“Powerful.” “Mysterious.” “Bloody.” Those are the words that tend to come to mind when Chinese are asked about the Shang — an ancient dynasty that ruled China’s Central Plains for over 500 years until its sudden collapse in the 11th century BC.

But for the archaeologists excavating the dynasty’s last capital, Yinxu, in what is today the central Chinese province of Henan, the Shang is like an ever-shifting puzzle. Every answer dug out of the earth seems to bring with it more questions. Nearly 100 years after the first excavations began, experts estimate only 5% of the capital has been uncovered.

That’s not for lack of trying. Yinxu is for all intents and purposes the “holy land” of Chinese archaeology. Some of the country’s best-known archaeologists have left their mark at the site, from Dong Zuobin’s pioneering digs in the 1920s — sometimes referred to as the birth of modern Chinese archaeology — to Zheng Zhenxiang’s discovery of the intact tomb of warrior-queen Fu Hao in the 1970s.

Thanks to their work, we have a rough idea of what life in Yinxu was like, at least for the nobility. The task facing the current generation of archaeologists is to flesh out the picture. New techniques and approaches are shedding light on some of the Shang’s greatest mysteries, from its fearsome chariot-borne shock troops to the inner workings of its specialized guilds.

In this three-part series, Sixth Tone looks at some of the major breakthroughs to come out of Yinxu in recent years — and the questions archaeologists have yet to answer.

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