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Oracle Bones Term Paper

Oracle Bones Smehra Oracle Bones in Traditional China

During the Shang dynasty in China, oracle bones were used as not only a divination tool, but also in conjunction with medicine, mathematics and recording of events and history. These oracle bones, or 'dragon bones' were only discovered in the 1800s and still pose a mystery as to their many uses and interpretations. It is believed that interpretations were made through the heating of the bones (made from animal scapulas and other bones) to 'read' the message found in the cracks.

Oracle bones are some of the first forms of writing we have on record and while they were used like the I Ching in divination,...

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In mathematics, tally and code symbols on oracle bones demonstrate a unique decimal system that precedes any system in Western history. The Chinese were the first to formulate and use this system that eventually contributed to modern mathematics.
The discovery of oracle bones in Shang has also offered glimpses into the political and social system that governed during the Shang dynasty. The bones also offer a viewpoint of the rituals and religious practices that presided over the Chinese at that…

Sources used in this document:
Thrams, J. Confucianism- Ja Chia 1999

http://www.wls.wels.net/library/Essays/Authors/T/ThramsConfucianism/ThramsConfucianism.pdf

Xiang, A. Xia-Shang Dynasties, 2003. http://www.uglychinese.org/xiashang.htm
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