Search Results: Oracle Bones

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...

Oracle bones or dragon bones were the shoulder blades of oxen or the flat underside of a turtle shell known as a plastron that were used for divination during the Shang Dynasty of China which dates between c. 1600 and 1046 BCE. The bones...

Ancient Chinese writing evolved from the practice of divination during the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE). Some theories suggest that images and markings on pottery shards found at Ban Po Village are evidence of an early writing system but...

Oracle bone from the reign of King Wu Ding (late Shang dynasty).

Capela dos Ossos (The Chapel of Bones) attached to the Igreja de São Francisco, Evora, Portugal. The Chapel of Bones was constructed by Franciscan monks in the late 16th century CE. Photo taken 2009 CE.

Tom Hopper as the fictional pirate William "Billy Bones" Manderly in the TV series Black Sails. Billy Jones is a character in Robert Louis Stevenson's 1883 novel Treasure Island. © 2014 Starz

Chinese oracle bone dating from the Shang Dynasty.

Shang Dynasty oracle bone from China.

Two Greek nobles consult with the Oracle at Delphi before setting out to establish a new colony abroad. Art by Mateusz Przeklasa.

"Priestess of Delphi" by John Collier, 1891. A 19th century vision of how the Pythia might have looked like, and how she became intoxicated by hallucinogenic gases emerging from the floor.