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#