The Erligang culture (二里岡文化) (1600 - 1400 BC) is the term used by archaeologists to refer to a Bronze Age archaeological culture in China. The primary site was discovered at Erligang, just outside of the modern city of Zhengzhou, Henan, in 1951. The Bronze Age is a period in a civilizations development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. ... Zhengzhou (Simplified Chinese: 郑州; Traditional Chinese: é„­å·ž; pinyin: ), formerly called Zhengxian, is a prefecture-level city and the capital of Henan province, Peoples Republic of China. ... Henan (Chinese: 河南; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ho-nan), is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ...

Many Chinese archaeologists believe that Zhengzhou was the site of an early Shang capital, equating the Erligang culture with an early stage of the Shang Dynasty. The city was surrounded by a large wall with a circumference of almost 7 km. Large workshops were located outside of the city walls, including a bone workshop, a pottery workshop and two bronze vessel workshops. The modern city sits on the remains of the Erligang city, rendering archaeological excavations impossible. Therefore, most of the information about the Erligang culture comes from studying other Erligang sites. Shang Dynasty (Chinese: 商朝) or Yin Dynasty (殷代) (1600 BC - 1046 BC) is the first historic Chinese dynasty and ruled in the northeastern region of China proper. ...

The Erligang culture was centered in the Yellow River valley. Erligang was the first archaeological culture in China to show widespread use of bronze vessel castings. In its early years, the culture suddenly expanded rapidly, reaching the Yangtze River, as evidenced by the large site at Panlongcheng in Hubei. Since Zhengzhou lacked access to local bronze metals, sites like Panlongcheng were probably used to secure distant metal resources. The culture then gradually shrank from its early peak. For other Yellow Rivers, see Yellow River (disambiguation). ... Afternoon light on the jagged grey mountains rising from the Yangtze River gorge The Yangtze River (Chinese: 扬子江; pinyin: ) is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world after the Amazon in South America and the Nile in Africa. ... Hubei (Chinese: 湖北; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Hu-pei; Postal System Pinyin: Hupeh) is a central province of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

The Erligang culture was influenced by the Erlitou culture, as its bronzes developed from the style and techniques of the Erlitou culture. During the Erligang culture, the style of the bronze vessels became much more uniform than under the Erlitou culture; the use of bronze vessels also became much more widespread. The Erlitou culture (二裡頭文化) (1900 BC to 1500 BC) is a name given by archaeologists to an Early Bronze Age society that existed in China. ...

References

• The Cambridge History of Ancient China : From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC, Edited by Michael Loewe and Edward L. Shaughnessy. ISBN 0521470307
• Liu, Li, 2003, The products of minds as well as of hands: production of prestige goods in the Neolithic and early state periods of China Asian Perspectives: the Journal of Archaeology for Asia and the Pacific 42(1): 1-40.