oracle bone

Chinese artifact

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Last updated

July 1, 2026

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Oracle bones are artifacts from China's Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BCE) used for divination. Questions were inscribed on these bones or on tortoiseshells, then heated until they cracked. The patterns of the cracks were interpreted to divine answers to questions about various matters, including sacrifices, harvests, weather, and military campaigns. These inscriptions represent the earliest known form of Chinese writing, with over three thousand characters identified, about half of which have been deciphered.1234

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chronology
Chinese
The so-called oracle-bone inscriptions of the last nine Shang kings (1324–1122 bc) record the number of months up to the 12th, with periodical additions of a 13th month, and regular religious services on the summer and winter solstice days, all of which indicates the adjustment of the…
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The so-called oracle-bone inscriptions of the last nine Shang kings (1324–1122 bc) record the number of months up to the 12th, with periodical additions of a 13th month, and regular religious services on the summer and winter solstice days, all of which indicates the adjustment of the…
Read More

China
Cultural milieu
…Shang is well known from oracle bones recovered from the site of the last Shang capital, near Anyang. The bones are turtle plastrons and ox scapulae with inscribed texts, used by the Shang kings in a highly regularized system of ritual divination and sacrifice aimed at securing the support of…
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…Shang is well known from oracle bones recovered from the site of the last Shang capital, near Anyang. The bones are turtle plastrons and ox scapulae with inscribed texts, used by the Shang kings in a highly regularized system of ritual divination and sacrifice aimed at securing the support of…
Read More

calendar
The Chinese calendar
Evidence from the Shang oracle bone inscriptions shows that at least by the 14th century bce the Shang dynasty Chinese had established the solar year at 365 1/4 days and lunation at 29 1/2 days. In the calendar that the Shang used, the seasons of the year…
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Evidence from the Shang oracle bone inscriptions shows that at least by the 14th century bce the Shang dynasty Chinese had established the solar year at 365 1/4 days and lunation at 29 1/2 days. In the calendar that the Shang used, the seasons of the year…
Read More