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1086/588495CurrentAnthropologyVolume49,Number3,June2008403DivinationandPowerAMultiregionalViewoftheDevelopmentofOracleBoneDivinationinEarlyChinabyRowanK.
FladDivinationisaritualpracticefrequentlyemployedasasourceofsocialandpoliticalpower.
Elaborateformsofdivinationcanbecrucialtostatecontrolandhavewidespreadinuence.
InancientChinaaselsewhere,divinationwasthedomainofritualspecialistswhousedtheirskillstomediateuncer-tainty,buttherolethatthesespecialistsplayedinsocietydifferedconsiderablyfromoneplacetoanother.
AnexaminationofdivinationremainsfromtheNeolithic,Shang,andZhouperiodsofChinasuggeststhatmoreelaboratedivinationproceduresareassociatedwithbureaucraticinstitutionsasasourceofstatepower.
Divination,"theforetellingoffutureeventsordiscoveryofwhatishiddenorobscurebysupernaturalormagicalmeans,"isextremelywidespread,possiblyevenuniversal.
Itispartofthe"questforcertaintyinanuncertainworld"(Fiskesjo¨2001,55)andisusedtohelporderexperienceandmediatetheunexplainedorunexplainable.
Itisalsoacrucialcomponentofasociety'sideologicalsystem—the"ideas,strategies,tracticsandpracticalsymbolsforpromoting,perpetuatingorchang-ingasocialandculturalorder"(Friedrich1989,301)—andameansbywhichauthorityislegitimizedandmaintained(BainesandYoffee2000;Demarest1989).
Itisasourceofsocialpowerthatcanbeoperationalizedatdifferentlevelsinasocialsystem(DeMarrias,Castillo,andEarle1996;Mann1986).
Socialstatusmaybebasedontherestrictionofaccesstocertaincategoriesofknowledge(Blantonetal.
1996;De-Marrais,Castillo,andEarle1996;Fried1967,26;Giddens1979,188;Inomata2001,332;Lindstro¨m1984;Spielmann1998).
Individualsandgroupsrestrictaccesstoknowledgethroughpracticalmasteryofproceduresthatconstitutecrucialsourcesofauthority(Tedlock2001,195;Bourdieu1977,4).
Theimpactofthispracticalmasteryisoftenstrengthenedbygloricationofthepotencyandsignicanceoftheproducersinpublicdiscourse.
Divinationdemonstratesthispracticalmastery.
Wherethepracticalmasteryitinvolvesiscodiedandin-stitutionalized,ritualspecialistscontrolabodyofknowledgeandasocialstatusthatmaybemonopolizedbyelitesandRowanK.
FladisAssistantProfessorofAnthropologyatHarvardUniversity(11DivinityAve.
,PeabodyMuseum57G,Cambridge,MA02138,U.
S.
A.
[rad@fas.
harvard.
edu]).
Thispaperwassub-mitted7III07andaccepted5X07.
employedasasourceofauthorityandlegitimacy.
Alterna-tively,specialistdivinersmayactoutsideformalhierarchicalstructures,representingadistinctrealmofinformationandpowerthatisseparatefromestablishedsocialinstitutions.
Specialistdivinersasritualspecialiststhusplayavarietyofrolessimilartothoseofcraftspecialistsincomplexsocieties(FladandHruby2007;Hruby2007;Spielmann1998).
Ritualspecialistscanbeclassiedaccordingtothenatureoftheirrelationshipwiththosewhocontrolthealienationoftheproductoftheirlabor(Clark1995;Costin1991;Flad2004;Inomata2001).
Theproduct(or,moreappropriately,service)ofaspecialistdivineristheabilityto"bringtolightandsodispelthequarrelsandgrudgesinthesocialgroup"(Turner1975,475)andtomediateuncertainty.
Divinationisthereforeinherentlyasocialactthathelpsensurethatsocietycancon-tinuetofunction.
Specialistdiviners'practicesarebothin-dividual-andgroup-oriented.
Wheredivinationsinvolveone-on-onenegotiationswithindividuals,divinersactindependently,andthesocialimpactofdivinationisatthelevelofindividualorthesmallgroup.
Whendivinationisconductedonbehalfofagroup,agreaterdegreeofsocialmanipulationandpoliticalacumenisinvolved.
Divinationofthissortisneverindependentofsocialnormsandstructures,andinstronglyhierarchicalsocietiesitisoftentiedtoorevencommissionedbysocialleadersorelites.
Whendivinersareformally"attached"toelites,theircontrolovertheresultsofdivinationisrestrictedandthepoliticalinuenceofdivinationcanbesubstantial.
Divinationthusinvolveshighlychargedsocialandpoliticalacts,andtherefore,whethertheypracticetheircraftindependentlyorinamoresociallyembeddedform,divinersrestrictaccesstotheiractivities.
Onemethodbywhichdivinersrestrictaccesstotheirspe-cializedeldisthroughstructuredelaborationoftheiractiv-404CurrentAnthropologyVolume49,Number3,June2008ities.
Theseproceduresaremoreelaborateandcodiedwheredivinationiscloselytiedtostate-basedstructuresofauthoritybecauseitisonlyinrelativelycentralizedandbureaucratizedcontextsthatelaborateprocedurescanbecomestandardized.
Incontrast,divinationthatisnotcloselyassociatedwithstatepowerwillbeadaptedtolocalconcernsthroughnegotiation,anddifferentbutbroadlysimilardivinationpracticeswillco-exist.
Elaborateproceduresneednotbedevelopedandwilllikelynotbecodied.
Finally,ontheperipheriesofcentralizedsocietiesinwhichdivinationiscriticaltostateinstitutions,practitionersmaynotadhereto(orevencompletelyunder-stand)theproceduresdevelopedbythestatediviners.
Becauseoftheseassociations,asystematicelaborationofdivinationproceduresisexpectedtobeobservedarchaeologicallyonlyincontextsassociatedwithbureaucraticinstitutions.
Weobservethesepatternsethnographicallyinthecaseofthepyro-osteomancyofEastandNortheastAsia,asetofpracticesthatpersistedoveralongperiodoftime,spreadacrossalargearea,andexistedinbothmoreandlesselaborateforms.
Inaddition,extensivearcheologicalevidencefromafter3500BC1duringtheChineseNeolithicandcontinuingthroughtheBronzeAgerevealsasimilarrelationshipbetweenstandardizedandelaboratedivinationpracticesandspecialistpractitionerswhowerelinkedtostateinstitutions.
Theob-servedpatternsallowustoestablishthatdivinationwasacrucialsourceofstatepowerduringthelateShangDynasty,ca.
1250–1046BC,2andvariedbothchronologicallyandgeo-graphicallythroughouttheprehistoricandearlyhistoricperiods.
EthnographicAccountsofPyro-osteomancyOsteomancyistheuseofanimalbonestopredictthefutureorexplaintheunexplainable.
3Animalbonesareconsideredefcaciousforaugurybecauseofthesignicantrolesthatcertainanimalsplayinhumanideologicalandeconomicsys-tems.
Theanimalsinvolvedtendtobethosethatareimpor-tanteconomicallyand/orideologically(Fiskesjo¨2001;YuanandFlad2005).
Theirbonesareinterpretedeitherintheirnaturalstateorafterbeingburnedoralteredinsomeother1.
Alldatesarecalibratedradiocarbondatesunlesstheyrefertohis-toricalerassuchastheZhouDynasty(ca.
1046–256BC).
2.
TheyearoftheZhouconquestwaseither1046or1045,accordingtotheThreeDynastiesProjectandtherecentCambridgeHistoryofAn-cientChina,respectively(seeFalkenhausen2006,7,andShaughnessy1999,23,forbriefdiscussionsandadditionalreferences).
3.
Itispossibleandperhapslikelythat,inadditiontotheosteomancydiscussedhere,otherformsofarchaeologicallyinvisibledivinationwerepracticedinprehistoricChina.
DivinationusingyarrowsticksseemstohavebegunbytherstmillenniumBC(Loewe1981),anddiviningthatreliedonanimalorganssuchasthehepatoscopypracticedinwesternEurasiaandotherregionsmayhavebeenimportantaswell(Jastrow1908;Pardee2000).
way.
Apyromanticanimal-bonedivination4involvesbonesthathavebeenstrippedoftheirmeatbutnotburned.
Pyro-osteomancyinvolvestheinterpretationofthecracksproducedwhenaboneisheated.
Pyro-osteomancyisconductedpri-marilywithanimal(deer,sheep,cattle,andpig)shoulderblades(sometimesknownaspyro-scapulimancy)andtheplastronsofturtles(pyro-plastromancy),5althoughotherbonesaresometimesused.
Ethnographicaccountsofpyro-osteomancyprovideawin-dowintothevariousideologicalandsocialsystemsassociatedwithit.
ThepracticeisknownprimarilyfromthenorthernlatitudesofEurasiaandNorthAmerica,andthedetailedde-scriptionsofmodernorrecent-historicethnographersrevealanapparentrelationshipbetweentheelaborationofpyro-osteomanticproceduresandtheroleofthispracticeintheassociatedsocialpowerstructure.
Forexample,adescriptionofpyromancyamongtheRein-deerChukcheebyVladimirGermanovichBogoraz-Tan(1975,487)depictsarelativelysimpleprocedureadministeredbyanindependentspecialistdiviner:TheReindeerChukcheeusefordivinationonlytheshoul-der-bladeofthedomesticatedreindeer.
Theanimal,inmostcases,iskilledforthisparticularpurpose.
.
.
.
Theboneistakenraw,andthemeatcarefullycleanedfromit.
Thenasmallpieceofburningcoaliskeptclosetoitscenter.
Itisfanned,bymeansofblowingorlightswinging,tilltheboneiscarbonized,andgivestherstcrack.
Aftertheperfor-mance,theburnedplaceisimmediatelybrokenthroughandreducedtocrumbs,buttheboneitselfisaddedtothecommonkitchen-stockusedfortryingtallow.
.
.
.
Usuallyoneverticalcrackisformed,withvariousramicationsaboveandbelow.
.
.
.
AccountsofMongolianscapulimancygenerallyparallelthisdescriptionanddescribeaprocedurethatwasbothspecializedandopentoexibleinterpretationandidiosyncraticvariation.
Forexample,early-twentieth-centuryMongoliandivinationmanualsdiscusstheinterpretationofunscorchedshoulderbladesofsheepandpyromancyincludingscorchingandtheinterpretationofcracks(Bawden1994[1959]).
Thescorchingceremonyinvolveswashingandpurifyingofthebone,in-cantations,andtheplacingoftheboneinare(Bawden1994[1959],120;Ling1934,136).
Cracksondifferentpartsoftheboneportenddifferentfates,andwhenoutcomesarenegativethemanualsuggestsappropriateremedies,usuallysomeformofrecitationorritualact.
Thecoloroftheboneandthelocationsanddirectionsofcracksindicatethegeneralcontentofthedivination.
Whileitmayappearthatamanualofthiskindprovidesanobjectivemeansforcrackinterpretation,4.
ThisterminologyanddiscussionfollowamoredetailedtreatmentoftheseissuedinKeightley(1978a,3–6).
OneformofethnographicallydocumentedapyromanticdivinationinSouthChinauseschickenlegbones.
Sticksareinsertedintheforaminaoftheboneshaftandthepatternsareinterpreted(seeLiYangsong1982andTayanin2000).
5.
Turtlecarapaceswerealsousedoccasionally.
FladDivinationandPower405thisiscertainlynottrue.
Divinerswerespecialistswhowererecognizedassuch.
Theirinterpretationswerebasedonasharedbeliefsystem,butitwastheabilityoftheindividualtomakesenseofthesignsandtonegotiatediviner-clientrelationshipsthatmadeherorhimarespectedmediumforcommunicationwiththespiritworld.
AnaccountofplastromancyincourtJapancompiledbyaShintoscholarcalledBanNobutomoinapproximately1843(Blacker1981)describesagenerallysimilarprocess,buttheadditionalcaretakeninthepreparationofthebonesandthemoreformalprocedureforreadingthecracksreectanin-timaterelationshipbetweenroyaldivinersandabureaucraticsystem(pp.
67–68):Theprocedure.
.
.
wastocutyourturtleshellintoapen-tagonalform,andwithyourchiseltoincisethegureknownasmachiontheback.
Youthenlitatwigofhahakawood,blewonittomakeitredhot,andinsertedtheburningbrandintothegrooves,rstdowntheverticallineandthenalongthehorizontalones.
Youwentondoingthisuntiltherewasaloudreport,afterwhichcracksofaparticularpatternwouldbeseenradiatingfromthecrucialpointsofthegure.
Youthenwithyoursamashidakebamboossprin-kledwateronthecracks,whichyouthen,ontheoutersideoftheshell,blackedwithIndianinksothattheymightbemoreeasilyvisible.
Themachi]comprisesvecrucialpointsfromwhichcrackscanradiate.
.
.
.
Thepossibledirectionsinwhichcrackscanradiate.
.
.
all.
.
.
havenames.
Thereadingofthesecrackstypicallyinvolvedbothpositiveandnegativeresponses.
Fromtheseandother,morerecentethnographicaccounts6weknowthatthisformofpyromancypersistedinEastAsiauntilrecentlyandgetasenseoftherigidlysystematizedpro-tocolsassociatedwithcourt-baseddivination.
