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Yin Xu
| Site number: | 1114 |
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| Type of site: | Cultural | |
| Date: | 1300 to 1046 BC | |
| Date of Inscription: | 2006 | |
| Location: | Asia, China, Henan Province | |
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| Description: | The Yin Xu archaeological site (positioned near Anyang City, about 500 km south of Beijing) is an ancient capital city of the late Shang Dynasty (1300 to 1046 BC). It bears witness to the great prosperity of the Chinese Bronze Age; a golden age of early Chinese culture, crafts and sciences. The site’s excavations have revealed a number of royal tombs and palaces, which acted as models for later Chinese architecture. The site contains the Palace and Royal Ancestral Shrines Area (1,000m x 650m), which include more than 80 house foundations, and the only intact tomb of a royal family member of the Shang Dynasty-the Tomb of Fu Hao. Bearing testimony to the advanced level of Shang handicraft industry were the countless unearthed burial accessories of superb craftsmanship, which at present form one of the national treasures of China. Yin Xu has also disclosed numerous pits containing bovine shoulder blades and turtle plastrons; the oracle bone inscriptions provide invaluable evidence to the development of one of the world’s oldest writing systems, ancient beliefs and social systems. --WHMNet paraphrase from the description at WHC Site, where additional information is available. | |
| Source: | http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1114 | |
| Reference: | 1. UNESCO World Heritage Center, Site Page. | |