Artifacts of copper and bronze, which date earlier than the Shang period, have been found in recent excavations. The earliest pieces - a chisel, a knife, an ax, a button, and a mirror - belong to the Qi-jia culture in Kansu and Quing-hai provinces and the Sha-jia-dian lower culture in Inner Mongolia. They date to 2000-1500 BC, directly relating to the beginning of the Shang Dynasty. The earliest stage of Shang is the Er-li-tou culture, in which the chüeh, a ceremonial bronze vessel, appeared. The origin of the T'ao-tieh design, popular in Chinese bronzes, is thought to be in the Liang-zhu culture, the last stage of the Neolithic culture in middle eastern China. -- AATA