Latin Inscriptions

Wugong, Shaanxi; one of several Late Shang-era Shaanxi sites with oracle bones similar to Upper Erligang contexts. Flad treats this as persistence of earlier traditions outside the Central Plains state apparatus.

Lingyuan, Liaoning; Upper Xiajiadian context, ca. 1000-300 BC. Cited as northeast evidence that oracle-bone use persisted with relatively elaborate procedures but without uniform Shang-style control.

Yao Xian, Shaanxi; Early Shang oracle bones are cattle scapula fragments cut through the shaft, polished, and drilled before burning. Hollows are circular with rounded bases and no attendant chisel marks. Also grouped with Late Shang-era Shaanxi sites similar to Upper Erligang contexts.

Beiyingtai: Handan, Hebei; seven Early Shang cattle and pig scapula fragments. Jiangoucun: Handan, Hebei; Late Longshan site grouped with similar unpretreated scapula remains from Hebei.

Nanjing; Late Shang remains are grouped with Yinjiacheng as eastern examples that lack evidence of elaborate divination procedures.

Caoyanzhuang: Xingtai, Hebei; Late Longshan site with similar unpretreated scapula remains. Dongxianxian: Xingtai, Hebei; Western Zhou specimens nearly identical to Liulihe circular hollows with a single chiseled line. Gejiazhuang: Xingtai, Hebei; Erligang-period drilled cattle scapulae.

Licheng, Shandong; Late Longshan site grouped with similar scapulimancy remains; these sites used cattle, pig, sheep, and deer scapulae burned without pretreatment.

Tangshan, Hebei; Late Longshan site grouped with similar scapulimancy remains; these sites used cattle, pig, sheep, and deer scapulae burned without pretreatment.

Yongjing, Gansu; Qijia-culture site, ca. 2200-1800 BC, with strata around ca. 1900 BC. Grouped with unpretreated scapula oracle-bone finds; radiocarbon dates cited at about 1924 and 1887 calBC.

Harqin Banner, Inner Mongolia; Lower Xiajiadian contexts. A few oracle bones recovered, all drilled before burning; one scapula shaft had 37 densely crowded drill holes of different sizes.

Ji'nan, Shandong; one of the most significant Shang-period assemblages outside Anyang. Five-stage sequence: early mammal scapulae with removed spines and drilled circular hollows; later deer/sheep/cattle scapulae thinned and drilled; then turtle shell appears; later turtle plastrons dominate with drill-and-chisel preparation; final stage almost all plastrons with more chisel-only preparation.

Minle, Gansu; Siba-culture site, ca. 1900-1500 BC, cited among recent excavations with oracle-bone examples; grouped with unpretreated scapula remains.

Dongxiafeng: Xia Xian, Shanxi; four-phase Erlitou-period sequence showing transition toward pretreatment. Dongyin: Xia Xian, Shanxi; Upper Erligang modified cattle scapula oracle bones with circular drilled hollows of varying size and depth.

Hailin City, Heilongjiang; Han Dynasty pig scapula used in pyromancy, cited as evidence that mammal-bone pyromancy persisted after the Bronze Age.

Erligang: Early Shang type-site; cattle scapulae most common, with pig, sheep, deer, dog scapulae, cattle limb bones, and turtle-shell fragments also used; Lower Erligang examples usually not pretreated; bronze drill evidence noted. Family Residences, Huangweihui Qingniangongyu, and Huimin Zhongxue: Zhengzhou localities showing the same Lower Erligang pattern. Minggong Ludong: Lower and Upper Erligang contexts; People's Park phase turtle plastron and carapace fragments have parallel rows/double marks. Nanguanwai: largest Zhengzhou collection; Luodamiao cattle scapula split and drilled; turtle plastron unaltered; Lower Erligang mostly unmodified; Upper Erligang many flattened and drilled, with cattle scapulae and all 37 turtle plastrons drilled. Xiaoshuangqiao: Baijiazhuang/Middle Shang sheep scapula fragments mostly not pretreated, with one possible drilled specimen.

Erlitou: Yanshi, Henan; phases I-IV show cattle, sheep, and pig scapulae directly burned, with circular/oval marks and no drilling or chiseling; marks are inconsistent and unsystematic, and Flad argues scapulimancy was not a significant state-sponsored activity there. Yanshi Shangcheng: Shang walled site, ca. 1600-1400 BC; numerous oracle bones, mostly sheep scapulae burned directly and not pretreated, with a few pretreated cattle scapulae.

Fangchijie: Chengdu level 5, associated with Sanxingdui culture, gives the earliest Chengdu examples; turtle shells, mainly plastrons, are the main medium. Fuqin Xiaoqu, Jiangjun Yamen, Zhihuijie, Minshan Fandian, and Qingyanggong: Chengdu finds show chronological development from circular hollows, some drilled and some chiseled, to rectangular hollows within circular depressions and rectangular hollows with incised lines. Flad emphasizes overlap and heterogeneity rather than standardization or tight political control.

