3400 BC to 1601 BC

Millet, rice and jade

Farming begins early in two great valleys: millet on the Yellow River and rice on the Yangtze. Neolithic cultures such as Yangshao, with its painted pottery, and Liangzhu, with its jades and earthen dams, grow into large chiefdoms. Around 1900 BC Erlitou, on the middle Yellow River, builds palaces and casts bronze; many link it to the legendary Xia dynasty.