Theseproce-duresfosteredthecoherentschoolofdivinationrepresentedbyamanual.
TheMongolianandChuckcheedivinersbothreliedonproceduresthatallowedforagreatdealmorevar-iationintheresult.
EvenintheMongoliancase,inwhichmanualswereprepared,thescopeforinterpretationbydi-vinerswasmuchbroader.
Incontrast,Japanesecourtdivi-nationinvolveddivinerswhonotonlywererecognizedfortheirspecialistpositionsbutalsocollectivelyagreeduponcor-rectproceduresfordivinationandmostlikelyconducteddiv-inationsasagroup.
Insuchcases,"negotiationamongdi-viners"(WinkelmanandPeek2004,19)replacednegotiationbetweendivinersandclients(Wilce2001,193;Tedlock2001,194)asthemostsignicantfactoraffectingtheoutcome.
Interpretationiscriticaltoallknownexamplesofdivina-tion.
Critiquesofthesystem-maintenancemodelusedbyOmarMoore(1969)toexplainNaskapipyromancyandits6.
FordiscussionsofpyromanticdivinationamongtheYiandNaxiofsouthwesternChina,seeGe(1997),Lin(1964),andWangNingsheng(1987).
functionincaribou-huntdecisionmakingarguethatdivi-nationisasocialact"bestdescribedasatoolwhichisma-nipulatedbyindividualsformultifariousreasons,adaptiveornot"(VollweilerandSanchez1983,206).
Divinationcannotbesimplyexplainedawayasarandomizingbehaviorthatservesanadaptivefunction.
Asacomponentofpopularre-ligionandanaidtoeverydaydecisionmaking,divinationislikelytovarysubstantiallyfromonedivinertoanother.
Thepersonalityandcharismaofindependentdivinersareasig-nicantpartoftheeffectivenessoftheirprognostications(WinkelmanandPeek2004,7).
Consequently,thematerialsassociatedwithindependentdivinationsarehighlyvariablefromonecontexttoanother.
Contrastingly,divinationthatisinstitutionalizedaspartofstatedecision-makingprocessesbecomessystematicandstan-dardizedandmayincorporateelaborateproceduresthatre-stricttheabilitytodivine"correctly"tothosewhoshareabodyofesotericknowledge.
Thematerialcorrelatesofstate-sponsoreddivinationshouldthereforeberelativelymoreelab-orateandstandardizedthanthoseofpopulardivination.
InancientChinathiststhesituationoforaclebonedivinationintheLateShangperiod(ca.
1250–1046BC),butinthosecontextswealsoseeevidencethatcontemporariesoftheShangattemptedtoacquirethissourceofpowerbyadoptingandadaptingsimilarprocedures(Fladn.
d.
).
ThisresultedinapatchworkofvaryingdivinationpracticesacrossChinadur-ingtheShang(ca.
1650–1046BC)andZhou(ca.
1046–256BC)periodsandthepersistenceoforacleboneuseinpe-ripheralregionslongafterithadmostlygivenwaytootherformsofdivinationintheCentralPlains—theregionofNorthChinathatistraditionallyconsideredthecoreofChinesecivilization.
TheassemblageoforaclebonesfromBronzeAgeChinathereforeprovidesarichcorpusofmaterialwhichcanbeusedtoexaminetheemergence,consolidation,anddis-seminationofrelateddivinationprocedures.
OracleBonesinAncientChina:ArchaeologicalEvidenceMorethanacenturyhaspassedsince,asthestorygoes,WangYirong(1845–1900)identiedthescratchingsonso-calleddragonbonesasremnantsofChina'searliestknownwriting.
Theassociationofthiswritingwithdivinationcausedtheseartifactstobecalled"oraclebones,"andlargecachesofthemwerediscoveredatYinxu,theLateShangDynastycapitalnearAnyang,Henan,duringAcademiaSinicaexcavationsinthelate1920sandearly1930s(LiChi1977;table1,g.
1).
Inthesubsequent70years,hugestrideshavebeenmadeinthedeciphermentoforacleboneinscriptions.
AlthoughtheoriginsofChinesewritingarestillthesubjectofintensedebate(Bagley2004;Boltz2001;Bottero2004;Keightley1989,2006a;Lietal.
2003;Venture2002a,2002b),thisresearchhasdem-onstratedhowthescriptdevelopedovertime,thestructureofthewrittenlanguage,andthevarietyoftopicsaboutwhichtheShangdivined(Keightley1978a,1988,1997,2000;Qiu406CurrentAnthropologyVolume49,Number3,June2008Table1.
BasicChronologicalSchemefortheLateNeolithicthroughtheBronzeAgeinChinaEraandCentralPlainsCulturePhaseApproximateDatesBCContemporaneousCul-turesMentionedinTextMiddleNeolithic(Yangshao)5000–3000FuheLateNeolithic/Chalcolithic(Longshan)3000–2000Ashan,QijiaEarlyBronzeAgeErlitouI1900–1700LowerXiajiadian,Siba,LuodamiaoErlitouII1700–1610ErlitouIII1610–1550EarlyMiddleBronzeAgeErlitouIV1550–1450LowerErligang1510–1425UpperErligang1425–1300MiddleShang1425–1250Baijiazhuang,HuanbeiLateMiddleBronzeAgePeople'sPark1300–1200LateShangYinxuI–II1250–1200SanxingduiYinxuIII1200–1125YinxuIV1125–1046LateBronzeAgeWesternZhou1046–771WazhadiSpringsandAutumnsPeriod771–476WarringStatesPeriod475–221QingyanggongQin/Han221BC–AD2202000).
Theinscriptionsdemonstratebeyondadoubtthatpy-romancyatYinxu(ca.
1250–1046BC)wasfocusedonmit-igatinguncertaintyandintimatelytiedtotheShangcourtandthatthekingactedasthechiefdivinerinthelatestperiod.
LateShangdivinationwasacrucialsourceofpowerfortheShangroyalhouse,legitimizingthedynastyandplacingthekingandhisdivinersinapositionofunassailableauthorityasthosewithcontrolovertheunknown(Keightley1988).
Accordingtotraditionalhistoriography,theShangstateemergedintheCentralPlainsasthesecondinasuccessionofthreedynastichouses:theXia,theShang,andtheZhou.
Theoracleboneinscriptionsmentionedabovearetheearliestcorpusofcontemporaneoushistoricaldocuments,however,andthehistoricityofthepre-YinxuphasesoftheShang(i.
e.
,pre-ca.
1250BC)andoftheXiaisstillthesubjectofdebate.
Nevertheless,archaeologicalstudiesofsitesthroughouttheCentralPlainshavedemonstratedtheexistenceofhighlycom-plexsocietiesinthisregionfromthethirdmillenniumBC.
Someofthesesocieties,includingthoseassociatedwithEr-litouandthepre-YinxusitesassociatedwithShangculture,mayhavebeenincorporatedintoastate(Bagley1999;LiuLi2005;LiuandChen2003).
BythetimeoftheShangndsaroundAnyang,theShangstatehadenteredthehistoricalera.
OraclebonescholarshipwasconcentratedondivinationintheShangcorebecauseofthecopiousoraclebonendsaroundAnyang.
Inscriptionshavereceivedmuchmoreat-tentionthentheuninscribedoracleboneseventhoughthelattermakeupmorethan90%oftheknownspecimens(Song1999,392).
Afewstudieshaveexaminedtheshapesandpro-ductiontechniquesofthemarksonAnyangoraclebones(Hsu¨1973,1979;ZSKY1983;Yu1981),andtherehavebeensomediscussionsoforacleboneevidencefromregionsoutsidetheShangcore(e.
g.
,Jiang2005;Lee1981a,b,c;Luo1988;LSWG1989;Zhang1996;ZhuandShi2001),butthemostcom-prehensiveattemptstoexaminethegeographicandchro-nologicalbreadthofthistraditioninEastAsiaareout-of-date(LiuYuanlin1984;Yan1978;butseeVenture2002a,192–217,andXie1998forrecenttreatments).
Moreimpor-tant,littleefforthasfocusedonhowarchaeologicalremainsofdivinationmightrelatetothesocialstructureoftheas-sociatedcommunitiesandtheprocessesthatmadethistra-ditionsowidespreadandlong-lasting(Araki1999).
Whenconsideredbroadly,thearchaeologicalremainsoforaclebonedivinationinEastAsiashowdiachronicandspa-tialpatternsthatareconsistentwiththeexpectationthatelab-orateandstandardizeddivinationpracticeswillbeassociatedwithofcial,state-sponsoredaugury.
Lee(1981a,b,c),LiuYuanlin(1984),Yan(1978),andothers(seeKeightley1978a,3,nn.
3,16,23–26)havesummarizedndsthroughtheearly1980s.
HereIsupplementthesediscussionswithrecentdis-coveriesandoutlinethepatternofdevelopmentinthisprac-ticeoverseveralmillennia.
Neolithic–ChalcolithicAmongtheearliestevidenceofpyromancyisasheeporsmalldeerscapulafromFuhegoumeninBalinLeftBanner,InnerFladDivinationandPower407Figure1.
Thelocationsofsitesmentionedinthetext(inalphabeticalorder):Andi(1),Anzhangzi(2),Beicun(3),Beiyingtai(4),Beiyinyang-ying(5),Caoyanzhuang(6),Chengziya(7),Dachengshan(8),Dahe-zhuang(9),Dashanqian(10),Daxinzhuang(11),Donghuishan(12),Dongxiafeng(13),Dongxianxian(6),Dongxing(14),Dongyin(13),Er-ligang(15),Erlitou(16),FamilyResidencesoftheHenanAcademyofChineseMedicine(15),Fangchijie(17),Fengchu(18),Fucheng(19),Fuhegoumen(20),Fujiamen(21),FuqinXiaoqu(17),Ganjinggou(22),Gejiazhuang(6),HuangweihuiQingniangongyu(15),HuiminZhongxue(15),Jiangjunyamen(17),Jingnansi(23),Jiangoucun(4),Kangjia(24),Lianyushan(26),Lijaya(27),Liulihe(28),Liutaizi(29),Maliutuo(30),Maogoudong(31),Meihuaiqiao(23),MinggongLudong(15),Mingyueba(32),Minshanfandian(17),Nanguanwai(15),Nanshangen(33),Pan-longcheng(34),Qingyanggong(17),Qijiacun(35),Quliang(36),Shangpo(37),Shaochai(38),Shijia(39),Shimenzui(26),Taikoucun(40),Taixi(41),Taosi(42),Xiajiadian(43),Xianglushi(44),Xiaojialing(45),Xiaoshuangqiao(15),Xiaozhao(46),Xiapanwang(47),Xiawanggang(48),Xinzhongji(49),YanshiShangcheng(16),Yangbai(50),Yangtouwa(51),Yaowangmiao(25),Yinjiacheng(52),Yinxu(53),YuanquGucheng(46),Zhaizita(54),Zhihuijie(17),Zhiwushan(55),Zhizhushan(56),Zhongba(22),Zhouliangyuqiao(57),Zhukaigou(58),Zhumazui(59).
Sitesnumbered6areinXingtaiCity,thosenumbered15areinZhengzhouCity,andthosenumbered17areinChengduCity.
408CurrentAnthropologyVolume49,Number3,June2008Figure2.
RepresentativedivinationremainsandtheirsourcesfromselectNeolithicandChalcolithiccontexts.
A,divinationscapulafromFuhe-goumeninBalinLeftBanner,InnerMongolia(afterZSKYNG1964,pl.
1);B,Longshan-periodoraclebonefromKangjia(afterSSKYKK1988,225);C,pigscapulausedindivinationfromLongshanlevelsatXichuanXiawanggang(afterHSWYandCLGBKHF1989,263).
Mongolia7(ZSKYNG1964;g.
2,A).
Thisscapulahasnu-merousintentionalburnmarksonitsdistalbladeandisdatedfromasinglesampleofcarbonizedbirchbarkfromacon-temporaneousfeature(F30)to3321179calBC(seetable2)8.
ThisisoneofseveralexamplesofLateNeolithicsca-pulimancyfromChina'sNorthernZone.
OtherscomefromZhaizitainJungarBanner,InnerMongolia,andFujiameninWushan,Gansu(NWKY1997;Venture2002a,196;2002b;Xie1998).
Tothesouth,asheepscapulaoraclebonewasdiscoveredatXiawanggang,inXichuan,Henan,fromaLateYangshaocontext9(HSWYandCLGBKHF1989,200).
Despite7.
Strangely,sometimessaidtobelocatedinLiaoningProvince(see,e.
g.
,Lee1981a,46,andKeightley1978a,4,n.
3).
8.
Theuncalibrateddateforthissampleis460011014CyrBP,althoughanuncalibrateddateof4735110isoftengiven.
Thisisbasedonthe"true"or"Cambridge"half-lifeof5,730years,whereasconventioncallsforusingtheLibbyhalf-lifeof5,568years.
Usingthe"true"un-calibrateddatewouldproduceadateof3505118calBC.
9.
TheYangshaoculturedatestoca.
5000–3000BC.
ThedatingofthisphaseatXiawanggang,however,isimprecise,anditispossiblethatthecontextfromwhichthebonescomeshouldbeconsideredLongshan(i.
e.
,ca.
3000–2000BC)indate(Venture2002a,196,n.
