Any ancient civilization necessarily had to go through a long prehistory of material and spiritual accumulation. In addition to social sophistication, concentration of power and wealth, and class stratification, the development of an ancient civilization also requires the emergence of one or more materials to consecrate and spur its elite “palatial economy”, and to extend its commerce and trade to a scale significantly beyond a petty economy of self-sufficiency. Chinese civilization found its unique root first in the enduring tradition of ritual jades and then in its bronzeware tradition developed from the jade tradition. Such traditions constituted the symbolic spiritual resources for the ruling class.