dynasties (16-11th century BC)


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Palatial site at Erlitou, Yanshi, Henan Province

In July 2004, archaeologists discovered the remains of a palace at Erlitou in Yanshi City of Central China's Henan Province. Palaces and walls as well as rammed-earth foundations have been excavated. Covering 108,000 square meters, the rectangular city is about 300 meters wide from east to west, and 360 meters long from north to south. In the palatial area, nine large-sized building sites have been dug up, with two groups of them revealing obvious axial lines. The ruined sites, with a history of more than 3,600 years, reportedly makes up the earliest palace ever found in China.

The crisscross roads formed the transportation network in the palace's central area. The palace, the large-scalebuilding complex, and the roads were all lined up in the same direction, showing the palace city had a clear layout, which might have served as the model for the construction of later imperial palace cities.

Important relics, such as wheel tracks, large rammed earth bases, and the remains of turquoise-making workshops, were also found. The discovery of small-sized two-wheeled tracks pushed back the appearance of two-wheeled vehicles in China to as early as the Xia Dynasty.




In addition to the discovery of the said tracks, a large turquoise dragon ware was excavated. The dragon, about 70 centimeters long and made up of 2000-odd various fine turquoises, is a rare dragon-designed antique in early China in terms of scale, exquisiteness, and weight.

source : www1.chinaculture.org

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Erlitou dragon

In an undisturbed grave a dragon about 70 cms in length, made from about 2000 pieces of tourquoise, lay on the chest on a man who was about 35 years old and seems to have held a bell in his right hand.


Erlitou turquoise dragon

source : www.waa.ox.ac.uk


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The Erlitou culture
(simplified Chinese: 二里头文化,
traditional Chinese: 二里頭文化,
pinyin: èrlǐtóu wénhuà) is a name given by archaeologists to an Early Bronze Age urban society that existed in China from 1880 BCE to 1520 BCE.
The culture was named after the site discovered at Erlitou (二里頭村) in Yanshi, Henan Province. The culture was widely spread throughout Henan and Shanxi Province, and later appeared in Shaanxi and Hubei provinces. Most Chinese archaeologists identify the Erlitou culture as the site of the Xia Dynasty, while most Western archaeologists remain unconvinced of the connection between the Erlitou culture and the Xia Dynasty[citation needed] since there are no extant written records linking Erlitou with the official history.

© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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Nirito Bunka 二里頭文化(にりとうぶんか) in Japaneses

source : NHK Japan

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