20;Araki1999,258).
thesefewearlyexamples,pyromancyreallytakesholdonlyinthelatterhalfofthethirdmillenniumBC.
Duringthisperiodchangesinburialpractices,buildingtechniques,sitesize,settlementpatterns,productionpractices,andpersonalornamentationandthebeginningofbronzeuseallsuggestawidespreadtransitiontoorganizationallycomplexsocialgroupsduringtheincreasinglyinteractiveLongshanoidho-rizon(Chang1986;LiuLi1996,2005;Shao2000;Underhill1992,1996,1997).
ScapulimancyremainsidentiedatLongshansitesttheexpectedpatternforadhocdivinationbyindependent,itin-erantdivinerssuchasthosedocumentedamongtheChuck-chee.
ThosefromKangjiainLintong,Shaanxi,arerepresen-tative.
Excavationsovertwoseasonsrecoveredatleast20deer,pig,andsheepscapulaeusedinpyromancyfromLongshandepositspredating2700BC(table2;SSKYKK1988,226;1992,22).
TheseoraclebonesarethereforerelativelyearlyintheLongshanhorizon,buttheysharethegeneralcharacteristicsofthebulkoftheLongshanoraclebonesfromthelatterhalfofthethirdmillennium.
Bonesurfaceswerenotpretreated,andnodrillholesorchiselmarksweremadepriortoburning(g.
2,B).
Divinationmarks,thelocalizedscorchingcausedFladDivinationandPower409Table2.
RadiocarbonDatesUsedtoEstablishtheChronologyandDateRangesCitedSite/CulturePhaseUncalibratedDateBP(5,568half-life)CalibratedDateBCLaboratoryNo.
Fuhegoumen4,6001103321179Kangjia4,115752709120BK-91040Kangjia4,130802716119BK-91039Yangbai3,750702172109ZK-2255Yangbai3,53070186791ZK-2256Yangbai3,46070178689ZK-S2254Dahezhuang3,570951924131ZK-15Dahezhuang3,540951887123ZK-23ErlitouI(early)3,45730179959ZK-5261ErlitouI(late)3,39133169141ZK-5262ErlitouII(early)3,47037180856ZK-5264ErlitouII(late)3,29435157542ZK-5236ErlitouIII(early)3,39639169446ZK-5268ErlitouIII(late)3,27239155747ZK-5247ErlitouIV(early)3,35540163959ZK-5255ErlitouIV(late)3,27032155643ZK-5242aZhukaigouII3,32070160676BK-80028Zhukaigou3,22070150977WB84-76Zhukaigou3,19085146997WB84-77Zhukaigou3,42070173498WB84-78LowerErligang(early)3,26135154848ZK-5371LowerErligang(late)3,11155137760ZK-5377LateLuodamiao(early)3,33336161556ZK-5379LateLuodamiao(late)3,16438145233ZK-5378UpperErligang(early)3,14035142530XSZ-145UpperErligang(late)3,03038130165ZK-5372Panlongcheng151070BA-97078Xianglushi63,29080158489Note:Calibrateddateshavebeenrecalibratedusingthecalibrationcurvesofquickcal2005,version1.
4.
bytargetedpyromancy,arescatteredhaphazardlyonthebones.
OtherLongshanoidcontextshavesimilarremains,includ-ingsitesaswidelydispersedasYangtouwa,inDalian,Liaoning(ca.
2500BC),LateLongshansitesinHebeiincludingDa-chengshaninTangshan,XiapanwanginCiXian,JiangoucuninHandan,TaikoucuninYongnian,andCaoyanzhuanginXingtai,andtheShandongsitesofChengziyainLichengandXinzhongjiinCaoXian(Lee1981a,47–51).
Recentexcava-tionsprovidesimilarexamplesfromthelatephaseatYangbaiinWutai,Shanxi(ca.
2000BC;seetable2;SDLKZ,XDWG,andWXB1997,342),TaosiinXiangfen,Shanxi(ZSKYSandSLXW2003),ShangpoinXiping,Henan(HSWKY,ZSWG,andXXWG2004,303),theSiba-culture(ca.
1900–1500BC)siteofDonghuishaninMinle,andtheQijia-culture(ca.
2200–1800BC)siteofDahezhuanginYongjing,Gansu,instratadatedca.
1900BC(table2)(GSWKY1995,1062;GSWKYandJDBKY1998,25;ZKKYGG1974),andtheLong-shanstrataatXiawanggangpreviouslymentionedasthesourceofapossibleYangshao-eraoraclebone(HSWYandCLGBKHF1989,263).
ThemostcompleteisthebladeofapigscapulafromXiawanggang(T15[3]:42)withatleastsevenscattereddivinationmarks(g.
2,C).
Theoraclebonesfromthesesitesarescapulaeofcattle,pig,sheep,anddeerburnedwithoutpretreatment.
Asbronze-usingsocietiescoalescedintolargerandmoreintegratedgroupsduringthesecondmillennium,divinationstartedtotakeongreatersocialandpoliticalimportance.
DuringthisBronzeAgeweseeagradualshifttowardelab-orate,systematic,standardizeddivinationpractices.
EarlyBronzeAgeEarlyBronzeAgescapulimancydevelopedpatternsbegunintheLongshanperiod.
Whileotherlinesofevidencesuggestthatpoliticalcomplexityincreasessignicantlyatthistime,theemergenceofelaboratedivinationproceduresisgradualandhaphazard.
Trendstowardelaborationbecomemostpro-nouncedintheCentralPlains,buttheearliestsitestocontainoracleboneswithnoteworthypretreatmentareassociatedwiththeLowerXiajiadianculture(ca.
2000–1500BC)intheNortheast,theregioninwhichtheearliestoracleboneswerefound(Lee1981b;Venture2002a,197).
SeveralLowerXia-jiadiansitesinInnerMongoliaandLiaoning,includingNan-shangeninNingchengandZhizhushan,Yaowangmiao,andXiajiadianitselfintheChifengarea,haveyieldedpigscapulaeandotherpyromancybones(Lee1981b,41–46).
Diviners410CurrentAnthropologyVolume49,Number3,June2008Figure3.
RepresentativedivinationremainsandtheirsourcesfromselectEarlyBronzeAgecontexts.
A,oraclebonewithdensesetofdrilledhollowsfromDashanqian(afterZSKY,NZWKYCK,andJDK1998,816);B,cattlescapulawithdivinationhollowsfromShaochaiinGongXian,Henan(afterHSWY1993b,28).
drilledhollowsintothebonespriortoburningtofacilitateandcontrolcracking.
Likewise,excavationsin1996atDas-hanqian,HarqinBanner,InnerMongolia,recoveredafeworaclebonesfromLowerXiajiadiancontexts,allofwhichweredrilledbeforeburning(ZSKY,NZWKYCK,andJDK1998,816).
Oneexampleisascapulashaftwith37denselycrowdeddrillholesofdifferentsizes(g.
3,A).
DivinersattherelativelycontemporaneousErlitou-culture(ca.
1900–1500BC)sitesoftheCentralPlainsonlygraduallyanderraticallyadoptedsuchprocedures,buteventuallythedrillingofhollowstookholdthereaswell.
Forexample,atErlitou,inYanshi,Henan,divinationintheLongshantra-ditionpersistedthroughouttheEarlyBronzeAge.
DuringtherstoffourErlitou-culturephases(ca.
1900–1700BC10),or-aclebonesincludecattle,sheep,andpigscapulae(ZSKY1999,387;2003,70).
Thesewereburnedontheat,medialsurfaceandhavecircularandovalmarksofvarioussizes.
Noneofthemweredrilledorchiseledbeforeburning.
InphaseII(1700–1610BC),duringwhichhousesizesbecamemoredif-ferentiated,rammed-earthconstructionbegan,andbronzecastingtookhold,thedepositscontainrelativelymoreoraclebones,includingcattle,sheep,andpigscapulae(ZSKY1999,121).
Thesewerestillburneddirectlyandnotdrilledorchis-eled.
Themarksareallonthemedialsideofthebladeandvaryinsizeandshape.
PhaseIII(1610–1550BC)witnessedtheemergenceofpalaces,threesizesofhouses,andthreesizesoftombs,allofwhichindicateasubstantialincreaseinsocialstratication(pp.
238–39).
Manyarchaeologistsarguethatastatesocietyhaddevelopedbythispointifnotearlier(LiuLi2005;LiuandChen2003).
Thenumberoforaclebonesincreasesagain,althoughmostspecimensarefragmentary.
Theyonceagaincomefromcattle,pigs,andsheepandareburneddirectlyontheirmedialsurfaceswithoutdrillingorchiseling.
Finally,ErlitouphaseIV(1550–1450BC)levelscontainlargepalaces,medium-sizedandsmalltombs,andkilns,andoraclebonesremainsimilartothoseofthepreviousperiods.
Divinersusedcattle,sheep,andpigscapulaeandburnedthebonesdirectlywithoutpretreatment,andtheplacement,size,andshapeofthedivinationmarkswereinconsistentandun-systematic.
Eventhelatestoraclebonesfromthesite,whichcomefromthesubsequentLowerErliganglevelsoftheEarlyShangera,continuethesamegeneralpattern.
ScapulimancyatErlitoudoesnotseemtohavebeenasignicantstate-10.
Theradiocarbondatesusedtoestablishthistimespanconstituteaportionofalongseriesofdatesfromstratigraphically(andstylistically)sequentialcontexts(ZhangandQiu2005,384).
ThesequenceofdateshasbeenusedbymembersoftheThreeDynastiesProjecttoreducetheprobabilityrangesthrougha"wigglematch"procedure.
"Wigglematch-ing"involvesrelyingonrelativechronologytoeliminateportionsoftheprobabilitycurvegeneratedbythecalibrationofradiocarbondates.
ThedaterangesgivenhereforeachphaseoftheErlitoucultureandforthesubsequentphasesoftheEarlyShangperiodarethereforenarrowerthanthepotentialrangessuggestedbytheradiocarbondatesalone.
sponsoredactivitydespitetheevidenceforahighlypoliticallycomplexsocietyatthesite.
SeveralsitesshowvariabilityinErlitou-culturedivination.
Xiawanggang,forexample,yieldedasingleoracleboneinErlitoulevels,apigscapula(H245:2)thatwasburneddirectlywithoutpretreatment(HSWYandCLGBKHF1989,306).
SimilarheterogeneityisfoundatXiaozhaoinYuanqu,Shanxi(ZSKYSG2001,222),andShaochaiinGongXian,Henan(HSWY1993b,21),whereseveralcattlescapulafragmentsinErlitou-phase-IIIcontextsweredrilledpriortoburning—evi-denceofanincreasedlevelofelaborationandlaborinvest-mentindiviningprocedures(g.
3,B).
DivinerselsewhereinthevicinityofYanshi(i.
e.
,nearErlitou)alsobegantopretreatoraclebonespriortoburningduringtheErlitouperiod.
Forexample,atanothersiteinYuanqunamedGucheng,Erlitoulevelscontainavarietyoforaclebones,includingsomepre-treatedspecimens(ZLBK,SSKY,andYXB1996,153;ZLBKandSSKY1997a,15).
Fartheraeld,heterogeneitycontinuestoprevail,withini-tialstepstowardmorecomplexpretreatment.
Tothewest,FladDivinationandPower411thetransitiontowardpretreatmentduringtheErlitouperiodisobservedinafour-phasesequenceatDongxiafengXiaXian(ZSKY,ZLB,andSSKY1988,28,49,147),forexample,whiletotheeastthecontemporaneousYueshi-culture(ca.
2000–1600BC)siteofShijiainHuantaicontainsonlyun-modiedsheepscapulae(ZSW,ZSB,andHXWG1997).
Tothenorth,Erlitou-periodlevelsatthesiteofZhukaigouinEjinHoroBanner,InnerMongolia,includeasignicantnum-berandunusualvarietyoforaclebones(table2;Huang1996;Linduff1995;NWKY1988;ZSKY1991,60).
The51bonesincludenotonlyscapulaeofcattle(32),deer(11),pig(4),andsheep(2)butalsoacamelandabearscapula.
Somewerepretreatedandhadtheirspinesremovedandholesdrilledinthembeforeburning.
ThenextchronologicalphaseoftheBronzeAge,theShang,sawmorefrequentbutnotuniversaladoptionofmorecomplexdivinationprocedures.
ShangBytheendoftheShangera,mostoracleboneswerepretreatedinhighlystandardizedways.
Cattlebonesincreasinglybecamethemainmediumfordivinationandeventuallywerejoinedbyturtle-shellfragmentsasthemostcommontypesoforaclebones.
ThechangesareseentodifferentdegreesatsitesthroughouttheCentralPlains.
EarlytoMiddleShangsitesdisplaypretreatmentoforaclebonesbutlittlestandardizationofprocedures.
AttheShangwalledsiteatYanshi(YanshiShangcheng),northeastofEr-litou,forexample,wendonlytracesofmoreelaboratediv-inationproceduresinEarlyShangremains.
Thesitedatestoca.
1600–1400BC(ZSKY2003,218),itsearlierremainsover-lappingwithErlitouphasesIIIandIV,anditcontainsnu-merousoraclebones—mostlysheepscapulaethatwereburneddirectlyandnotpretreated(ZKYLHWGG1984;ZSKYHDEG1995).
Afewpretreatedcattlescapulaehavealsobeenfoundatthesite(ZSKYHDEG1999).
