Formation of early states in the Central Plain: Erlitou and Erligang (1900/1800–1250 BC)

Abstract

The great affairs of a state are sacrifices [both to ancestors] and [in] war. At sacrifices [in the ancestral temple], [the officers] receive the roasted flesh; in war they receive that [raw flesh] offered at the altar of the land: – these are the great ceremonies in worshipping the Spirits. Chapter, “Duke Cheng's Thirteenth Year [577 BC],” in Zuozhuan (compiled within 475–221 BC); translated by James Legge, modified 国之大事， 在祀与戎， 祀有执膰， 戎有受脤， 神之大节也。 《左传》 成公十三年 China is one of a few regions in the world where the earliest state-level civilizations developed, independently of determining external influence. Questions about the origins of the state may be approached both historically and archaeologically. China has a long tradition of recording historical events, a legacy that provides rich quantities of information concerning its early dynasties and offers important sources for study of the origins of dynastic civilization. The archaeological record also reveals abundant data for investigation of social, political, and technological changes in locales wherein these early dynasties developed, and excavations have primarily focused on large sites that presumably correspond to dynastic capital cities. Therefore, the origins of early states in China involve four intertwined issues: state formation, development of urbanism, emergence of civilization, and beginning of dynastic history.