Zhengzhou Shang Dynasty City Site Witnesses the Glory of the Early Shang Civilization

On October 16th, Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology (HPICHA) published a featured article titled “The 70th Anniversary of the Discovery of Zhengzhou Shang Dynasty City Site” in China Cultural Relics News. Co-authored by Mr.Yang Wensheng, vice president of HPICHA, and Mr.Zhang Tiyi, the article introduces the important archaeological discoveries of Zhengzhou Shang Dynasty City Site, the significance of the site for the study of Shang civilization, the origin of Shang civilization, and the composite industries represented by the site.

(The 70th Anniversary of the Discovery of Zhengzhou Shang Dynasty City Site in China Cultural Relics News)

Discovered in 1955, the Zhengzhou Shang Dynasty City Site was announced as one of the first batch of key historical and cultural sites under national-level protection in 1961. It was selected as one of the “100 Major Archaeological Discoveries in China in the 20th Century” in 2001, and it was included in the national list of “100 Major Archaeological Discoveries in a Century” in 2021.

(In 1998, Mr. An Jinhuai (first from the left) supervised work at the Zhengzhou Shang Dynasty City Site)

The inner city wall of Zhengzhou Shang Dynasty City is nearly rectangular in plan, with a total circumference of about 7 kilometers. Imperial city, palace building foundations, house foundations, storage pits, living facilities, and urban water supply facilities, such as large wells, water delivery pipelines, reservoirs, and water supply pipelines have been found inside the city. Inside and outside Zhengzhou Shang Dynasty City Site, numerous remains from the Erligang period of the Shang Dynasty have been excavated, including ash pits, wells, house foundations, tombs, sacrificial pits, and bronze hoards. Tens of thousands of artifacts have been unearthed, such as pottery, stone tools, bone tools, clam tools, bronzes, jade artifacts, hard-textured pottery, proto-porcelain, ivory artifacts, gold artifacts, as well as oracle bones and practice-inscribed bones.

（Bronzes Unearthed from the Nanshunchen Pit）

(Bronzes Unearthed from the Nanyang Pit)

(Noble Tomb at Shuyuan Street Cemetery)

(Gold-inlaid Turquoise Plaque Ornament from the Shuyuan Street Cemetery）

(Gold Facial Covering Unearthed from Tomb M2 of the Shuyuan Street Noble Cemetery）

（Shang Dynasty Pottery Vat Hoard Pit of the Zhangzhai Street Cemetery)

（North Area of Shuyuan Street Cemetery)

The archaeological excavations of the Yin Ruins in Anyang have revealed the grandeur of the late Shang Dynasty civilization, while the archaeological discoveries at Zhengzhou Shang Dynasty City Site have witnessed the formation and evolution of the early Shang Dynasty civilization toward prosperity. Zhengzhou Shang Dynasty City Site is not only a core topic in the study of Xia, Shang, and Zhou cultures, but also has laid an important foundation for the research on the chronological division of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties.

（Excavation Site of the Bronze Hoard Pit at Xiangyang Food Factory, 1982）

Before the Shang Dynasty established its capital in Zhengzhou, the “Shang clan” already had a long history. During the Pre-Shang period, the “Shang clan” frequently migrated. In this process, it constantly enriched its own culture by absorbing other clans’ culture through trade, intermarriage, conflicts and even wars with various ethnic groups. Thus, the early Shang civilization integrated multiple cultures such as the ritual system from Central Plains, the Dongyi culture and the northern grassland culture.

Zhengzhou Shang Dynsaty City Site housed the largest-scale and most technologically sophisticated handicraft production sectors of the early and middle Shang Dynasty. A dedicated distribution area for handicraft production took shape between the inner and outer cities, featuring a wide range of production categories and a complete variety of products. Its raw material sources, manufacturing techniques, production methods, process flows, product characteristics, and organized circulation models together formed a complex industrial system.

（Plan of

（Ditch from the North Campus Project of Chuangxin Street Primary School）