ExcavationsinthecityofZhengzhoushowclearerevidenceofincreasinguseofcattlebonesandincreasingelaborationintheremainsfromErligang,thetype-sitefortheEarlyShangculture.
Herecattlescapulaearethemostcommontypeofdivinationbone,al-thoughpigandsheepscapulaearealsoused,asareafewdeeranddogscapulae,cattlelimbbones,andturtle-shellfragments(HSWWG1959,37).
IntheLowerErligangphase(ca.
1510–1425BC),sheep,pig,deer,anddogoraclebonesarefound,andtheyareusuallynotpretreated(HSWKY2001,175;2003,11).
ThispatternisconsistentatmanylocalitiesintheZhengzhouarea.
ExamplesfromaroundZhengzhouincludethosefromthepre-ErligangLateLuodamiaoculture(ca.
1680–1510BC),theslightlylaterLowerErligangphaseatHuangweihuiQingniangongyu(HSWY1993c,207,214),theLowerErliganglevelsatHuiminZhongxue(HSWY1993a,115),Erligangitself(HSWWG1959,37),theFamilyResi-dencesoftheHenanAcademyofChineseMedicinesite(HSWY1993a,131),andLowerandUpperErligangcontextsatMinggongLudong(ZSWKY2002,819,823).
Thevoluminousreportonthesesites(HSWKY2001)dem-onstratesthatsomeoracleboneswerealreadybeingpretreatedduringearlyphasesofactivityintheZhengzhouregion.
Forexample,acattlescapulafragmentatNanguanwaiinlevelsdatingtotheLuodamiaoculture(1680–1510BC)wassplitanddrilledbeforeuse(ZSWKY2002,136;g.
4,A).
Acon-temporaryturtleplastronfragment(CST85[4]:123),oneoftheearliestexamplesoftheuseofturtleshellinpyromancy,wasnotalteredordrilledbeforeburning.
NanguanwaiinZhengzhoucontainsthelargestcollectionoforaclebonesfromanysiteintheregion;LowerErligangcontextsincluded106specimensandUpperErligangcontexts111.
Mostoftheformerwereunmodied(ZSWKY2002,681–82),whilethelatterincludedmanymorespecimensthatwerebothattenedanddrilledpriortoburning(pp.
834–36).
Scapulaefromcattle,pig,sheep,anddeerwereused.
Mostcattlescapulaeandall37turtleplastronfragmentsweredrilledpriortoburn-ing,whereasthevastmajorityofthebonesofothertaxawereburneddirectly.
ThediscoveryofabronzedrillatErligangprovidestheearliestevidenceofthetoolsusedinthepre-treatmentprocess(HSWWG1959,37;Lee1981b,51;LiuYuanlin1984,263).
Thedrillmarksonthecattlescapulaeandturtleplastronsfromthisphaseareallsinglecircularholesthatcouldhavebeenmadewithsuchadrill.
Duringthenextperiod,thePeople'sParkphase(ca.
1300–1200BC),anewtechniqueforproducinghollowswasintroduced.
Inadditiontosplitcattlescapulaewithcirculardrilledhollows(HSWKY2001,926,948),weseeexamplesatMingongLudongofturtle-shellfragments(oneplastronandonecarapace)markedwithparallelrowsofmarks(g.
4,B;ZSWKY2002,827).
SimilarlymodiedturtleplastronswerediscoveredatthePeople'sParksiteitself(HSWKY2001,926).
These"double"marksconsistofashallow,circulardrilled(orchiseled)hollowwithalong,deepchiseledgrooveat-tachedtothesideofit.
Whentheshallowhollowwasburned,itproducedacrackalongthelengthofthechiseledgrooveandasecondcrackextendingunderneaththehollow.
ThispretreatmentmethodbecamestandardintheLateShang.
ItsoccurrenceinthePeople'sParkphaseinZhengzhoumaymarkachangeinthesignicanceofdivination,perhapsasitbecameinvolvedinShangpoliticsasasourceofpowerfortherulingelite.
Themethodofdivinationdidnotchangeeverywhereorinstantaneously,however.
OraclebonesdiscoveredattheBai-jiazhuang-culture-phase(ca.
1400–1250BC)MiddleShangsiteofXiaoshuangqiaojustnorthwestofZhengzhouconsistoffragmentsofsheepscapulae,mostofwhichwerenotpre-treated(HSWKYandJDK1996,50),althoughonespecimen(90ZSX:150)mayhavehadholesdrilledbeforeburning(HSWY1993d,248).
SimilarpatternsatFuchenginJiaozuo,Henan,demonstrateahighdegreeofvariabilityindivinationatthistime(YuanandQin2000,532).
Thereappearstobesomecorrelationatthistimebetweenanimaltaxaandpretreatmentprocedures.
AtsitessuchasShaochaicattlescapulaewereextensivelymodiedwhile412CurrentAnthropologyVolume49,Number3,June2008Figure4.
RepresentativedivinationremainsandtheirsourcesfromselectMiddleBronzeAge(Shang-era)contexts.
Scalesprovidedwhereavailable.
A,cattlescapulaandturtleplastronusedasoraclebonesatNanguanwai(afterHSWKY2001,136);B,turtleplastronfragment(T1[2]:5)andcarapacefragment(H2:14)withdoubledivinationmarksfromPeople'sParkphase(periodIII)ofErliganginZhengzhou(afterZSWKY2002,827);C,cattlescapula(XiaotunSouth2163)andturtleplastron(91T1[5]:15)oraclebonesfromYinxuatAnyangwithdoubledivinationmarks(afterLiuYiman1997);D,oracleboneswithtriple-drilldivinationmarksfromYinjiachenginSichui,Shandong(afterSDLKJ1990,252,277);E,divinationplastronfragmentsfromXianglushi(afterHSQGK1995,25).
sheepscapulaewerenot(HSWY1993b,40).
Thissuggeststhatalthoughcattlescapulaeweremoredifculttoburnbe-causeoftheirrobusticity,theirimportanceinritualsandsac-ricejustiedtheextraeffort.
Theelaborationinvestedindivinationusingcattlebonesmarkedthebeginningsofanimportantdistinctionwithinthepracticeofpyromancy.
Dur-ingtheEarlyShangperiod,cattlebones,whichwerepre-treatedinaparticularway,mayhavebeenaccordedhigherstatusandconsideredthepurviewofaparticulargroupofdivinersoratleastusedfordistinctivepurposes.
InlevelIIatShaochai(theearliestphaseatthesitethatincludesoraclebones)cattlescapulafragmentswerenotpretreated,butpre-treatmentemergedduringErlitouphaseIII.
OthersitesaroundZhengzhourepeatthesepatterns,al-thoughtherewasagreatdealofvariationduringtheLowerErligangphase.
QulianginXinmi,Henan,forexample,hasevidenceofheterogeneousdivinationpracticeswithincipientelaboration(BDKWX2003).
Tothewestandnorth,theEr-liganglevelsatGuchenginYuanqudemonstratesimilartrends(ZLBK,SSKY,andYXB1996,204–5,241–42;ZLBKandSSKY1997a,24–26;1997b).
NearbyDongyininXiaXian,Shanxi,containsmodiedcattlescapulaoracleboneswithcirculardrilledhollowsofvaryingsizeanddepthinUpperErligangcontexts(SSKYandXXB2001).
SitesoutsidetheCentralPlainsfurthershowthatdivinationwasheterogeneousthroughoutthisperiodinotherregionsaswelldespitethetrendtowardelaboration.
TothenorthinHebei,severalsitesfromtheEarlyShangperiodcontainoraclebones,includingBeiyingtaiinHandan,withsevenEarlyShangcattleandpigscapulafragments(HSWY,HSWG,andFWG2001,141),GejiazhuanginXingtai,withErligang-perioddrilledcattlescapulae(HSWY2000,981),andTaixiinGao-cheng,withahighdegreeofvariationamong494oraclebones(mostlycattle,pig,andturtle)fromErligang-erapitsandburials(HSWY1985;LiandTang1982).
Tothewest,inYaoXian,Shaanxi,oraclebonesinEarlyFladDivinationandPower413ShanglevelsatBeicunarecattlescapulafragmentsthatwerecutinhalfthroughtheshaft,polished,anddrilledbeforeburning.
Thehollowsarecircularwithroundedbasesandlackattendantchiselmarks(SSKYSZSandBDKSZS1988,14).
Fartothesouth,theimportantErligang-phasewalledsiteatPanlongchenginHuangpi,Hubei,containsseveraldrilledcat-tlescapulaeinperiodVandVII11contexts(HSWKY2001,135,296).
Somearefoundinpitsandothers,suchasthespecimenPWZT82H7:13,foundinsideabronzejuevessel,inmoreunusualcontexts.
ThesespecimensttheUpperErligangpattern,but,asVenture(2002a,199)haspointedout,theirsmallnumberssuggestthatpyromancydidnotplayasignicantroleintheexpansiveShangstateduringtheErligangperiod.
TheheterogeneityofmediaandpracticeexhibitedbytheoraclebonesfromtheEarlyShangerasuggestthatpyro-osteomancywasnotyetaparticularlyimportantsourceofpowerfortheShangrulersofthetime.
ItwasonlyintheLateShangerathatthispracticebecameacriticalcomponentofpoliticalactivity.
IntheLateShangerathereisevidenceforsystematized,state-controlleddivinationinvolvingprimarilyscapulaeofdo-mesticatedcattleandplastronsofturtles.
Othertaxausedearlierwerenolongeremployed,eventhoughdeer,forex-ample,continuedtobecapturedinlargenumbersbyShanghunters,sometimesinhighlypoliticizedandritualizedcon-texts(Fiskesjo¨2001,53).
Turtleshellinparticularbecameanincreasinglysignicantmedium,andinscriptionsdocumentitsacquisitionfromafliatedpolitiesastribute(Chang1975,217;1980,236;Hu1945,35).
ThevastmajorityoforaclebonesfromthisperiodcomefromsitesinandaroundthecityofAnyang.
Duringthisperiodthedoublemarkwasrmlyinstitutionalized(g.
4,C).
Thedeepelongatedgrooveas-sociatedwiththismarkbecamemoreoval(Hsu¨1973,1979)andoftenhadacircularorngernail-shapedhollowonitsshoulder.
Thisattendanthollowwasdrilledinsomecases,chiseledinothers,andoftentheresultofchippingorakingawayoftheboneinanareathatwasburneddirectly.
Thedouble-hollowprinciplepervadestheLateShangeraandpointstoaninstitutionalizedandpoliticallychargedactivity(LiuYiman1997).
Thisprocedurewasusedbydivinersem-ployedbytheroyalcourt,manyofwhomwerenamedinoracleboneinscriptions(Jao1959).
DivinationatAnyangandotherShangsiteswasnot,how-ever,restrictedtothekingandhisentourage.
Venture(2002a,203–8)identiesthreecategoriesofindividualsinvolvedindivinationusingbones:thegroupofnameddivinersasso-ciatedwiththeking,divinerswhoworkedwithorforthe11.
ThroughceramicseriationandcorrelationthesetwophaseshavebeendatedtothelatepartoftherstsubphaseofUpperErligangandthelatepartofthesecondsubphaseofUpperErligangrespectively.
Intermsofabsolutedates,thatwouldputthesetwocontextsinthe1400–1300BCrange,althoughaslightlyearlierabsolutedateforphaseVissuggestedbytheoneAMSradiocarbondatefromthisphase,whichisprovidedasacalibrateddateinthepublicationandthereforenotrecalibratedintable2(HSWKY2001,444).
nobles,anddivinerswhoservedthepublic'sneedforprog-nostication.
Archaeologically,thisdifferenceismanifestnotonlyinthepresenceorabsenceofinscriptionsbutalsointhedegreeofelaborationinvolvedinthepreparationofthebones.
WhereasthebonesusedintheShangcourtorbyroyaldivinerswerecarefullythinnedandpolishedandcontainedsymmetricallinesofpaireddivinationhollowsandattendantchiselmarks,thoseusedbynoblesandpresumablythoseusedbydivinersattendingtotheneedsofthepublicwerelesscarefullyprepared.
Examplesoforaclebonesassociatedwithpopulardivinationincludethosewithrudimentaryprepara-tionfoundoutsideofthepalaceareasatXiaotunandperhapsthosediscoveredinassociationwiththebronzefoundryatMiaopuNorth(LiuYiman1997,60),althoughthefoundrydivinationmayhavebeenroyalratherthanpopularinori-entation(Venture2002a,207).
Thecoexistenceofmultipleritualsystemsormultiplever-sionsofaritualsysteminasinglesocietyandtheirassociationwithdifferentsocialstrataarenotuniquetothiscontext.
Historicalexamplesabound,andarchaeologicalexamplesareknownaswell.
Forinstance,intheLateClassicNacoValleyofsouthernMesoamerica,atleasttwosystemscoexistedandwerelinkedtodifferentstatusgroups(UrbanandSchortman1999,135).
Onedevelopedlocallyoveralongperiodoftimewhileasecond,moreelaborateoneseemstohavebeenmo-nopolizedbythoseinpower.
"Controloverthesereligiouspracticesmayhavehelpedlegitimizeclaimstopoliticalpre-eminencebyonefactioninthe.
.
.
polity"(p.
136).
AsimilarargumentcanbemadefortheuseoforaclebonedivinationatYinxu.
