Animal bone with oracular inscription and filled-in cinnabar (broken piece)

Accession No. R035894
Period Shang Dynasty
Material Bones
Findspot Hsiao-t'un, Yin-xu Site
Geographic Location Hsiao-t'un village, Anyang, Honan province, China
Dimension H. 11.3 cm; W. 6.6 cm

Description

This oracle bone is made with an animal scapular; only the distal end of the bone remains. The contents of the inscription record the results of a divination as to whether a hunting trip will be successful. The “verification” text on the back reveals that the king successfully captured nine pigs. On the socket of the scapular are inscriptions recording how lady Nu-jing inspected 3 pairs of oracle bones.