Erlitou Relics

Erlitou Relics, located at Erlitou Village, Yan shi, Henan province, was discovered in 1959. For a long time, there were two different opinions about Erlitou Culture in the academic circle: some experts believed Phase I to Phase IV of Erlitou Relics belonged to the cultural relics of Xia Dynasty (2100-1600BC) and the place where the relics were discovered was the capital of Xia. Others believed Phase and II were cultural relics of the Xia Dynasty, but Phase III and Phase IV were relics of the Shang Dynasty(1600-1 100BC) and the place was the capital of Shang. With the completion of the Xia and Shang periodization program, most scholars accepted the opinion that the major part of Erlitou Culture was relics of the Xia Dynasty and Erlitou was the capital of the middle and late Xia Dynasty.