Acodiedversionofthepracticewasonecom-ponentofanelaborateritualsystemthatexpressedtheex-clusivenessoftheShangeliteandtheirmonopolyofanim-portantformofritualknowledge.
YinxuisbynomeanstheonlyLateShang-erasitecon-tainingoraclebones.
DaxinzhuanginJi'nan,forexample,hasoneofthemostsignicantShang-periodcollectionsoutsideofAnyang(SDLKZ,SSWKY,andJSB1995;SDL1995).
Spec-imenswerediscoveredinallphasesofactivity,andtheyshowstrongsimilaritiestothosefromtheShangcore.
Theanalystsdividetheassemblageintovestages.
InstageIonlymammalscapulae,includingdeer,pig,andsheep,wereused.
Thespineonthescapulawasremovedandsmallcirculardivinationhollowsweredrilled.
StageIIuseddeer,sheep,andcattlescapulae,andtheyweresmallandthinned,withlargecircularhollowsdrilledintheirblades.
ThesetwocorrespondwithphasesI–IIIoftheShangremainsatthesite,which,inturn,correspondtotheUpperErligang–MiddleShangpre-YinxuphasesoftheShangera(i.
e.
,ca.
1425–1250BC12).
StageIIIwasthersttoincludeturtleshell—mostlyplastronsbutalsosomecarapaces.
Scapulaestilldominated,however,andtheyweremostlyfromcattle.
Thedrilledturtle-shellfragmentsalsohadchiseledhollowsontheedgesofthedrillmarks.
12.
AlltheDaxinzhuangdatesareestimatedonthebasisofthecor-respondenceofthematerialculturewiththatofothersites.
Nopublishedradiocarbondatesareavailabletocomparewiththisproposedsequence.
414CurrentAnthropologyVolume49,Number3,June2008ThisdocumentsashifttoamoreelaborateprocedurethatcharacterizesthepeakoforaclebonedivinationduringtheYinxuphaseoftheShang.
DuringstageIV,turtleplastronsweremostcommonandcattlescapulaemadeupmostoftherest.
Thescapulaewerepainstakinglyprepared—theirspineswereremovedandthebonespolishedpriortodivination.
Largedrillholescombinedwithchiseledhollowsarefoundonallofthem.
Thechiselmarkscomeinseveraldifferentshapes.
Onlyaveryfewspecimenshaveonlyadrillmarkoronlyachiselmark.
InstageValmostalltheoraclebonesareturtleplastrons,andmoreofthemcontainonlychiselmarksthanpreviously.
Divinersnolongerrigorouslyfollowedasys-tematicdivinationprogramastheyseemtohavedoneinearlierstages.
ThesethreestagescorrespondwiththeShangphasesIV–VII.
Elsewhereintheeast,LateShangremainsatBeiyinyangyinginNanjing(NB1993)andYinjiachenginSishui(SDLKJ1990)lackevidenceofelaboratedivinationprocedures,butseveralspecimensatthelattersitehavecombinationsofthreecirculardrillmarks(g.
4,D).
Althoughone(T192[6]:17)issaidtodatetotheShangeraandanother(H171:5)totheZhou,theyareprobablybothShangindate,andthecurioustripledrillmarkmaybeanexampleofanattempttoappropriatetheShangdivinationprocessbylocaldivinerswhowereawareofbutnottrainedinit.
OntheothersideoftheCentralPlains,severalLateShang-erasitesinShaanxicontainoraclebonessimilartothoseinUpperErligangcontexts.
TheseincludeBeicun(SSKYSZSandBDKSZS1988),ZhumazuiinLiquan(BDKSZandSSKY2000),LijiayainQingjian(ZhangandLu1988,53),andAndiinWugong(SSKY1993,21).
OnlyintheearlyWesternZhouperioddidoraclebonesinthisregionadoptsomeaspectsofLateShangpractice.
ThepersistenceofearliertraditionsinShaanxisuggeststhatdivinationwasnotascloselytiedtotheemergingstateapparatusasitwasintheCentralPlains.
Inthesouth,theemergenceoforaclebonedivinationin-volvedcreativeadaptation.
Forexample,atXianglushi,ontheQingjiangRivernearYichang,Hubei,threelevelscontainedcollectionsoforaclebones(HSQGK1995).
Theearliest,con-temporarywiththeEarlyShang,islevel6,whichyieldedthreeturtleplastronfragmentswithovalchiselmarkscontainingchiseledlines(g.
4,E;table2).
Thesecondislevel5,fromtheMiddle–LateShangperiod,containing13oraclebones:12turtleshellsand1shoperculumfragment.
Allhavedrillmarks(someoval,somerectangular),andtwohavechisellineswithinthehollowsparalleltotheirlength.
Finally,level4atthesiteisTerminalShangorWesternZhou(i.
e.
,mid-eleventh-centuryBC)indateandcontains17excavatedex-amplesand7similarspecimensfromthesurface.
Fiveareturtle-shellfragmentswhiletheother19areshopercula.
Allaremarkedwithrectangularhollowsexceptonethathasovalones.
Thefrequencyofshoraclebonesatthissiteispar-ticularlyinteresting,althoughnotunique(Jiang2005).
OthersitesintheMiddleYangzi,includingMeihuaiqiaoinJianglingandZhouliangyuqiaoinShashi,containmostlyturtleshellsamongthedivinationremains(He1991).
Similarly,turtleshells,primarilyplastrons,arethemainmediumforpyro-mancyintheChengduregioninSichuanduringtheShangandZhoueras(Luo1988).
TheearliestexamplesareShang-periodremainsfromlevel5atFangchijieinChengdu,as-sociatedwiththeSanxingduiculture(CSBKandCSWKY2003).
InbetweentheMiddleYangziregionaroundXianglushiandtheUpperYangzisitesnearChengduliestheThreeGorgessectionoftheYangziRiver,whereadditionalShang-andZhou-periodoracleboneshavebeendiscoveredduringthepastdecade.
Zhongba,aprehistoricsaltproductionsiteinZhongXian,Chongqing,containstheearliestevidenceofpyromancyfromthisregion(Chen2004;Flad2004,2007;Fladetal.
2005;SSWKYandZWBG2001;Sun2003a,2003b).
Thesite'sstratigraphyisdividedintothreephases:phaseIdatestoapproximately2500–1750BC,phaseIItoca.
1630–1210BC,andphaseIIItoca.
1100–200BC(Flad2005,234;Wuetal.
2007).
AsmallburnedplastronfragmentfromphaseIIistheearliestoftheseoraclebones,andtheybecomemorecommoninthecourseofphaseIII.
Zhou,Qin,andHanThesoutherndivinationremainsjustmentionedsupportapointmadebyLiLing(2000,223),whocommentsthatal-thoughtheoraclebonendsdatingtotheWesternZhou(ca.
1046–771BC)arenotasnumerousasthosefromtheShang,theyaremorewidespreadandarefoundintheregionsofallthehistoricallyimportantZhoucapitalsandthevariousen-feoffedstates(suchasJin,Yan,andChu)inadditiontomoreperipheralregions(seealsoLiXueqin1981).
ManyoftheWesternZhousiteswithoraclebonescontinuetraditionsthatbeganduringtheShangera,andinNorthChinathehollowsusedforpyromancyretainedtheessentialcharacterofShangspecimens.
Forexample,plastronsexcavatedatQijiacuninFufeng,Shaanxi,ontheZhouPlain,havehollowsthatwerepreparedsimilarlytothoseonShangoraclebonesfromYinxu(seeCao2002andLiLing2000,220–24,onWesternZhounds).
Theyincludebothanelongatedgrooveandaburnmarkonthesideofit.
Likewise,dozensofdivinationplastronsatLiulihenearBeijingcontaindoublemarks(LK1997,11;g.
5,A).
Inthesecasesthechiseledgroovesarenarrowrect-angles,andtheattendanthollowsarealsorectangular.
Therectangulardouble-hollowformisdirectlydevelopedfromYinxu-styledivinationmarks.
Threeoftheoraclebonesatthissiteareinscribed,atraitthatfurtherdemonstratestheirsimilaritytoLateShangexamples.
OtherLiuliheexampleshavehollowsthatarerepresentativeofthemostcommonWesternZhoumarks—circularhollowsofastandardsize,around1.
2cmindiameter,eachcontainingasinglechiseledlinetofacilitatebonecrackingasdoesspecimenG11H33:1(g.
5,A;BDKandBSWY1996,11).
Nearlyidenticalspec-imensarefoundatsitesnearLuoyanginHenan(LSWG1989)andDongxianxianinXingtai,Hebei(HSWY2002,216).
FladDivinationandPower415Figure5.
RepresentativedivinationremainsandtheirsourcesfromselectLateBronzeAgecontexts.
A,WesternZhouoraclebonesfromLiulihe,onewithdoublerectangularhollowsandonewithcircularhollowsandincisedlines,scaleunavailable(afterLK1997,11;BDKandBSWY1996,11);B,shoperculumusedasoraclebonefromShimenzuiinZigui,Hubei(afterJDBKYZandHSWKY2004,433).
OtherWesternZhousites,includingLiutaiziinJiyang,Shandong,haveyieldedoracleboneswithmorediversehol-lows(SSWKY1996,21).
LeeHyeongKoo(1981a,42)hasargued,followingShiZhangru(Shih1954),thatoracleboneuseisespeciallypersistentalongtheeastcoastintheareaassociatedwiththehistoricalethnonym"Dongyi,"butitisclearthatoracleboneusepersistedbothintheCentralPlainsandinvariousperipheralregionsincludingsouthernHenan,atXiawanggang(HSWYandCLGBKHF1989,331),andtothenortheast,inUpperXiajiadian(ca.
1000–300BC)contextsatAnzhangziinLingyuan,Liaoning(LSWKY1996,209).
Thepracticewaswidespreadandstillinvolvedrelativelyelaborateprocedures.
Somedivinersremainedattachedtoleadersofvariousstates,butthemanipulationsinitiatedbytheShangwerenolongeruniformorubiquitouseveninthesecontexts.
Zhoudivinersseemtohavebeenrelyingasmuchonthepowerassociatedwithapasttraditionastheywereonthepracticalmasteryinvolvedinmaintainingamonopolyondiviningpractices.
Ingeneral,pyromancyduringtheZhouerawaslessprom-inentthanotheremergingformsofdivinationsuchasthecountingofyarrowsticks(Loewe1981).
TherearenohugecachesoforaclebonesatZhousitesthatcomparewiththeShangcollectionsatYinxu,butitisevidentfromitselaboratebonepreparationandlimitedvarietyoftechniquesthatpy-romancyinthecentralZhoustatesremainedcloselytiedtopoliticalpower.
Zhou-periodpyromancyfocusedalmostex-clusivelyonturtleshell(Venture2002a,213;Zhao1985).
TheemphasisonturtlesintheYellowRiverValleycontinuesatrendthatstartedduringtheLateShangandmayreectanincreasinglyrobustbodyofsymbolismrelatingtolongevity,strength,andtheprestigeassociatedwitholderdivinationpractices(Allan1995;LiLing2000,Loewe1981,46;1988,87;Venture2002a,216).
Turtlesweresymbolicallyimportant,andtheirplastronswereconducivetothestructuredandelaboratepyromantictraditionsthathadtheirrootsintheShang.
Theprestigeassociatedwithplastromancyspecicallyandpyro-osteomancyingeneralisfurtherreectedinthein-creasingevidenceforthispracticeinregionsdistantfromtheCentralPlains.
SomeofthelargercollectionsoforaclebonesfromthisperiodhavebeendiscoveredatsitesinHubei,Chongqing,andSichuan.
IntheMiddleYangziRiverValley(modernHubei),oracleboneshavebeenfoundatseveralsitesincludingJingnansiinJiangling(JDBandBDK1989,690),ZhouliangyuqiaoinShashi(Peng1986),andotherlo-calesintheXiangfanareaincludingMaogoudonginZaoyang(XSB1988,16),XiaojialinginYicheng,andZhiwushaninXiangfan(ZhangChangping1996).
TheZhou-eraoraclebonesoftheXiangfanregionincludedturtleplastronswithlong,rectangularhollowswithcurvedcornersandincisedlinesonthehollow-basesaswellasprimaryandattendanthollowsthatwererectangularorsquareonpreattenedareasofscapulae.
Thesepatternsshowobviousconnectionstothe416CurrentAnthropologyVolume49,Number3,June2008Figure6.
OraclebonesfromZhongba(afterSSWKYandZXBG2001,601,andFlad2004,753).
Individualdivinationmarksonspecimen99ZZDT0202arenumberedforanalysis.
traditionsofdivinationthatdevelopedintheYellowRiverValley.
IntheThreeGorgesarea,severalsiteshaveoraclebonesinZhou-periodstrata,amongthemShimenzuiandLianyu-shaninZigui(JDBKYZandHSWKY2004,432;ZKKYCSG1961,233),GanjinggouinZhongXian(SCLWBWWK1962,417),andMaliutuoinWuliang(FDK2001,144–45).
AtMa-liutuo,oneofthefewlateBronzeAgenoncemeterysitesexcavatedintheregion,excavationsrecoveredmanyturtleplastronsandlargeshoperculawithdivinationmarks.
13ThelargestcollectioncomesfromZhongba,whereover13.
Theauthorsofthereportsuggestthattheoperculaaresturgeon(FamilyAcipenseridae),butsturgeondonothavebonyopercula.
