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system and began to develop a religion based around reverence toward their ancestors. They
began the development of an early writing system; unfortunately, no examples of this system
remain in existence. The Longshan even began development in bronze tools and weapons.

However, these burial sites and settlements give us another insight on the daily life of
those living in these settlements: that they were also a violent people, with institutional violence.
The foundations of defensive walls and homes of the settlements were made not only of earth but
also of human remains that were killed in ritual sacrifices. The burials of the Longshan are filled
with not just the everyday possessions such as pottery, but also an abundance of weapons have
been found these burial tombs.4 These characteristics of the Longshan helped develop future
cultures and the development of future states and dynasties.

The steady decline of the Longshan culture resulted in the rise of a dynasty that is
shrouded in myth, known today as the Xia Dynasty. The Xia Dynasty is believed to have existed
in 2070 BCE to 1600 BCE and believed to have been a part of the Erlitou culture 1900 BCE to
1600 BCE, named after the archaeological site of a large city that held palaces, stone
implements, bronzes, and the remains of a bronze foundry. Many burial sites were also unearthed
that point the process of human sacrifice. Even though the evidence of the Erlitou culture exists;
many scholars still debate whether this city is, in fact, the capital of Xia. Regardless of whether
the Xia dynasty existed, another dynasty slept in its shadow: the Shang Dynasty.5

Beginning as the contemporary of the Xia Dynasty known as the Shang Kingdom, they
began their conquest by conquering smaller neighboring states and eventually conquering Xia to
form the Shang state in 1570 BCE. They used the advancements of previous cultures and added
some of their own. The first development by the Shang, and regarded as the significant

4 Tanner, China: A History, vol. 1, 23-28.
5 Tanner, China: A History, vol. 1, 35-36.

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