03 · OBJECT · ERLITOU

Early metallurgy

Before the great ritual, tools, weapons and bells

The earliest known metals at the site employed copper and several alloys, still on a smaller scale than the later great bronzes.

Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.

Specific historical recreation of Before the great ritual, tools, weapons and bells, Erlitou, Henan, China, c. 1900–1500 BCE — **DECLARED VISUAL RECONSTRUCTION · EXISTING EDITORIAL RESOURCE · TRACEKEEPERS**
Generated reconstruction · Declared visual hypothesis
Declared visual reconstruction for museographic context; it is not a photograph of the original nor documentary evidence.

History and context

At Erlitou, small bells, weapons and tools of copper and various alloys appeared. Their modest scale does not diminish importance: they reveal experimentation with tin, lead and, in some cases, arsenic.

The gallery does not project backwards the enormous ding of Anyang. Metallurgy was changing in composition, capacity, form and organisation over centuries.

Erlitou produced small weapons, tools and bells, as well as early ritual vessels, in copper and various alloys. The variety shows an expanding industry, not merely a hoard of treasures.

Composition, casting and finish depended on specialists and transported minerals. The quantity recovered is a fraction affected by recycling and excavation.

Evidence and interpretation

Documented fact: Published analyses of Erlitou metal objects include pieces of copper, bronze, ternary copper-lead-tin alloy and one specimen with copper and arsenic. Interpretation and caution: The small analysed sample and the quantity of metal recovered do not allow calculation of total production or who controlled each workshop. Expanded documented fact: Published analyses of Erlitou objects include six pieces described as bronze, four copper-lead-tin alloys, two of copper and one of copper-arsenic. Expanded interpretation and caution: Total volume or state monopoly must not be calculated from conserved objects, and the provenance of metals remains under investigation.

Catalogue facts

Narrative date: c. 1900–1500 BCE
Location: Erlitou, Henan, China
Material: Copper and copper alloys with tin, lead or arsenic
Context: Early metallurgy
Curatorial reading: The documented fact and its interpretation appear separately in the evidence block.
Products: Bells, weapons, tools and early vessels
Alloys: Unalloyed copper and alloys with tin, lead or arsenic, according to the analysed pieces
Documentary coverage: 2 museum, heritage, primary corpus or research sources for this stop.

A SHARED TOPIC, DIFFERENT MOMENTS

Objects connected through time

Follow a topic across the collections. A shared tag is a way to compare objects, not proof that one culture influenced another.

The order uses the midpoint of each approximate date range; ranges can overlap. Spacing does not represent elapsed time. Swipe, scroll or use the arrows. With the sequence focused, use ← / →, Home or End.

THE CURRENT OBJECT

Its date is not sufficiently established to place it on the timeline. We keep it here, separate from the dated objects.

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c. 1900–1500 BCE

Early metallurgy

Ancient China

History of a technique and several alloys, not an individually dated piece.

Current record

Copper and its alloys8 dated objects

1 / 8In the centre: The Gold of Varna

Also connected, without a comparable date (2)

These objects are not placed after the others: an unknown date does not mean a more recent object.

Copper and stoneAncient Egypt · ca. 3100–2700 BCE
Translating faithBantu-speaking worlds · 16th–18th centuries

You can scroll the first group without JavaScript. The other topics are also available below.

Bronze

Current object, without a comparable date: Early metallurgy.

Jue · c. sixteenth century BCE · Ancient China
Bull-leaping · c. 1600–1450 BCE · Greek worlds
Fu Hao’s burial goods · ca. 1200 BCE · Ancient China
Liding · 12th–11th centuries BCE · Ancient China
Talayotic sword · ≈1200–1000 BCE · destruction of the talayot towards 790 BCE · Iberians
Tribute to Assyria · c. 848 BCE · Phoenicians
Before Etruscans and Rome · ca. 850–800 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
The lute-shaped dagger · Towards 1000–400 BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Kushite king · c. 721–664 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
The great Greek krater of Vix · ≈530–500 BCE · Greek worlds
Scorțaru cauldron · 6th–5th centuries BCE · Thracians
Vix Tomb · c. 500 BCE · Celtic worlds
Yan knife-money in the Gojoseon sphere · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Ancient China
A coin with the memory of a blade · 323–222 BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
The blade became straight · 5th–1st centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Geometry in very fine lines · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Eight voices in one hand · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
The Shield that Did Not Fight · Around 350–50 BCE · Celtic worlds
Fibula from Lancia · ≈300–100 BCE · Iberians
A sky over the liver · End of the second–beginning of the first century BCE · Etruscans and Rome
Hand of Irulegui · First third of the 1st century BCE · Iberians
Thirty-nine buried bells · Buried towards the 1st century BCE–1st century CE · Yayoi Japan
Torreáguila fountain spout · 101–125 CE · Etruscans and Rome

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Daegok-ri grave goods · from c. 5th century BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Four offerers · Iberian period · individual dating according to catalogue · Iberians
Iron changes the frontier · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
The workshop inside the ditch · 4th century BCE–3rd century CE, peak in Middle and Late Yayoi · Yayoi Japan
Weapons under the Lake · Mainly 3rd–1st centuries BCE · Celtic worlds

Tools

Current object, without a comparable date: Early metallurgy.