Noimagesareavailablewithwhichtoassesstheiridentication.
Thereis,however,noreasontodoubtthepossibilitythatshboneswereusedinpyromanticdivinationatthesite.
180oraclebonesfromthisperiodhavebeenunearthed(g.
6;SSWKYandZWBG2001,601).
Thetwopublishedbonesarebothfragmentsofturtleplastrons,asarethemajorityofunpublishedfragments(Flad2004).
Theseplastronshavehol-lowsofvariousshapes,includingrectangularoneswithshortincisedgroovesperpendiculartotheirlength(g.
6,A).
Atleastonewasashoperculumfragmentwithasinglechiseledhollow,whichcomplementsndsfromothersitesinthere-gionwithevidenceofoperculimancysuchasXianglushiandShimenzui(g.
5,B;HSQGK1995,15;JDBKYZandHSWKY2004,445).
Plausiblytheuseofshmayrelatetotheim-portantrolethatshingplayedinsubsistenceintheregion(Flad2005),butclaimsofthedominanceofsh-bonedivi-nationarenotsupportedbythedata(contraJiang2005,59).
MostoftheearlierspecimensatZhongbahavedivinationmarksthatarecircularandseemtohavebeentheresultofFladDivinationandPower417Figure7.
OraclebonesfromZhihuijie,one-quarterscale(afterSDBandCSB1987).
A,turtleplastronfragmentwithcircularhollows;B,plastronfragmentwithrectangularhollowswithincirculardepressions;C,plastronfragmentwithrectangularhollowscontaininghorizontalincisedlines.
burningdirectlyontothedorsalsurfaceoftheplastronwith-outtheinitialpreparationofhollows.
Whenhollowswereprepared,theywerecircularandmayhavebeenformedbyeitherdrillingorchiseling.
Subsequently,startinginphaseIII-3(ca.
500–380BC),thingroovesarecommonlyfoundatthebaseofpreparedhollows.
Atrstthehollowswithgroovesaretypicallyovalorcircular.
Then,inphasesIII-4andIII-5(380–310BCand310–200BCrespectively),theytendtoberectangularwithincisionsthatareperpendiculartotheirlongsides.
Bytheendoftheperiodtherectangularhollowsseemtohavebeencreatedinparallelrows.
Therewas,however,nostandardprocedure.
Tothewest,intheUpperYangziRiverdrainageintheareaaroundChengdu,Zhou-periodoraclebonesfurtherdem-onstratetheidiosyncraticnatureofYangzioraclebonesrel-ativetotheircounterpartsintheYellowRiverValley(Jiang2005;Luo1988;Zhang1996).
Theyalsodemonstratedia-chronicdevelopmentsintheassociateddivinationprocedures.
SpecimensfromthesitesofFuqinXiaoqu,JiangjunYamen,Zhihuijie,MinshanFandian,andQingyanggonginChengduCityshowthattheearliestoraclebones,contemporaneouswiththeLateShang,includedcircularhollows,somedrilledandotherschiseledintothebone(g.
7,A).
Laterspecimenshaverectangularhollowswithincirculardepressions(g.
7,B)andrectangularhollowswithinwhichsinglelineswereincisedtofacilitatecracking(g.
7,C).
Inotherwords,someoraclebonesexhibitevidenceofincreasingelaboration.
AsisthecaseatZhongba,however,thevarioustypesofpreparationwerenotsystematicallyemployed.
Instead,thereisagreatdealofchronologicaloverlapamongthemandoverallhet-erogeneityintheoraclebonecorpusfromallperiodsinthisregion.
TheevidencedoesnotsuggestthattheseoracleboneswerecloselytiedtopoliticalpowerinthesocietiesoftheChengduregion.
ThedivinationmarksonplastronsfromZhongbaandothersitesintheYangziRiverdrainagedifferinstructurefromthosefoundintheYellowRiverValley.
Theyalllackthepairingofthepronouncedgrooveandattendanthollowthatcharacterize418CurrentAnthropologyVolume49,Number3,June2008thenorthernspecimensoftheShangandWesternZhouerasandarerelativelyheterogeneousineachstageofdevelopment.
Thisvariationindicatesthatseveraldivinersofdifferentde-greesoforiginalitymayhaveexistedatasinglesiteatanyonetime.
Finally,itshouldbementionedthatpyromancyusingmammalbonesdidnotceaseduringthelaterBronzeAge.
Infact,scapulimancyprobablycontinuedintheNorthernZonethroughouttheBronzeAgeandintolatereras.
AHanDynastypigscapulausedinpyromancyhasbeendiscoveredatDong-xinginHailinCity,Heilongjiang(HSWKYandJDK1996).
Similarpracticescontinuedinthesouthaswell,asevidencedbyanoraclebonedatedtotheTangera(AD618–907)dis-coveredintheThreeGorgesatMingyuebainYunyang,Chongqing(SLDLKZ1998,107).
Thisboneis,tomyknowl-edge,themostrecentoracleboneknownfromarchaeologicalcontextsinChina.
Inaddition,limbbones,scapulae,andturtle-shellfragmentsusedasfarawayasJapanfromthelastseveralcenturiesBCthroughtherstseveralcenturiesADdocumentthispersistence(Lee1981c,61).
Thesendsarescatteredandrare,however,andthereislittlearchaeologicalevidenceofsystematic,elaborate,andstandardizedpyro-os-teomancyasanimportantmechanismofauthorityinpost–BronzeAgecontexts.
SummaryPyromancybeginswithscapulimancyusingbonesofdeerandsheepinNortheastAsia.
Subsequently,duringthersthalfofthesecondmillenniumBC,pig,camel,bear,and,mostcom-monly,cattlescapulaewereused,andeventuallycattlebonesbecamedominant.
DuringthelaterpartoftheShangera,turtleplastronsbecamemostcommon.
Thesetaxaweresymbolicallyimportantanimalsinthecommunitieswhoseritualspecialistsusedtheirbonesindivination.
Mostweredomesticatedani-mals,whichwerefundamentaltosubsistenceacrossNorthChina.
TurtlesplayedapowerfulsymbolicroleinChineseide-ology,andtheirincreaseduseinpyromancyduringtheShangcontributedtotheevolutionofthissymbolism.
Subsequently,plastromancyandscapulimancypersistedintotheZhouera.
AlthoughtextualsourcessuggestthatthepracticecontinuedinlaterChinesedynasticcourts(Keightley1978a,4n.
4;Loewe1988)andinperipheralstatessuchasKoguryo,Silla,andPaekcheontheKoreanPeninsula(Lee1981a,42;1981c),late-periodarchaeologicalevidenceismorecommoninsouthernChinathaninthenorth.
Ethnographicandhistoricalsourcesdocumentpyro-osteomancyintothenineteenthandtwentiethcenturiesinJapan(Blacker1981;alsoseereferencesinKeightley1978a,4nn.
5,6),Mongolia(Bawden1994[1959b]),andelsewhere(Keightley1978a,5n.
13).
ThespreadandpersistenceofpyromancyinEastAsiain-volvedthesharingandprotectingofspecializedknowledgebydivinerswhoengagedinthispractice.
TheinscribedZhou-yuanoraclebonesdiscoveredatFengchuandQijiacun,amongotherplaces,reectthissharing(Cao2002,8–9;Qiu2000,68–69;WangandYang1999,281–336;WangYuxin1984;1989,417–36).
14SomeoftheinscriptionsincludethenamesofShangancestors.
Itisclear,therefore,thattheproceduresandinscriptionsoftheZhouyuandivinersweredirectlyde-rivedfromShangdivinationeventhoughscholarsdisagreeaboutwhetherthedivinersorthescribeswereethnicallyShang.
ZhoudivinersmayhaveinvokedShangancestorsaspartofanefforttoassumeleadershipintheCentralPlains.
However,theinscriptionsuseessentiallythesamecharactersetand,whilestructureddifferently,seemtoberepresentativeofthesamelinguisticanddivinatorytraditionastheAnyanginscriptions.
Theintimateassociationbetweenritualactivityandwritingismaintainedand,furthermore,thetechniquesusedtopreparethedivinationhollowsaregenerallysimilartotheproceduresusedinYinxudivination.
WecanbefairlycertainthattheZhouyuandivinerswereeitherformerpar-ticipantsintheTerminalShangdivinationsystemortrainedbyShangdiviners.
Theyemployedsimilarlyelaboratedivi-nationproceduresandseemtohaveremainedtied,atleastinitially,tocourtactivities.
Thebroadtraditionofpyromancywasnot,however,re-strictedtogroupsindirectcontactwithorunderthedirectinuenceoftheShangcourt.
ThepracticepenetratedintomoredistantregionsduringtheLateShangandpost-Shangperiods,andintheseplacestheproceduresusedwerelesssystematicandlesselaborate.
Thecomplexprocessbywhichdivinationwastransmittedtotheseplaceslikelyinvolvedin-tentionalimitationbydivinerswhowerenotfullyconversantwiththeproceduresusedbythestatedivinersandmayhavebuiltuponlocal,existingdivinationpracticesforwhichwehavenoarchaeologicalevidence.
Astheyadoptedandadaptedpyro-osteomancy,localpractitionersdevelopedtheirownproceduresbasedlooselyonShangtraditionsbutlesscloselytiedtostructuresofpoliticalpower.
TheroleofthesedivinerswasprobablymoresimilartothatofdivinersintheEarlyShangorthoseintheLateShangdynasticcorewhowerenotconnectedtotheroyalcourt(Loewe1988).
DivinersinperipheralregionssuchastheYangziRiverValleywhopickedupanddevelopedpyro-osteomanticpro-ceduresintheZhouperiodprobablyhadonlyavaguenotionofthesignicancethatpyromancyhadoncehadtotheShangstate.
Nevertheless,theyadoptedandadaptedthispracticewithanimplicitunderstandingofthesocialpowerthatitentailed(cf.
Allan2007).
Theyreceivedthetraditionthroughaformof"down-the-line"imitationsimilartotheprocessbywhichdivinationpracticesspreadamongpoliticallyun-connectedgroupsinsouthernAfrica(Zuesse1975).
Thosewhomasteredthissystemgainedhighprestigewithintheirowngroups:"Thegreatestauthorityisgiventodivinerswho14.
See,inparticular,thediscussioninCao(2002)ofthepositionsofvariousscholarsandtheextensivebibliographyofstudiesofZhouyuanoraclebonesandtheirinscriptionsinthatsamework(pp.
191–98).
Thebriefdiscussionherefollowsthissummary.
FladDivinationandPower419havetraveledintofar-offculturestolearnwisdom;unlikelocaloracles,thesepractitionersmakeuseofcomplexmeth-odsrequiringlongtraining.
.
.
.
themorestrangethewisdom,themorepowerithas"(Zuesse1975,166).
Symbolsthatreectdistanttimesandplacesareoftenpowerful(Helms1993).
DivinerswhoemployedpyromancyinperipheralregionsofancientChinainvokedtheprestigeofaforeignideologyandestablishedthemselvesasritualspecialistswithintheircommunities.
ConclusionThepowerassociatedwithpyro-osteomancyinancientChinaemergedthroughalongprocessinwhichthepracticalmasteryinvolvedwascontrolledandelaboratedbyspecialistdiviners.
Thiswastruebothwhereelaboratedivinationproceduresbecamecodiedandsystematized,asintheLateShangcase,andwheredivinationwasnotasdirectlytiedtothestate.
Eveninperipheralregions,practicalmasteryincreasedovertime.
Divinationpracticesbecamemoreelaboratealthoughnotmorestandardizedasindependentspecialistsprotectedtheircraft.
TheywereoneofmanysourcesofsocialpowerandservedasasignicantsourceofpoliticalpoweronlywheretheyweresystematicallyelaboratedbythestatedivinersoftheLateShang.
FortheShang,thisspecializeddivinationpracticeinvolvedrestrictionofaccesstoknowledgeaboutit.
Thekingandhisdivinersusedthisrestrictedknowledgetosupporttheexistingsocialhierarchy,whichwasestablishedandmaintainedonthebasisofothersourcesofpower,suchasmilitaryforce.
RitualsincludingdivinationwerecrucialtothemaintenanceoftheShangstate(Chang1983,1994;Keightley1988).
OutsidetheShangsphere,divinationdidnotbecomecentraltoahier-archicalsocialsystem,possiblybecausethecommunitiesthereweremoreheterogeneousandheterarchical.
ThepatternoforaclebonedivinationseenintheCentralPlainssupportsthenotionthatelaborationofritualpracticeswasaprocessthatrestrictedthisactivitytoaselectportionofthepopulationwhouseditasasignicantsourceofsocialpower.
ThisdidnotoccuratthebeginningofstateformationinChina,however.
DuringtheErlitouandEarlyShangpe-riods,althoughoracleboneusewasbecomingincreasinglyprevalent,itwasnotyethighlycodied.
ItisonlyduringtheLateShangthatweseethestrongevidenceofintegrationandsystematizationthatsuggeststheuseofdivinationbytherul-ingelitetoestablishandmaintaintheirpositionsofauthority.
Othertypesofritualbehaviorlikewiseseemtohavebeenincreasinglycodiedduringthisperiod(YuanandFlad2005).
Thepatternsobservedinthedevelopmentofpyro-osteo-mancyinancientEastAsiashowsomeparallelswithsimilarpracticesknownfromethnographiccontexts.
