oracle bone

oracle bone
noun
: a bone used in early China especially during the Shang dynasty 1765-1123 B.C. in divination by writing a question upon it, heating it, and divining the answer from the resultant cracks

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oracle bone,
a bone used for divination by the ancient Chinese, especially during the Shang dynasty. Questions about the future would be written on the bone, which would then be heated and the answers divined from the changes appearing on the bone.

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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