Yellow River civilization or Huang civilization, Hwan‐huou civilization is an ancient Chinese civilization that prospered in a middle and lower basin of the Yellow River. Agriculture was started in the flood plain of the Yellow River, and before long, through flood control and the irrigation of the Yellow River, cities were developed and political power found reinforcement. One of the "four major civilizations of the ancient world", it is often included in textbooks of East Asian history, but the idea of including only the Huang civilization as one of the four biggest ancient civilizations has become outdated thanks to the discovery of other early cultures, such as the Chang Jiang and Liao civilizations. The area saw the Yangshao and Longshan cultures of the Neolithic era and developed into the bronze ware culture of the Yin and Zhou dynasties.