Yinxu

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**Yin Xu**¹
**UNESCO World Heritage Site**

State Party	China
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iii, iv, vi
Identification	#1114
Region²	Asia-Pacific
Inscription History
Formal Inscription:	2006 30th WH Committee Session
WH link:	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1114
1 Name as officially inscribed on the WH List 2 As classified officially by UNESCO

Yinxu (Chinese: 殷墟; pinyin: Yīnxū), is the Ruins of Yin. Yin is believed to be the last capital of China's Shang Dynasty (1766 BC - 1050 BC), which was also known as the Yin Dynasty. It was located in the central Henan province, around where the modern city of Anyang now stands. Yin was the spiritual and cultural center of the late Shang Dynasty, as many large tombs have been discovered in the excavations of Yinxu, with some more than sixty feet in depth.

One remarkable tomb is the grave of Fu Hao, wife of the 21^st Shang ruler Wu Ding. It was discovered undisturbed. The tomb had 6 dog skeletons; at least 16 human skeletons besides Fu Hao's; more than 440 bronze works; almost 600 carvings of jade, stone, and bone; and around 7,000 pieces of the currency of the time, cowrie shells.

Yinxu is also famous for the discovery of oracle bones and their inscriptions, which are thought to be the beginnings of Chinese characters and writing.