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August 20, 2004
chinese oracle bone
here's the promised answer. anonymous got it almost right :)
facts:
- earliest chinese writing scripts / earliest writing record in China<
- carved on tortoise shell or animal bones
- used for divination during Shang Dynasty, hence named Oracle Bone
- rulers of Shang Dynasty (16th - 11th centuries BC, 4800 years ago) were a superstitious bunch, often wanting to foretell weather, health, fortune etc
- a possible of more than 4600 characters, out of which 1000 has been deciphered
- has accurate predictions of solar and lunar eclipse etched on the bones
- to date, 150,000 oracle bones have been found in China & Taiwan
- how it was used : the bones were heated until they cracked, the cracks were interpreted
- the questions and answers are then inscribed permanently on the bones
posted by nyx at August 20, 2004 4:44 PM
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