Archaeological Research on Neolithic and Bronze Age China, as well as on the Early State Period

Abstract

An important inquiry in ancient Chinese history concerns the historicity of the Xia dynasty, the assessment of the Shang dynasty, and the transition of power from Shang to Zhou. This study outlines the history of Neolithic and Archaic China, drawing on recent archaeological excavations that significantly enhance our understanding. The focus is on the social dimensions of the long period under investigation. In analysing the period from the first agricultural settlements to the emergence and evolution of the earliest civilisations, it was discovered that multiple regional cultures evolved independently, and their subsequent interactions laid the foundations of Chinese civilisation. The arrangement of settlement structures and burials suggests a village community structure. Current archaeological excavations indicate that during the Neolithic period there was interaction in fundamental production activities between village communities. By the end of the period, increasing social complexity can be observed, characterised by the development of clan structures and overlapping hierarchies. In examining archaeological findings, the question arises as to whether the data of the period called Xia period can be taken as evidence for the existence of the Xia dynasty. Some scholars argue that the early Bronze Age urban society of the Erlitou culture corresponds to the Xia period, while others maintain that the evidence is inadequate to support this claim. Consequently, the debate continues as to whether China’s First Dynasty was a historical reality or merely a fabrication by later literate-clerks driven by motives of power-technological kind. There is currently no substantial archaeological evidence supporting the dynasty’s existence. Archaeological data confirms that early Shang state organisation established during the period of the urban civilisation of the Erligang culture and later transformed into a highly hierarchical power structure. However, no direct archaeological evidence has been found in Erligang that can be unequivocally linked to the traditional historical accounts. Excavations indicate that the ruins of Yin (Yinxu), associated with the late Shang (Yin) dynasty, can be identified as a king’s seat, a centre of authority, and a site of ritual practice. During the period marking the transition from the 20th to the 21st century, archaeological findings in Anyang indicate significant transformations leading to the decline of Shang authority, characterised primarily by the disappearance of earlier cultural diversity. These changes are scarcely perceptible compared to the final phase of the Shang–Yin period, which accelerated further during the Western Zhou period. This highlights the tension between traditional textual sources and archaeological data.