In this student activity, students learn about life in early Chinese urban society by analyzing oracle bone divinations. These divinations, consisting of characters inscribed on turtle shells and animal bones over 3,000 years ago, are among the earliest systematic Chinese written language extant today. Students will answer object analysis questions, complete an activity using translations of divinations, and compare early Chinese urban society to Bronze Age societies in other parts of the world. This set includes multiple objects from the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.
Created by Elizabeth Eder and Keith Wilson at the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in collaboration with Tess Porter, Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access.
Tags: archaeology; ancestor worship; shang dynasty; diviner; early writing; early civilization; ritual; artifact; archaeological remains; artifact analysis
Big idea: What can archaeological remains reveal about early Chinese urban society?
Discussion questions can be answered offline either individually, in small groups, or as a class.
This collection assumes that the Shang dynasty (1600 - 1050 BCE) has already been introduced to students. For more background information on this dynasty, the earliest verified by archaeology in China, check out the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Teacher's Guide, The Art and Archaeology of Ancient China, found in three PD sections here: http://www.asia.si.edu/explore/teacherResources/chinapacket/chinacover.pdf (part 1), http://www.asia.si.edu/explore/teacherResources/chinapacket/pp22_51.pdf (part 2), http://www.asia.si.edu/explore/teacherResources/chinapacket/pp52_106.pdf (part 3).
Created by the Education Department at the Smithsonian Institution's Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in collaboration with Tess Porter, Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access.
RELATED RESOURCES FROM THE FREER|SACKLER
China's Calligraphic Arts - http://www.asia.si.edu/explore/china/calligraphy/default.asp
China History Timeline - http://www.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/online/chinaTimeline/launch.htm
NOTES
The Teacher's Guide referenced above was produced in 2003. At that time, the term "shamans" was used to describe religious figures who are believed to have special powers, such as the ability to see into the future or cure the sick. However, this is no longer the correct terminology.
Two oracle bones located in the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery's collections (not included in this activity, but still worth noting) have inscriptions whose authenticity has been questioned by specialists - S2012.9.470 has been published as questionable in China, and F1985.35 has been questioned in a past F|S exhibition.
Freer|Sackler Education 
