[9] Discovered in 1959 by Xu Xusheng,[10] Erlitou is the largest site associated with the culture, with palace buildings and bronze smelting workshops.

[13] During Phase I, covering 100 ha (250 acres), Erlitou was a rapidly growing regional center with an estimated population of several thousand people,[14] but not yet an urban civilization.

[19] Production of bronzes and other elite goods ceased at the end of Phase IV, at the same time as the Erligang city of Zhengzhou was established 85 km (53 mi) to the east.

There is no evidence of destruction by fire or war, but, during the Upper Erligang phase (1450–1300 BC), all the palaces were abandoned, and Erlitou was reduced to a village of 30 ha (74 acres).

Erlitou bronzes have obvious features imitating pottery, with plain surfaces or simple geometric patterns.

The earliest bronze ding in China were found in the fourth stage of the Erlitou culture, decorated with striped grid patterns.

Symbols on ceramic pieces have been found at Erlitou culture sites, leading to speculation about possible connections with early Chinese characters, which appear several centuries later in the same region.

A major goal of archaeology in China has been the search for the capitals of the Xia and Shang dynasties described in traditional accounts as inhabiting the Yellow River valley.

[30] When Xu Xusheng first discovered Erlitou, he suggested that it was Bo, the first capital of the Shang under King Tang in the traditional account.

The Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project identified all four phases of Erlitou as Xia, and the construction of the Yanshi walled city as the founding of the Shang.

[35] Other scholars, particularly outside China, point to the lack of any firm evidence for such an identification, and argue that the historiographical focus of Chinese archaeology is unduly limiting.

[36] Archaeological evidence of a large outburst flood at Jishi Gorge that destroyed the Lajia site on the upper reaches of the Yellow River has been dated to about 1920 BC.