Thedegreetowhichtheseproceduresareelaboratedandstandardizedre-latestotheextenttowhichtheassociatedritualsystemisasourceofpowerforthepoliticalelite.
Therelationshipbe-tweendivinationandpowerwasthereforeexibleanddy-namicbothovertimeandcontemporaneouslyindifferentareas.
Thecontrolofritualknowledgeisacomponentofsystemsofpowerthatcanbebestunderstoodthroughanu-ancedexplorationofhowknowledgeisoperationalizedandprotectedinspecicsocialcontexts.
AcknowledgmentsThispaperdevelopedoutofapresentationgivenattheWork-shoponEarlyChineseCivilization:Social,Cultural,andHistoricalDynamicsofEarlyChineseCivilizationinArchae-ological,Paleographical,Philological,andHistoricalPerspec-tives,attheUniversityofBritishColumbiaonMarch10,2005.
Ithanktheorganizersoftheconference,JingZhichun,Ken-ichiTakashimak,andTangJigen,forthewonderfulfo-rumfordiscussingtheseideasandtheotherparticipantsforconstructivefeedback.
IoweagreatdebttoDavidKeightley,whodirectedmetomanyofthereferences,andIreceivedhelpfulcommentsonearlydraftsfromRoderickCampbell,DavidCarrasco,CameronMonroe,MichaelPuett,AdamSmith,andJasonUr.
IamgratefultotheZhongbaarchae-ologicalteam,especiallythedirector,SunZhibin,forper-missiontoincludeunpublisheddatafromZhongba.
CommentsSarahAllanDepartmentofAsianandMiddleEasternLanguagesandLiteratures,DartmouthCollege,6191BartlettHall,Hanover,NH03755,U.
S.
A.
(sarah.
allan@dartmouth.
edu).
7I08AlthoughthereisalargeliteratureontheinscribedoraclebonesfoundatAnyang,thisexcellentstudyistherstcom-prehensiveaccountofpyromancyinancientChina.
Bydi-vorcingtheanalysisoforaclebonedivinationfromthestudyofthewritingonoraclebones,thisstudyallowsustoviewtheinscribedoraclebonesofLateShangandEarlyZhoudynastieswithinthecontextoflongerandmorewidespreaddivinationtraditions.
Italsoopensupthepossibilityofview-ingoraclebonedivinationasoneaspectofasetofritualpracticesthatdevelopedinthesecondmillenniumBCEasmarkersofeliteculture.
Thisisamajorcontribution.
Newresearchinevitablyprovokesfurtherspeculation.
Iofferthefollowingcommentsinthisspirit.
Oracleboneinscriptionscholarshipoftenstressestheex-clusiveroleoftheShangkinginoraclebonedivination.
How-ever,asrecentndsatHuayuanzhuanghavemadeclear,notalldivinationsatAnyangwereperformedbytheking,andsomedivinerswereassociatedwithothereliteindividualsorgroups.
Thevastmajorityoforacleboneinscriptionsarere-cordsofquestions(or,moreproperlyspeaking,propositions)inscribedaftertheboneswerecracked;relativelyfewrecordsupernaturalresponsesorverications.
Thissuggeststhatthe420CurrentAnthropologyVolume49,Number3,June2008inscriptionswereprimarilyrecordsofthedivinationprocess.
Inlightofthisstudy,perhapsweshouldregardtheadditionofinscriptionstooraclebonessimplyasfurthercomplexitysuchasthetrimmingandpolishingofthebonesandthepreparationofregularseriesofhollows.
Withinthecontextofeliteritualpractice,ananalogymaybemadebetweenelaboratelypreparedandinscribedoraclebonesandtheuseofbronzevesselsforancestralofferings.
Bronzevessels,likepotteryones,wereusedtomakeancestralsacrices,butbronzevesselsweremoredesirable,probablybecauseoftheattractiveappearanceoftheirshiningmetal,theirdurability,andthegreatcostinlaborandresourcesnecessarytoproducethem.
Ouronlykeytothepurposeoforaclebonedivinationistheinscribedexamples.
Thesein-dicatethattheirintentwastoensurethattheritualofferingstoancestralandnaturespiritsbeingproposedwouldbesuf-cienttodefraycurses(Allan1991,112–23).
Althoughpy-romancywasnotanexclusiveprerogativeoftheShangkings—otherscoulddivineabouttheofferingstotheirownancestors—theirimpressiveandelaboratedivinationsystem,whichincludedwrittenrecords,increasedthestatusofboththeirancestorsandthemselves.
Divinationwassurelyaninstrumentofstatepower.
Con-versely,however,thequestforresources(metalores,turtles,animals,andhumanvictims)andtheneedtoorganizeandtrainspecialistdivinersandritualpractitionerstoenhancetheeffectivenessoftheirriteswasamajorimpetusforthefor-mationanddevelopmentofthestate.
TheassociationofbronzewithasetofritualpracticescenteredonancestralofferingsrstoccurredatErlitou(Allan2007).
Flad'sobser-vationthattheoraclebonesfoundatErlitouhadnotun-dergonepreparationbeforedivinationalthoughsomebonesattheDadianzisiteinInnerMongoliahadbeenpreparedisinteresting,becausethetwositesarecloselyrelated.
NobronzevesselshavebeenfoundatDadianzi,butpotteryvesselsfromthissitearerelatedtobronzevesselsatErlitou.
TheabsenceofpreparedoraclebonesatErlitoumaybeanaccidentofarchaeology—theabsenceofinscribedoraclebonesbeforethesuddenappearanceofacomplexwritingsystematYinxuisacautionaryreminderofthelimitationsofarchaeologicaldiscoveries.
However,thissuggeststhepossibilitythatdivi-nationpracticesatDadianziinuencedthoseatErlitou.
ThisstudyisalsorevealingabouttherelationshipbetweentheShangandtheZhou.
Heremyanalysisissomewhatdif-ferentfromFlad's.
Accordingtohisdata,theearliestoracleboneswithrectangularhollowsarefromasouthernsiteandbelongtotheMiddle/LateShangperiod.
LateShang/EarlyZhou-periodplastronswithrectangularhollowshavealsobeenfoundontheupperreachesoftheYangtzeinSichuan.
Theothersitewhereoracleboneswithrectangularhollows(includingthreeplastronswithinscriptions)havebeenfoundisthenorthernsiteofLiulihe,nearBeijing,butthissiteisprimarilyWesternZhouandtheoraclebonesappeartobeZhou.
ManyEarlyZhouoraclebonesfromZhouyuanhaverect-angularhollows(ChenQuanfang1988,103–5).
AlthoughsomeoftheinscriptionsfoundtherearesimilartothosefoundatYinxuandmentionShangroyalancestors,manyscholarsbelievethattheseinscriptionsweremadebytheShang,nottheZhou.
Other(Zhou)inscriptionsareverydistinctive:thecharactersaresosmallthattheyaredifculttoreadwithoutmagnication,manycharactersareunknownorunusuallyconstructed,andthedivinationformulaedifferfromAnyanginscriptions.
WhileIagreethatZhoudivinationpracticeul-timatelyderivesfromthatoftheShang,thesedifferencessug-gestthatZhoupyromanticpracticeswerenotasimplecon-tinuationofthoseoftheShangbuthadalreadybeguntodivergeatthetimeoftheconquest.
TherectangularhollowsonoraclebonesfromtheYangziRiverregionsuggestthepossibilityofsometypeofinterrelationshipwiththeZhou.
TheLiulihedivinationsprobablyimitateZhoupracticeaftertheconquest.
RodCampbellInstitutefortheStudyoftheAncientWorld,15E.
84thSt.
,NewYork,NY10028,U.
S.
A.
(roderickbcampbell@gmail.
com)4I08Fladhaspresentedahighlystimulatingandoriginalapproachtoatopicoflong-recognizedimportance(Chang1983;Keightley1978a,1999b,2000).
Partofthenoveltyofhisap-proachishiscreativeadaptationoftheoriesofcraftspecial-izationandMann's(1986)"sourcesofsocialpower"totheissueofdivinationandpowerinearlyChina.
Perhapsthegreatestcontributionofthepaper,however,istheregionalanddiachroniccontextualizationofancientosteomanticprac-tices.
WhilemuchinkhasbeenspiltovertheinscribedoraclebonesrecoveredfromAnyangandafewothersites,thefactsthatinscribedbonesrepresentlessthan10%ofthosecollectedandthatosteomancywaswidespreadandlong-livedhavegen-erallynotguredintodiscussionsofdivinationandpower.
Flad'spioneeringapproachthusopensupanopportunityfordiscussingthevariablewaysinwhichosteomancyarticulatedwithlocaleconomiesofpowerbeyondtheroyalcourtatAnyang.
Aswithburialandsacricialpractices,itisnowclearthatdivinationwasnotanelitemonopolyandthateliteprac-ticeswerenotcategoricallydistinctfromlessexaltedritualformsbutsetinagradedhierarchyofsymbolicandmaterialexpense(Campbell2007).
Nonelitedivinationandotherprac-ticesofsocialpowerarethuscrucialtounderstandingtheconstitutionofauthorityintheLateShangpolity.
Thisho-listic,social-economicunderstandingofpowerraisestwoma-jorproblemsforFlad'sapproach.
TherstissueconcernsFlad'sWeberianassumptionofalinkagebetween"state"and"bureaucracy.
"What,forin-stance,isthisreied,decontextualizedthingcalled"thestate"(Ferguson2003;Jessop1990;Smith2003),andwhydoesitsdivinationneedtobeelaborate,standardized,and"bureau-cratic"Ifdivinationisasourceofsocialpower,whyshouldFladDivinationandPower421itnecessarilybemonopolizedbythe"state"WhatwouldtheosteomanticequivalentofaDelphicoraclelooklikearchaeo-logicallyWoulditnotalsobeelaborate,systematized,perhapsmateriallymarkedofffromlessprestigiouspracticesbutnotcontrolledbyanypolityNoristherealackofhistoricalexamplesofritualpracticeswithincomplexpolitiesthatdidnotshareinageneralethosof"bureaucracy,"suchastheHanEmperorWudi'spatronageofmotleyassortmentritualentrepreneursinhisattempttore-createtheFengandShansacrices(Sima1963).
Beyondtheproblematiclinkageofpoliticalcontextanddivinatorystandardizationandelabo-rationthereistheissueofarchaeologicalvisibility.
InEvans-Pritchard's(1989)descriptionofAzandeoracularpractices,thereisamoreauthoritativeandelaborateroyalpoison-oracleperformedbytheking,buttherewouldbenothingarchaeo-logicallyvisibletodistinguishitfromthepoison-oracleofavillager(except,perhaps,context).
Adeadchickenis,afterall,adeadchicken.
Thus,Flad'sclaimthatthelesselaborateandsystematizedErlitouandErligangdivinationwasnota"signicantstate-sponsoredactivity,"whileplausible,remainsundemonstrated.
Giventhatmortuaryritualandsacrice,alongwithosteomancy,underwentincreasingelaborationandhierarchicaldifferentiationoverthisperiod,withamarkedincreaseatAnyang(Campbell2007),itmaybethatthere-lationshipbetweenancestralritualandpoliticalpowerwasnotaconstant,thatthenatureof"thestate"itselfchangedacrossthisspanof800years,orthatdistinctionwasmarkedinlessarchaeologicallyvisiblewaysinearliertimes.
ThesecondissuewithFlad'sapproachinvolveshisad-mittedlycreativeuseofcraftspecializationtheory,withitsMarx-derivedfocusonthealienationoftheproductandthereductionofpoliticalrelationsindivinationtogroup-indi-vidualandcommoner-elitedichotomies.
Wemightask,forinstance,insofarasdivinationisaskill,towhatextentitisalienable.
Thepointhereisnotthatanagentinpossessionofacertainformofsymboliccapitalcouldnotbecoercedintousingitforanother'sbenetbutthatinbeingthesourceofthatcapitalthepowerthataccruesfromitisinsomewaysinseparablefromthedivinerhimself.
Indeed,thegenerallyacceptedunderstandingofthereductionofdivinersinLateShangroyaldivinationfromdozenstoahandfulasidefromthekingisthatcourtdivinationwasasourceofauthoritythatwasincreasinglyastrictroyalmonopoly(ItoandTak-ashima1996;Keightley1978b,1999a).
ItisalsoimportanttorememberthatdivinerswereonlyapartoftheproductionofShangroyaldivinations,withroyalconsortsfrequentlypre-paringthescapulaorplastron,adivinerand/orthekingper-formingthedivination,andascribeinscribingtheactualdivination(Keightley1978a).
Thus,thearchaeologicallyvis-iblemanifestationofstandardizationandelaborationdidnotnecessarilyhaveanythingtodowiththediviners,whowere,inanycase,justonegroupofagentsinvolvedinthe"pro-duction"ofthecourtlydivination.
Thisandtheabovepointssuggesttheimportanceofseeingdivinationasanembeddedbutindependentsocialinstitutionwithitsownrules,history,andchangingrelationstootherformsofsocialpowerratherthanasapassivereectionofitspoliticalcontext.
XingcanChenInstituteofArchaeology,ChineseAcademyofSocialSciences,Beijing,P.
R.
