Gaocheng

Area in southern Hebei province, China, with widely scattered Shang remains. At Taixicun, the main occupation postdates the Erligang Phase and has one radiocarbon date of c 1500 BC. The site is dominated by three large rectangular Hangtu platforms and a large house foundation with sacrificial burials. Other graves yielded bronze ritual vessels, fragments of lacquer, and a bronze ax with a blade of meteoritic iron. Evidence suggests that it may be the location of a Shang capital occupied after Zhengzhou but before Anyang.

[Kao-ch’eng]. County in southern Hebei province, China, with widely scattered Shang remains, of which the most notable are those near the village of Taixicun. The main occupation at Taixicun postdates the Erli-gang phase and is either coeval with or, more probably, a little earlier than the historical Anyang period; a single radiocarbon date of cl500 bc has been reported from Taixicun. The site is dominated by three large rectangular hangtu platforms, 6-7 metres high, 100 metres long and 60-80 metres wide. A large house foundation had sacrificial burials associated with it; other graves yielded bronze ritual vessels, fragments of lacquer, and a bronze axe with a blade forged from meteoritic iron. The early date and evident importance of the site suggest that it may be the location of a Shang capital occupied after Zhengzhou but before Anyang.