WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Since Shang bronze inscriptions were very short and did not say much, most of what is known about the Shang Dynasty is from the oracle bones. Toward the end of the Shang, writing was also inscribed on bronze objects.

Detailed explanation-2: -Oracle Bones are animal bones that were used for divination (predicting the future) by people from the Shang Dynasty. People carved these bones with questions about the future and the cracks that formed on the bones after they had been heated would give them an answer, called a “prophesy”.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Shang believed that the ancestors could also confer good fortune; the Shang would consult ancestors through oracle bones in order to seek approval for any major decision, and to learn about future success in harvesting, hunting, or battle.

Detailed explanation-4: -Oracle bones were pieces of oxen shoulder bones (scapula) or the underside of turtle shells (plastrons) used by the civilization of the Shang Dynasty in ancient China around 1600-1046 BCE. Oracle bones were used to inquire of oracles for answers to relevant questions of the day.

Detailed explanation-5: -The Shang were the first Chinese people to invent writing. The Shang people, who lived over 3000 years ago, etched characters-pictures-onto bones. Shang writing is known as ‘oracle bone script’.

Detailed explanation-6: -The Shang dynasty (1600–1050 B.C.E.) saw advancements made in mathematics, astronomy, and bronze casting technology. It is considered the first historical dynasty of China, meaning it left behind written records. These records are preserved as engravings cut into the so-called oracle bones.