New insights into the settlement patterns of the capital city at Erlitou
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Haitao Zhao
Abstract
By examining the structural components, settlement plan, and developmental trajectory of the capital city at Erlitou, it is possible to explore the emergence of the state, kingship, and accompanying characteristics. Erlitou has been subjected to intensive excavation, revealing roads, walls, huge sacrificial pits, and palatial buildings with multiple courtyards as indicated by foundation No. 5. As to the developmental trajectory of the settlement pattern, all principal components of a capital city appeared in phase II of the Erlitou culture. A layout based on intersecting roads also formed, thus laying a foundation for the plan of an urban center in later periods. The open urban system formed during the Erlitou period changed to a closed system during later periods. The Erlitou site went through an initial phase during which it flourished as a capital city, then a period when principal urban components were gradually abandoned. The site became a high-ranking settlement during the early Erligang period. There is a relationship between the changes through time in pottery typology and the development of the settlement pattern. Kin-based residential and burial areas define the spatial division of the capital city at Erlitou. The mode of craft production is characterized by a large-scale workshop enclosure along with small-scale production sites.
Postscript
The original article was published in Kaogu 考古 (Archaeology) 2020.8:109–120, with six illustrations and 22 notes. The English version, translated by Yuting Gao 高毓婷, has removed the notes and added further readings.
Further readings
Du, Jinpeng 杜金鹏. 2007. 偃师二里头夏都规划探论(Exploring the planning of the Xia capital at the Erlitou site in Yanshi). In Xia Shang Zhou kaoguxue yanjiu 夏商周考古学研究(Studies in Xia, Shang, and Zhou archaeology). Beijing: Kexue chubanshe.
Xie, Liye et al. 2020. Settlement relocation, urban construction, and social transformation in China’s Central Plain, 2300–1500 B. C., Asian perspectives 59 (2):1–31.
Xu, Hong 许宏, and Li Liu 刘莉. 2008. 关于二里头遗址的省思 (Rethinking Erlitou). Wenwu 文物 (Cultural Relics) 1:43–52.
© 2021 Walter De Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- New archaeological discoveries
- The Longshan culture site at Ximengzhuang, Tengzhou, Shandong
- The Honghe site in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang
- The grand platform of Huangchengtai at Shimao site in Shenmu, Shaanxi
- The 2018–2019 excavation of the Xiwubi site in Jiangxian County, Shanxi
- Zeng state cemetery at Zaoshulin during the Spring and Autumn period, Suizhou, Hubei
- The excavation of tomb M1 in Quangou cemetery, Wulan County, Qinghai
- Reports
- The 2016–2018 excavation of the cemetery at the Sunjiagang site, Lixian County, Hunan
- The excavation of a cache of lead ingots in Liujiazhuang Locus North of Yinxu, Anyang, Henan
- Research
- Analyzing the functional structure of pottery jiandiping amphorae
- Shimao culture: naming, distribution, and chronology
- A comparative study of Shimao and Taosi
- New insights into the settlement patterns of the capital city at Erlitou
- On the brass ewer unearthed from the crypt of the Shang-fang Śarīra Stupa of Qingshan Monastery in Lintong District, Shaanxi
- The physical evolution and biocultural adaptation indicated by the human skeletons of Donghulin site, Beijing
- Plant remains unearthed at the Donghulin site in Beijing: discussion on results of flotation
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- New archaeological discoveries
- The Longshan culture site at Ximengzhuang, Tengzhou, Shandong
- The Honghe site in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang
- The grand platform of Huangchengtai at Shimao site in Shenmu, Shaanxi
- The 2018–2019 excavation of the Xiwubi site in Jiangxian County, Shanxi
- Zeng state cemetery at Zaoshulin during the Spring and Autumn period, Suizhou, Hubei
- The excavation of tomb M1 in Quangou cemetery, Wulan County, Qinghai
- Reports
- The 2016–2018 excavation of the cemetery at the Sunjiagang site, Lixian County, Hunan
- The excavation of a cache of lead ingots in Liujiazhuang Locus North of Yinxu, Anyang, Henan
- Research
- Analyzing the functional structure of pottery jiandiping amphorae
- Shimao culture: naming, distribution, and chronology
- A comparative study of Shimao and Taosi
- New insights into the settlement patterns of the capital city at Erlitou
- On the brass ewer unearthed from the crypt of the Shang-fang Śarīra Stupa of Qingshan Monastery in Lintong District, Shaanxi
- The physical evolution and biocultural adaptation indicated by the human skeletons of Donghulin site, Beijing
- Plant remains unearthed at the Donghulin site in Beijing: discussion on results of flotation