Zhouyuan oracle-bone findspot. Along with Qijiacun, inscribed bones reflect transmission from Shang divination; some inscriptions name Shang ancestors, and preparation techniques are broadly similar to Yinxu practice, suggesting diviners trained in or derived from Terminal Shang traditions.

Jiaozuo, Henan; similar to Xiaoshuangqiao, showing high variability in divination during the Baijiazhuang/Middle Shang horizon.

Balin Left Banner, Inner Mongolia; among the earliest pyromancy evidence. A sheep or small deer scapula had numerous intentional burn marks on the distal blade and was dated by associated birch bark to about 3321 ± 179 calBC.

Wushan, Gansu; cited with Zhaizita and Fuhegoumen as a Late Neolithic scapulimancy example from China's Northern Zone.

Ganjinggou: Zhong Xian, Chongqing; Three Gorges site with oracle bones in Zhou-period strata. Zhongba: prehistoric salt-production site in Zhong Xian; earliest Three Gorges pyromancy includes a small burned plastron from phase II, ca. 1630-1210 BC; phase III, ca. 1100-200 BC, has over 180 oracle bones, mostly turtle plastrons plus at least one fish operculum. Marks range from circular direct burns to circular/oval prepared hollows with grooves and later rectangular hollows with perpendicular incisions; no standard procedure.

Jingnansi: Jiangling, Hubei; Zhou-era oracle bones in the Middle Yangzi region. Meihuaiqiao: Jiangling, Hubei; divination remains are mostly turtle shells.

Lintong, Shaanxi; at least 20 deer, pig, and sheep scapulae used in pyromancy from Longshan deposits predating 2700 BC. Bone surfaces were not pretreated, with no drilled holes or chisel marks before burning.

Chifeng area; Lower Xiajiadian site grouped with Nanshangen, Zhizhushan, and Xiajiadian. Finds include pig scapulae and other pyromancy bones; diviners drilled hollows before burning to facilitate and control cracking.

Lianyushan: Zigui, Hubei; Three Gorges site with oracle bones in Zhou-period strata. Shimenzui: Zigui, Hubei; Zhou-period oracle bones, including a fish operculum used as an oracle bone; cited as evidence of regional operculimancy alongside Xianglushi and Zhongba.

Qingjian, Shaanxi; Flad spells it Lijiaya. Grouped with Beicun, Zhumazui, and Andi as Late Shang-era Shaanxi sites with oracle bones similar to Upper Erligang contexts.

Near Beijing; dozens of divination plastrons with double marks. Some have narrow rectangular chiseled grooves and rectangular attendant hollows derived from Yinxu-style divination marks; three oracle bones are inscribed. Others have circular hollows about 1.2 cm across with a single chiseled line.

Jiyang, Shandong; yielded Western Zhou oracle bones with more diverse hollows, used by Flad in discussing persistent eastern/Dongyi and regional oracle-bone traditions.

Wuliang, Three Gorges area; Zhou-period strata. A late Bronze Age noncemetery site where excavations recovered many turtle plastrons and large fish opercula with divination marks.

Zaoyang, Hubei; Zhou-era oracle-bone locality in the Xiangfan region. Regional specimens include turtle plastrons with long rectangular hollows, curved corners, and incised lines, plus scapulae with rectangular or square hollows on preflattened areas.

Yunyang, Chongqing; Tang-era oracle bone, AD 618-907, cited as the most recent oracle bone known from archaeological contexts in China.

Ningcheng, Inner Mongolia; Lower Xiajiadian site grouped with Zhizhushan, Yaowangmiao, and Xiajiadian. Finds include pig scapulae and other pyromancy bones with drilled hollows before burning.

Huangpi, Hubei; important Erligang-phase walled site. Several drilled cattle scapulae occur in period V and VII contexts, including pit finds and one specimen inside a bronze jue vessel. Fits the Upper Erligang pattern, but small numbers suggest pyromancy was not central to the expansive Erligang Shang state.

Fufeng, Shaanxi; Western Zhou plastrons on the Zhou Plain prepared similarly to Yinxu oracle bones, with elongated groove and side burn mark. Alongside Fengchu, inscribed Zhouyuan oracle bones indicate Shang-derived procedures and close early court association.

Xinmi, Henan; Lower Erligang-period site with heterogeneous divination practices and incipient elaboration.

Xiping, Henan; recent excavation cited among Longshanoid examples. Grouped with sites whose oracle bones are cattle, pig, sheep, and deer scapulae burned without pretreatment.

