“The origins of the Chinese writing system are still somewhat mysterious. In 1899, the marks on some inscribed bones sold as medicinal “dragon bones” in a Peking pharmacy were recognised as writing. By that time, these pieces of writing were already some 3,500 years old, having been made during the Shang dynasty (c. 1500-1028 BCE). Though subsequent archaeological sites have turned up many pieces of neolithic pottery bearing marks dating back to c. 4000 BCE, these have yet to be interpreted, and the “oracle bone” script, such as that discovered in the pharmacy, is the earliest to be at least half understood.

The bones, mostly the shoulder blades of oxen, were used by the Shang rulers for scapulimancy: divination by reading the cracks that appeared after the application of heat to the prepared surface of the bone. The inscriptions typically consisted of a preface recording the date and the name of the diviner and the topic of divination, which was often the potential outcomes of military campaigns, hunting expeditions, sickness, childbirth or agricultural events.”

—Wikipedia, 2006.