The Erlitou site is in Yanshi District, Luoyang City, Henan Province. Henan is one of the oldest provinces in more than 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China, and its cities of Zhengzhou, Anyang, Nanyang, Kaifeng, Shangqiu and Luoyang have played a very important role in the historical development of China. Among the ancient cities in Henan Province, Luoyang is the city with the most dynasties and the longest capital.
1. Erlitou culture refers to a type of archaeological relics represented by the first to fourth phases of the Yanshi Erlitou site in Luoyang City, Henan Province. It is an archaeological culture between the Longshan culture and the Erligang culture in the Central Plains. This archaeological culture is mainly distributed in the western and central parts of Henan Province, and was first discovered at the site of The Loda Temple in Zhengzhou City, Henan Province. The cultural remains of this type found at the Erlitou site are the most representative and typical, hence the name.
2. The Erlitou site is a capital city site in the late Xia Dynasty, with a total area of about 3 square kilometers. The remains can be divided into four periods. Remains of palaces, residential areas, pottery workshops, copper casting workshops, pits, tombs and other remains have been found in the ruins. A large number of stone tools, pottery, jade, bronze, bone horns, mussels and other relics have been excavated, of which the bronze jue is the earliest known bronze container in the mainland.
3. The Erlitou culture is the culture of the Chinese Bronze Age, named after the discovery of Erlitou in Yanshi, Luoyang, Henan. From the 21st century BC to the 17th century BC. It is mainly distributed near Luoyang in central and western Henan, along the Yi, Luo, Ying, and Ru river basins, and in the lower reaches of the Fenshui River in southern Shanxi.