Gong Xian, Henan; Erlitou phase III contexts include several cattle scapula fragments drilled before burning, evidence of increased elaboration. At the earliest oracle-bone level, cattle scapula fragments were not pretreated, but pretreatment emerged during Erlitou III; cattle scapulae were modified while sheep scapulae were not.

Huantai, Shandong; contemporaneous Yueshi-culture site, ca. 2000-1600 BC, with only unmodified sheep scapulae.

Yongnian, Hebei; Late Longshan site grouped with similar scapulimancy remains; these sites used cattle, pig, sheep, and deer scapulae burned without pretreatment.

Gaocheng, Hebei; Erligang-era pits and burials produced a highly variable assemblage of 494 oracle bones, mostly cattle, pig, and turtle.

Xiangfen, Shanxi; recent excavation cited among Longshanoid examples. Grouped with sites whose oracle bones are cattle, pig, sheep, and deer scapulae burned without pretreatment.

Chifeng area; Lower Xiajiadian site with pig scapulae and other pyromancy bones. Diviners drilled hollows before burning to facilitate and control cracks.

Qingjiang River near Yichang, Hubei; three-level sequence. Level 6, Early Shang, has three turtle plastron fragments with oval chisel marks and chiseled lines. Level 5, Middle-Late Shang, has 13 oracle bones: 12 turtle shells and one fish operculum, with drill marks and some chisel lines. Level 4, Terminal Shang/Western Zhou, has 17 excavated plus 7 surface specimens: 5 turtle-shell fragments and 19 fish opercula, mostly rectangular hollows.

Yicheng, Hubei; Zhou-era oracle-bone locality in the Xiangfan region. Regional finds show turtle plastrons with rectangular hollows and incised lines, and scapulae with rectangular or square hollows on preflattened areas.

Xiaozhao: Yuanqu, Shanxi; Erlitou-period site showing heterogeneous divination. Yuanqu Gucheng: Erlitou levels contain varied oracle bones including some pretreated specimens; Erligang levels show similar trends toward elaboration.

Ci Xian, Hebei; Late Longshan site grouped with similar scapulimancy remains; these sites used cattle, pig, sheep, and deer scapulae burned without pretreatment.

Xichuan, Henan; possible Late Yangshao sheep scapula oracle bone, though dating may be Longshan. Longshan strata include a pig scapula blade with at least seven scattered divination marks, burned without pretreatment. Erlitou levels yielded a single pig scapula burned directly without pretreatment. Also cited for Zhou-period persistence in southern Henan.

Cao Xian, Shandong; Late Longshan site grouped with similar scapulimancy remains; these sites used cattle, pig, sheep, and deer scapulae burned without pretreatment.

Wutai, Shanxi; late phase around ca. 2000 BC. Radiocarbon dates cited around 2172, 1867, and 1786 calBC; grouped with Longshanoid examples using unpretreated scapulae.

Dalian, Liaoning; ca. 2500 BC. Cited as a widely dispersed Longshanoid example with similar unpretreated scapulimancy remains.

Sishui, Shandong; Late Shang remains lack elaborate procedures, but several specimens have combinations of three circular drill marks. Flad interprets the unusual triple-drill pattern as possible local appropriation of Shang divination by diviners aware of but not trained in the state procedure.

Late Shang capital near Anyang, Henan, ca. 1250-1046 BC. Large oracle-bone caches and inscriptions show pyromancy tied to the Shang court, with the king as chief diviner in the latest period. Standardized double-hollow marks on cattle scapulae and turtle plastrons reflect institutionalized, politically charged divination, though nonroyal/popular contexts also existed.

Jungar Banner, Inner Mongolia; cited with Fuhegoumen and Fujiamen as a Late Neolithic scapulimancy example from China's Northern Zone.

Xiangfan, Hubei; Zhou-era oracle-bone locality. Regional specimens include turtle plastrons with long rectangular hollows, curved corners, and incised lines, plus scapulae with rectangular or square hollows on preflattened areas.

Chifeng area; Lower Xiajiadian site grouped with Nanshangen, Yaowangmiao, and Xiajiadian; finds include pig scapulae and other pyromancy bones with drilled hollows before burning.

Shashi, Hubei; Middle Yangzi site with mostly turtle-shell divination remains, and also cited among Zhou-era oracle-bone sites in Hubei.

Ejin Horo Banner, Inner Mongolia; Erlitou-period levels include 51 oracle bones: cattle scapulae (32), deer (11), pig (4), sheep (2), plus camel and bear scapulae. Some were pretreated with spines removed and holes drilled before burning; radiocarbon dates cluster around the early second millennium to mid-second millennium BC.

Liquan, Shaanxi; grouped with Beicun, Lijiaya, and Andi as Late Shang-era Shaanxi sites with oracle bones similar to Upper Erligang contexts; interpreted as persistence of earlier traditions outside the Central Plains state apparatus.