Swanscombe handaxe · ≈425,000–375,000 years · Prehistory
Bilateral harpoon · ≈15,000 years · Magdalenian · Prehistory
Engraved stone from Çakmaktepe · PPNA · site proposal: ≈9600–8800 BCE, provisional · Prehistory
Grinding stone from Çakmaktepe · PPNA · ≈9600–8800 BCE, provisional proposal for the site · Prehistory
Nahal Hemar Knives · 8th millennium BCE · Pre-Pottery Neolithic B context · Prehistory
Gebel el-Arak knife · 3600–3200 BCE · Naqada II C–D · Ancient Egypt
Nippur Cubit · III millennium BCE · usually towards 2650 BCE; approximate · Sumer
Carnelian beads · ca. 2600–1900 BCE · Indus civilisation
Rubber before the stadium · c. 1600–1200 BCE for the oldest specimens · Maya worlds
Maya's cubit · 1330–1295 BCE · end of the 18th dynasty · Ancient Egypt

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Bone needle · No individual dating published on this record · Prehistory
Canal and field · IV–III millennium BCE · Sumer
Copper and stone · ca. 3100–2700 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Fawn spear-thrower · Middle Magdalenian · Prehistory
Iron changes the frontier · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Ishango, without genealogical shortcut · More than 20,000 years; context ca. 25,000–20,000 BP · Batwa / Twa histories
Jenne-jeno contexts · ca. 250 BCE–1400 CE · Mande Worlds
Soma stones · Rigvedic strata; later ritual tradition · Vedic and later Indian worlds
The quarry remained visible · Mainly 6th–5th centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
The unfinished gesture · 1947 · Batwa / Twa histories
The workshop inside the ditch · 4th century BCE–3rd century CE, peak in Middle and Late Yayoi · Yayoi Japan

Casting

Current object, without a comparable date: Early metallurgy.

Akkadian sovereign head · Akkadian period · 23rd century BCE · Sumer
Bassetki Statue · Akkadian period · 23rd century BCE · Sumer
Jue · c. sixteenth century BCE · Ancient China
Bull-leaping · c. 1600–1450 BCE · Greek worlds
Liding · 12th–11th centuries BCE · Ancient China
Talayotic sword · ≈1200–1000 BCE · destruction of the talayot towards 790 BCE · Iberians
The lute-shaped dagger · Towards 1000–400 BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
The great Greek krater of Vix · ≈530–500 BCE · Greek worlds
Scorțaru cauldron · 6th–5th centuries BCE · Thracians
A battle on a comb · Early 4th century BCE · Scythians and Saka
The blade became straight · 5th–1st centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Geometry in very fine lines · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Eight voices in one hand · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Fibula from Lancia · ≈300–100 BCE · Iberians
Horse fibula · 2nd century BCE · disputed chronology · Iberians
A sky over the liver · End of the second–beginning of the first century BCE · Etruscans and Rome
Thirty-nine buried bells · Buried towards the 1st century BCE–1st century CE · Yayoi Japan
Kongo crucifix · 16th–17th centuries · Bantu-speaking worlds

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Four offerers · Iberian period · individual dating according to catalogue · Iberians
Piece-mold casting · c. 1600–1046 BCE · Ancient China

Metalworking

Current object, without a comparable date: Early metallurgy.

The Gold of Varna · Towards 4600–4200 BCE · Thracians
Before Phoenicia · 20th–18th centuries BCE · Phoenicians
Valchitran · second half of the 14th century–beginning of the 13th century BCE, according to NAIM; other publications use wider intervals from the Late Bronze. · Thracians
Gold at Kuntur Wasi · c. 800–550 BCE · Pre-Inca cultures
Condomina Earring · 6th century BCE · Iberians
Bow and arrows in a case · 5th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
Coțofenești helmet · Second half of the 5th century – beginning of the 4th century BCE · Thracians
The Solokha gold comb · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
Treasure of Jávea · 4th century BCE · Iberians
Falcata from Almedinilla · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Iberians
Marina Alta Hoard · Jewellery: 5th–2nd centuries BCE; concealment probably around 80–73 BCE. · Iberians
Panagyurishte · late 4th century – early 3rd century BCE, towards 300 BCE · Thracians
The Shield that Did Not Fight · Around 350–50 BCE · Celtic worlds
Simancas-type belt buckle · Second half of the IV century–V century CE · Iberians
Moulds for gold · 9th–11th centuries CE · Mande Worlds
Gold rhinoceros · ca. 1220–1290; found in 1933 · Bantu-speaking worlds

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Copper and stone · ca. 3100–2700 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Four panoplies · No individual dating published on this record · Iberians
Iron changes the frontier · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Piece-mold casting · c. 1600–1046 BCE · Ancient China
The workshop inside the ditch · 4th century BCE–3rd century CE, peak in Middle and Late Yayoi · Yayoi Japan
Weapons under the Lake · Mainly 3rd–1st centuries BCE · Celtic worlds

A closer look

About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: September 5, 2026.

Workshops shared finishing problems

A study of mechanical treatments compares metalworking with jade and turquoise. In Erlitou, fine striations and flat surfaces on turquoise tesserae allow recognition of abrasion and regularisation before forming a mosaic. The author proposes that proximity between artisans of different materials facilitated the exchange of finishing techniques. This perspective broadens the history of bronze beyond the furnace: achieving smooth surfaces, defined edges and lustre effects also required tools, abrasives and knowledge that could circulate between trades.

Research · Kin Sum (Sammy) Li · Emphasis on Visual and Tactile Experiences: Mechanical Treatments of Bronzes and Jades in Ancient China (2024)Access recorded: September 5, 2026.

Location and territory

LOCATED SITE

Erlitou · ChinaSettlement marker of Erlitou

Sources and references

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History and context

Evidence and interpretation

Catalogue facts

Early metallurgy

The Gold of Varna

Nippur Cubit

Akkadian sovereign head

Bassetki Statue

The lute-shaped dagger

Simancas-type belt buckle

Kilwa coin

Kongo crucifix

A closer look

Workshops shared finishing problems

Location and territory

Sources and references

Did you enjoy this exhibit?