# Oracle Bones — WHE Definition Discussion

**URL:** <https://community.worldhistory.org/t/oracle-bones-whe-definition-discussion/581>\
**Category:** WHE Articles\
**Created:** [February 26, 2016, 10:49am UTC](https://community.worldhistory.org/t/oracle-bones-whe-definition-discussion/581 "2016-02-26T10:49:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![emily.mark49](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/community.worldhistory.org/emily.mark49/32/290_2.png) [@emily.mark49](https://community.worldhistory.org/u/emily.mark49)\
**Post date:** [February 26, 2016, 10:49am UTC](https://community.worldhistory.org/t/oracle-bones-whe-definition-discussion/581/1 "2016-02-26T10:49:45Z")

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Oracle Bones (also known as Dragon's Bones) were the shoulder blades of oxen or plastrons of turtles (the flat underside of the turtle's shell) which were used in the Shang Dynasty of China (c. 1600-1046 BCE) for divination. The symbols carved on the bones eventually became words and a recognizable Chinese script developed from this practice.

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_This is a companion discussion topic for the original content at [https://www.worldhistory.org/Oracle\_Bones/](https://www.worldhistory.org/Oracle_Bones/)._

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**Author:** ![emily.mark49](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/community.worldhistory.org/emily.mark49/32/290_2.png) [@emily.mark49](https://community.worldhistory.org/u/emily.mark49)\
**Post date:** [July 28, 2026, 5:26pm UTC](https://community.worldhistory.org/t/oracle-bones-whe-definition-discussion/581/2 "2026-07-28T17:26:07Z")

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