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Shang Dynasty andOracle BonesBy: Rachel Fisher
Oracle Bones excavated near Anyang city, late Shang Period
Shang Dynasty2000 - 1650 BCE
Began with the overthrow of the Xia emperor by the first Shang ruler, Tang
Middle of China’s Bronze age
Located along the Yellow River Valley
Agricultural and hunting society
First dynasty to leave behind written records and solid archaeological evidence
Pyro-ScapulimancyDiviner reads the stress cracks caused by heating should blades or bones
Possibly first practiced by Neolithic inhabitants of north china
Animals used include sheep, pig, cattle, boar, dog, lynx, beaver, deer, seal, & caribou
Wide spread Southern Arabian peninsula, central Asia, Mongolia, Siberia, China, & Japan.
Shang Oracle BonesBefore the discovery of Shang oracle bones scholars had no firm proof that the Shang Dynasty existed.
Shang dynasty used reptilian parts like turtles, not just mammals
They carved a record of the divination on the scapulas and plastrons, establishing themselves as the first fully literate civilization east of the Indus
150,000 inscribed oracle bones are in collections around the world
Shang Divination Materials
Helps explain what resources were available to the Shang
Used scapula of bovine and buffalo, similar to Neolithic diviners
Other bones and animals were used for inscribing records
Used turtle and tortoise shells
No relationship between bone type or size and the important of the divination
Use of Turtle Shells
First use of turtle shells for oracles is unknown
Carving was done on the plastron
May have only used female turtles
Turtles were likely farmed to maintain demands and provide food
The Shang imported turtles from different regions
Use of pictographs, and ideographs
Bone Script
Use of pictographs and ideographs
Rectlininear, simple shapes
Little variation in line width
Thousands of characters found from all the bone fragments
Many characters remain undeciphered
Anyang: stela reproductions of oracle bones
Initial Preparations
Scapula Cartilage sawed away Leveled and smoothed surface Polished surface
Turtle Shells Cleaned of meat and cartilage Separated the plastron Smoothed and trimmed Polished surface
Hollows
Added carved hollows on back of shell where heat would be applied.
Helped control the direction of cracking
Made it easier to crack and control the location of the cracks.
Helps to differentiate Shang oracle bones from Neolithic ones.
5 categories of hollows
Final Shang Capital and Yin Ruins Museum
Heating
Two Heating Methods: Heat is applied to hollows on the back Bones are placed in a heated pit
Heat source unknown but was very round and very hot
Some historians believe it was a heated metal brand
Organization to heating the hollows
Most common was inside to outside and top to bottom.
Interpretations
Diviner cracked bone, interpreted it, and engraver cut a record of the interpretation into the scapula or plastron.
Inscriptions included: Cyclical day of divination Name of diviner Sometimes the location Charge (the topic in question) The diviners interpretation
Divination took place on every day of the ten-day Shang week.
Verification
Sometimes a sentence would be carved into the oracle bone to say what really happened
Almost always confirmed the divination
Often used the Chinese word meaning “really truly”
Sometimes carvings verified that a divination happened even if it was after the time predicted
Placement of Inscription
Inscriptions were carved around cracks and often followed the angles of cracks
It can be difficult to tell which crack the inscription is referring to
In early periods the cracks were carved deeper to help legibility
Some pigment has been found in cracks
Oracle Questions
Sacrifices Military campaignsHunting expeditions Outcome of the next day/nightWeather AgricultureSickness Childbirth Dreams Divine assistance or approval
“Will the king have a son?”“Will it rain tomorrow?”“If we send 3,000 men into battle, will we succeed?”“Is the long drought caused by ancestor X?”
Shang Social HierarchyMonarchy where king was head of politics and religion
Very rigid social classes
Writing increased the hierarchy in government and social statuses by allowing large scale organization and regulations.
Shang kings were constantly at war with outsiders
During later period of dynasty, kings were only diviners
Shang CultureThe Shang worshipped “Shang Ti,” a supreme god that ruled over the lesser gods of the sun, the moon, the wind, and other forces of nature.
They believed in the after life and gave sacrifices to important ancestors
Shang documents were recorded on strips of bamboo and silk may have decomposed, leaving mainly oracle bones and bronze inscriptions
Bone Script created a basis for modern chinese calligraphy
Fall of Shang Dynasty
Shang Dynasty ended when the Duke of Zhou invaded and conquered the capital
Legend claims that they overthrow the Shang Dynasty because the king was evil and heaven no longer wanted him to rule.
Mandate of Heaven
Followed by the Zhou Dynasty
SourcesDepartment of Asian Art. “Shang and Zhou Dynasties: The Bronze Age of China”. In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/shzh/hd_shzh.htm (October 2004)
“From Oracle Bone Inscriptions to Modern Language.” History - China Culture. 2007. Web. 7 Oct. 2011. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/181History5896.html>.
Keightley, David N., and Noel Barnard. The Origins of Chinese Civilization. Berkeley: University of California, 1983.
Kneightley, David N. “Sources of Shang History: The Oracle Bone Inscriptions of Bronze Age China.” The Origins of Writing. Berkeley: University of California, 1978.
“The Shang Dynasty, 1600 to 1050 BCE.” Stanford. Spice Digest, Fall 2007. Web. 7 Oct. 2011. <http://iis-db.stanford.edu/docs/117/ShangDynasty.pdf>
“Shang Dynasty.” China Culture. Ministry of Chinese Culture, 2003. Web. 9 Oct. 2011. <http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_aboutchina/2003-09/24/content_22689.htm>.
Additional Image Sourcehttp://picasaweb.google.com/116512474184071531500/AnyangFinalShangCapitalYinRuinsMuseum?gsessionid=9suX3m75NHY4s9Ocxk5k4A#
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