Page 11 - Deydier Early Chinese Bronzes

Modern scientific excavations at Erlitou
二里頭遺址 that helped confirm the existence of

the Xia dynasty 夏代.

The Erlitou site 二里頭遺址 and proof of its connection with the Xia
people 夏民族.

The discovery and initial excavations of the first Erlitou sites 二里頭遺址
near Yanshi city in modern-day Henan province 河南省偃師市 beginning
in 1952/53 and continuing through 1957 were, for many reasons,
important events in Chinese archaeology. Most importantly, they offered
the first credible material proof of the existence of the Xia dynasty 夏代,
a dynasty which had until then been considered merely mythological by
many modern-day scholars and historians, a dynasty mentioned only in
ancient classical texts written long after its supposed existence.

The first discovery of what are now known as ‘Erlitou Culture’ 二里頭文化
objects was made in 1952/53 at Yu Village in Deng Feng County in
modern-day Henan Province 河南登封縣玉村.

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