Chariots of Yinxu (Shang dynasty)
Carros de guerra de Yinxu (dinastía Shang)
- Date
- c. 1200 BCE · confidence medium
- Place
- Yinxu, Anyang, Henan, China
- Credited to
- Shang dynasty
- Field
- Movement
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A light two-wheeled, spoked chariot drawn by two horses, documented in the chariot and horse burial pits of the Shang capital at Yinxu. It is the first secure appearance of the horse-drawn chariot in East Asia, used as a command and archery platform by the nobility.
It appears suddenly and fully developed around 1200 BC with no local evolutionary phase, which suggests transmission from the Eurasian steppes (Sintashta-Andronovo); the diffusion versus local invention debate remains open.
What it led to
- chariots as the core of the aristocratic Shang and Zhou armies
- chariot-and-horse burials as a mark of elite status
- bronze and carpentry workshops specialised in chariot fittings