China is one of a few regions in the world where the earliest state-level civilizations developed, independently of determining external influence. Questions about the origins of the state may be approached both historically and archaeologically. China has a long tradition of recording historical events, a legacy that provides rich quantities of information concerning its early dynasties and offers important sources for study of the origins of dynastic civilization. The archaeological record also reveals abundant data for investigation of social, political, and technological changes in locales wherein these early dynasties developed, and excavations have primarily focused on large sites that presumably correspond to dynastic capital cities. Therefore, the origins of early states in China involve four intertwined issues: state formation, development of urbanism, emergence of civilization, and beginning of dynastic history.