中国的早期铜器与青铜器的起源

中国公元前16世纪以前的早期铜器已在50多个地点发现500多件，主要分布在四个地区，其年代最早为公元前4500年。早期铜器的发展，经历了公元前4500～前2500年尝试冶炼各种原始铜合金的发生期，公元前2500～前2000年以红铜为主的发展期和公元前2000～前1600年以青铜为主的成熟期。中国古代青铜器分别起源于西北地区和中原地区，青铜时代开始于公元前2000年前后。

A Study on Chinese Primal Bronze Wares and the Origin of Bronze Wares

Over 500 primal bronze wares dated before 16th century BC have been found in over 50 sites, in which the earliest one is dated of 4500 BC. The development of the primal bronze wares of China went through four phases. The primal bronze wares of China have two origins, one is from the northwest area, the other is from central area. The Bronze Age of China began in about 2000 BC.