oracle bone inscriptions
E704767
Oracle bone inscriptions are the earliest known form of Chinese writing, carved on animal bones and turtle shells for divination during the late Shang dynasty.
Statements (52)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Chinese script
ⓘ
ancient writing system ⓘ archaeological artifact ⓘ |
| associatedCity | Yin NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedDynasty | Shang dynasty NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| contentType |
prognostications
ⓘ
questions to ancestors ⓘ questions to deities ⓘ verification of outcomes ⓘ |
| country | China ⓘ |
| culturalSignificance |
earliest extensive corpus of Chinese writing
ⓘ
foundation for later Chinese character forms ⓘ key evidence for early Chinese history ⓘ |
| discovered | late 19th century ⓘ |
| divinationMethod |
crack interpretation
ⓘ
pyromancy ⓘ |
| endTime | circa 11th century BCE ⓘ |
| fieldOfStudy |
Shang archaeology
ⓘ
historical linguistics ⓘ paleography ⓘ |
| firstScholarlyStudy | early 20th century ⓘ |
| language | Old Chinese NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| mainDiscoverySite |
Anyang
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Yinxu NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| material |
other animal bones
ⓘ
ox scapulae ⓘ turtle plastrons ⓘ |
| period | late Shang dynasty ⓘ |
| productionMethod | carving characters before heating bones ⓘ |
| scriptEvolution |
precursor of bronze inscriptions
ⓘ
precursor of clerical script ⓘ precursor of seal script ⓘ |
| scriptType | logographic script ⓘ |
| startTime | circa 13th century BCE ⓘ |
| typicalUsers |
Shang diviners
ⓘ
Shang kings NERFINISHED ⓘ royal scribes ⓘ |
| UNESCOStatus | Memory of the World Register NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| usedFor |
divination
ⓘ
recording agriculture ⓘ recording childbirth ⓘ recording dreams ⓘ recording hunting ⓘ recording illnesses ⓘ recording royal activities ⓘ recording royal genealogy ⓘ recording sacrifices ⓘ recording warfare ⓘ recording weather ⓘ |
| writingMedium | carved incisions ⓘ |
| writingSystem | early form of Chinese characters ⓘ |
| writingTool | sharp stylus ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.