Tortoise shell with vermillion text (Part3 65, 66, R041291) |
Obtained in the Institute of History and Philology's 13th excavation, it is an oracle bone belonging to the first period of the age of Wu Ding. Most tortoise shells used for divination were cut from the middle into two halves and then used. This piece is the right half of a large tortoise shell. The divination's contents on one hand have to do with the weather, controlled by Shang Di, the High God; on the other hand, they concern the king of Yin's decisions about which destinations he should leave for.
Object dimensions: length 35.3 cm, width 14.9 cm. Rubbing dimensions: length 35.36 cm, width 15.11 cm
Excavation date: 1936, 13th Xiaotun excavation
Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica
|