This volume traces the development of early Bronze Age cultures in North and Northwestern China from about 2000 B.C.E., including the Erlitou culture and the Erligang culture. Robert L. Thorp introduces major sites, their architectural remains, burials, and material culture, with special attention to jades and bronze. Fully documented with references to Chinese archaeological sources and illustrated with more than one hundred line drawings, it  also includes informative sidebars on related topics and suggested readings.