"There have been people living in the territory that is now China for over one million years, but the first settlements date from around 6000 BCE. The Shang Dynasty from around 1600 to 1050 BCE is the first dynasty for which written evidence matching the archaeological record exists. It was replaced by the Western Zhou in 1045 BCE, which was succeeded by the Eastern Zhou in 771 BCE, which in turn is divided into the Spring and Autumn and then the Warring States periods. As the name suggests, the Warring States Period was characterised by multiple states competing for domination, and it was out of this that the first imperial dynasty, the Qin emerged in 221 BCE. This was a short lived dynasty, and was replaced by the Western Han in 206 BCE, with its capital in Chang'an. Luoyang became the capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty in 25 CE, and this fell two centuries later. Over this long period, many of the characteristics that were to define Chinese imperial urban civilization emerged"--