Examples of oracle bones in the following topics:
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- The
oldest surviving form of Chinese writing is inscriptions of divination records
on the bones or shells of animals—so-called oracle bones.
- Oracle
bones were pieces of bone or turtle shell used by the ancient Chinese,
especially Chinese kings, in attempts to predict the future.
- Questions were carved into oracle bones, such as, "Will we win the upcoming
battle?"
- Many of the oracle bones ask questions about war, harvests, and
childbirth.
- This oracle bone from the Shang Dynasty dates to the reign of King Wu Ding.
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- Oracle bone inscriptions show that the Shang used chariots as mobile command vehicles and in royal hunts.
- A significant number of Shang oracle bones were concerned
with battle.
- The
oracle bones also show deep concern over the "barbarians" living
outside the empire, who were a constant threat to the safety and stability of
the kingdom; the military had to be constantly ready to fight them.
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- These have included 11 major Yin royal tombs and building sites of palaces and rituals, as well as weapons
and remains of human and animal sacrifices, and artifacts, including bronze,
jade, stone, bone, and ceramic.
- The oldest surviving form of Chinese writing is inscriptions of divination records on the bones or shells of animals—so-called oracle bones.
- However, the writing on the oracle bones shows evidence of complex development, indicating that written language had existed for a long time.
- This site yielded large numbers of oracle bones that describe the travels of eleven named kings.
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- The Chinese character for "Tian," meaning "heaven," in (from left to right) Bronze script, Seal script, Oracle script, and modern simplified.
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- Commoners and pharaohs asked questions of oracles, and answers could even be used during the New Kingdom to settle legal disputes.
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- Seeing an
opportunity in the upheaval, the famous Lydian king Croesus asked the oracle at
Delphi whether he should attack the Persians in order to extend his realm.
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- If one break a man's bone, they shall break his bone.
- If one destroy the eye of a freeman or break the bone of a freeman he shall pay one gold mina.
- If one destroy the eye of a man's slave or break a bone of a man's slave he shall pay one-half his price."
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- Other pieces found include flutes made of condor and pelican bones, and cornetts made of deer and llama bones.
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- During the Shang (1600 - 1050 BCE) and Zhou (1050 - 250 BCE) dynasties, bone, bamboo and sometimes silk were used as writing tablets.
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- Some deceased
individuals were laid out on stone benches, and depending on the proportion of
inhumation versus cremation rites followed, cremated ashes and bones might be
put into an urn in the shape of a house or representation of the deceased.