Chinese civilization arose in many regional centers across the villages of the Yellow River and Yangtze River in the Neolithic era, but it is said that the Yellow Sea is the cradle of Chinese civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the oldest civilizations in the world. Written history of China can be found as early as the Shang Dynasty (circa 1700–1046 BC), although ancient historical texts such as the Records of the Great Historian (circa 100 BC) and the Bamboo Annals confirm the existence of the Xia dynasty before the Shang. Much of China's culture, literature, and philosophy developed further during the Kingdom of Zhou (1045–256 BC).