China: An ox scapula oracle bone divining future good or bad fortune. Xiaotun, Anyang County, Henan Province, c. 1300-1050 BCE. Oracle bone inscriptions (Chinese: 甲骨; pinyin: jiǎgǔ) are the ancient Chinese characters carved on animal scapulas (shoulder blades) or turtle plastron (underside). The oracle bone inscriptions were mainly used for divination and keeping records of events that happened in the late Shang Dynasty (c. 1300-1050 BCE).

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