China100710(chenxingcan@hotmail.
com)6I08IshareFlad'sbeliefthatmoreelaboratedivinationproceduresareassociatedwithbureaucraticinstitutionsasasourceofstatepower.
Infact,manyresearchershavedescribedthein-creasingelaborationofdivinationpracticesovertimeinthisregion,beginningwithscapulimancyusingbonesofpig,deer,sheep,dog,andcattlefromthelateNeolithicandearlyBronzeAgetoscapulimancyusingprimarilycattlebonesandplas-tromancyinthelateShangdynasty(e.
g.
,ChenMengjia1988[1956],19–29;LiChi2006[1963]57–59;ZSKYS2007[1994],152–54;2003,351;Song2004,866–82).
Thecorrelationbe-tweenthesophisticationofdivinationpracticesandthepoweroftheLateShangstatehasbeenstressedinvariousworks(e.
g.
,Chang1983;Keightley2000).
Iliketheideathatdivinersasritualspecialiststakeonavarietyofrolessimilartocraftspecialistsincomplexsocieties,butitisuncleartowhichkindofcraftspecialistsFladmeanstocomparethem.
HealsoarguesthattheLateShangoraclebonesintheCentralPlainsarethemediumofstate-controlleddivination,butthemeaningofstatecontrolinthiscontextisunclear.
Ritualbronzecasting,forexample,wasatonepointastate-controlledcraftspecialty;itisclearthattheproductionofritualvessels(whichrepresentedritualpower)wasmo-nopolizedbytheroyaleliteduringtheErlitouandErligangperiods,forthereisnoarchaeologicalevidencesuggestingthatbronzevesselsweremadeanywhereoutsideoftheErlitouandZhengzhousites(LiuandChen2003).
Incontrast,thoughdivinationwascodiedandinstitutionalizedinLateShangtimes,itisnotlikelytohavebeenmonopolizedbytheShangkingsandhighelitesbecause,asFladmentions,independentdivinersdidnotceasetheiractivitiesinruralareasandpe-ripheries.
ItisfairtosaythattheLateShangcourtpracticedamoreelaborateformofdivination,butthisdoesnotmeanthatthegeneralmethodandthecultweremonopolizedbytheShangkingsashesuggests.
ContrarytoFlad'sclaimthattheoraclebonesdiscoveredintheCentralPlainswereprimarilyscapulaeofdomesticatedcattleandplastronsofturtlesandothertaxausedpreviouslywerenolongeremployed,bonesfrompig,deer,sheep,andevenhorsewerestillbeingusedintheLateShangperiodinYinxu(ChenMengjia1988[1956],4–9;ZSKYS2007[1994],152–54).
Inaddition,turtleshellbecamethemediumfordivinationearlierthantheErligangperiod.
Theearliestplas-tronsthatwereburneddirectlyhavebeenfoundatYinjia-chenginSishui,Shandong,anddatedtotheLongshanculture(ca.
2500–2000BC)(SDLKJ1990,197).
ThetraditionofturtleshelluseinthecoastalareaandtheHuaiRivervalleycanbe422CurrentAnthropologyVolume49,Number3,June2008tracedbacktoEarlyandMiddleNeolithicculturessuchasthePeiligang(ca.
6500–5000BC)andtheDawenkou(ca.
4300–2500BC)(ChenandLee2004).
Thetraditioninwhichturtlesweresymbolicallyimportantandtheirplastronscon-ducivetostructuredandelaboratepyromanticpracticehasitsrootsinprehistorictimes.
Thepracticesofplastromancyandscapulimancydidnotevolveunilineallyinrelationtostateformation.
Theirdevel-opmentwasmosaicintimeandspace,andchangesintheirformsmayhavebeenrelatednotonlytopoliticalprocessbutalsototheavailabilityofmaterialsandlocaltraditions.
LotharvonFalkenhausenDepartmentofArtHistory,UniversityofCalifornia,LosAngeles,CA90095,U.
S.
A.
(lothar@humnet.
ucla.
edu)4I08ThearchaeologicalevidencesummarizedbyFladdemon-stratestheconsiderableregionalandtemporalvariabilityofosteo-pyromanticpracticesinChinaduringtheNeolithicandtheBronzeAge.
ThearticlethusestablishesanewcontextforunderstandingtheLateShang–period(ca.
1350–1146BC)oracleboneinscriptions,theearliestknowninstanceoffullwritingincontinentalEastAsia.
TheseinscriptionswerenotentirelylimitedtotheShangcourt,butFladisundoubtedlycorrectinarguingthattheywerelinkedtothereligiousle-gitimationofeliterule.
Itmaybeworthpointingoutthat,eventhoughtheen-gravingoforaclebonesapparentlyceasedaftertheShangperiod,textualevidenceamplyatteststhatosteo-pyromancycontinuedtobepracticedduringthesucceedingZhouperiod(ca.
1046–256BC)bothattheroyalcourtandatthecourtsofvariousregionalpolities.
OnetextinwhichdivinersappearistheRitesofZhou(Zhouli),anidealizedreconstructionofthegovernmentoftheZhouDynasty(ca.
1046–256BC)thatwascompiled,partlyfromearliermaterials,aboutthefourthcenturyBC.
Herepractitionersofosteo-pyromancy—grandcrack-makers(dabu),crack-makingmasters(bushi),ordinarycrack-makers(buren),turtlehandlers(guiren),torchhandlers(chuiren),andinterpretersofdivinatorymessages(Zhan-ren)—rankforemostandarethemostnumerousamongthevariousofcialdivinersservingintheMinistryofRites.
AtleastinthemindsofthecompilersoftheRitesofZhou,then,osteo-pyromancycontinuedtobethemostprestigiousofofcialdivinatorytechniques.
Unfortunately,noarchaeolog-icaltracesofZhou-periodcourtdivinationhavesofarcometolightthatcouldbecomparedwiththevariousregionalosteo-pyromanticphenomenafromtheperiodpresentedbyFlad.
TheRitesofZhoutextremindsus,furthermore,thatitwouldbeamistaketoequateosteo-pyromancywithdivi-nationassuch.
ItismerelythearchaeologicallymostvisibleofahostofdivinatorytechniquesthatwerecurrentinearlyChina.
PracticesmentionedintheRitesofZhouinclude,undertheMinistryofRites,dreamdivination,clouddivination,anddivinationbymeansofthetrigramsandhexagramsoftheClassicofChanges(Yijing).
Inaddition,theRitesofZhoumentionsmilitarydivinersplacedundertheMinistryofWar.
Exceptforsomeearlyhexagramsinscribedonsomeeleventh-toninth-century-BCritualbronzevesselsandsomefourth-to-second-century-BCmanuscripttextsrelatedtohexagramandclouddivination,noarchaeologicaltraceshavebeenfoundofthesetechniques,whichneverthelessarelikelytohavebeencommonlypracticedineliteaswellasnonelitecircles.
Almostcertainly,moreover,thesetechniques—withthepossibleexceptionofhexagramdivination—werealreadyknownduringpre-Zhoutimes,andthevarietyoftheirre-gionalmanifestationsmaywellhaveequaledthatofpyro-osteomancy.
Becauseoftheperishablenatureofthematerialsinvolved,archaeologycannotestablishtheirrelativeimpor-tancevis-a`-visosteo-pyromancy.
Equallyelusiveintheirma-terialmanifestationsarevariousotherdivinatorytechniques(e.
g.
,astrologicaldivinationanddivinationbyacousticphe-nomena)thatarenotmentionedintheRitesofZhoubutarementionedinothersources.
Whilethereisnodoubtthatosteo-pyromancyinearlyChinawasthesamesortofphenomenonasethnographicallyattestedosteo-pyromanticcustomselsewhereintheworld,theextenttowhichsuchlaterevidencecanilluminatethespecicsofearlyChinesepracticesisproblematicbecauseoftheabsenceoftraceablehistoricallinksbetweenthem.
Acom-plementaryapproachmightbetopositionosteo-pyromancyinearlyChinaonthecontinuumofdivinatorypracticesat-testedduringChinesehistorydowntothepresentday.
Hereliesachallengetohistoriansofreligion.
Recentscholarshipinthateldhasbeguntoilluminatethemedievalrootsofpresent-daypractices,forexample,inTaiwanandFujian.
Onehopesthateventuallythetimedepthofsuchstudieswillincludethepre-Imperialperiod.
Inthisconnection,onewonderswhyosteo-pyromancyap-parentlyceasedtobepartofpopularreligiouspracticeinImperialChina(221BC–AD1911).
Onemightbetemptedtoarguethatthechiefreasonmayhavebeenpracticality.
Osteo-pyromancydemandedspecializedexpertise,consider-ablepreparationtime,andexpenditureofresourcesontheanimalswhosebonesweretobeusedfordivination.
Bycom-parison,hexagram-baseddivinationwiththehelpoftheClas-sicofChanges,whichconventionallyinvolvedthemanipu-lationofyarrowstalksbutcouldbeeffectuatedwithanynumberoflow-costmaterials,wasfarmoreeconomical,andanyonefamiliarwiththeChangescouldpracticeit.
ThetempleoraclespopularinEastAsiatoday—divinationblocksandspiritwriting,forinstance—arelikewisesignicantlylessre-source-intensivethanosteo-pyromancy.
ButFlad'sarticleshowsthatinmanyplacesduringpre-Imperialtimes,osteo-pyromancywaspracticedbyfairlylow-ranking(andbynomeanswealthy)groupsorindividuals;whileunabletoprovideapositiveexplanationoftheapparentdemiseofosteo-py-romancyinChinaor,indeed,topinpointadateforthatdemise,theevidencepresentedherewouldthusseemtocon-FladDivinationandPower423tradictasimplisticallymaterialisticexplanationofreligiouschange.
HuiFangDepartmentofArchaeology,ShandongUniversity,27ShandaNanlu,Jinan,ShandongProvince,China250100(fangh@sdu.
edu.
cn).
16I08Thisarticleisthersttofocusontherelationshipbetweentheprocessingoforaclebonesandpoliticalandsocialpowerfromananthropologicalperspectivesincethediscoveryoforacleboneinscriptionsin1899,anditmakesusthinkmoredeeplyaboutthedegreetowhicharchaeologicalndspresentasystematicpicture.
Overall,Iagreewiththeauthor'sopinionthatdivinationisfrequentlyemployedasanimportantsourceofsocialandpoliticalpower.
Fladpresentsaverycarefulanddetailedoverviewoforaclebonepretreatmenttracessuchasscraping,drillholes,andchiselmarks.
However,oraclebonesrepresentonlypartofdivinationbehavior.
Weshouldalsoinvestigatethewayourancestorstreatedthesebonesaftertheyhadbeenusedthroughanalysisoftheirafliationwithotherarchaeologicalremains.
Asfarasweknowfrompublishedmaterials,mostoftheNeolithicoracleboneshavebeenunearthedfromlarge-scaleandevenwalledsettlements,andthisremindsusthatpyro-osteomancywasalreadyrathercloselyrelatedtoelitesinso-cietyatthistime.
OraclebonesspreadduringtheLongshaneraalongwithotherritualactivitiesandprestigegoodssuchasthesacriceofanimalsandhumans,specictypesofjadeobjects,high-qualitypottery,andcinnabar.
Theemergenceofalloftheseacrossabroadareaistheresultofinteractionamongdifferentregions.
Althoughtheirformandrepresen-tationarenotalwaysidentical,theideologicalsystemtheyrepresentisshared.
Pretreatmentoforacleboneswasinitiallynotcomplex,butthemeaningbehindtheseboneswouldhavebeenthesameacrossthesedifferentregions.
Oraclebonesarenotjustbonesbutrepresentativesofawholesetofskills,knowledge,andpracticeincludingprayer,assessment,anddecisionmaking,throughallofwhichelitestriedtoexertcontrolandlegitimateandsustaintheirauthority.
ItisclearthattheLateShangsawdivinationbecomecod-iedandsystematized,withdistinctivepretreatmentproce-duressuchasdrillingandchiseling.
(Incidentally,oneshouldaddtothistheplacementofcutsonthetopendofscapulae.
)Therefore,theconclusionthatdivinationservedasasignif-icantsourceofstatepoweriswell-founded.
However,statecontrolwasprobablyapplicableonlytotheearlypartoftheLateShang.
AftertheexpansionoftheareaofShangculture,oracleboneswithdoublehollowsbecamesopopularthat,likethemostcommontypesofpottery,suchasthelitripodandtheguibowl,theyarefoundatsitesofdifferentsizes,includingordinarysettlementssuchasQianzhuangcuninPinlu,Shanxi,andKuangzhongandLiutaiziinJiyang,Shan-dong.
Afterall,theprocessingofscapulaeandturtleshells,evenusingthedouble-hollowstechnique,wasnotdifcultforancientpeoplewhowerefamiliarwithboneandhorntoolproduction.
Inmyopinion,whattheLateShangroyalcourttriedtocontrolwasnotpretreatmentproceduresbutlargeturtleshellsandscapulaeand,mostimportant,thewrit-ingsystem.
LargeturtleshellsandlargecattlescapulaearethemostcommonbonesatYinxu,andbeyondYinxuoracleboneinscriptionscanbefoundonlyatthesinglesiteofDaxin-zhuang(theexamplesfoundinZhouyuanwereunearthedfromWesternZhoufeatures).
Itisobviousthatbonesoflong-livedanimalshadgreatspiritualsignicancefortheShangpeople,whilethewritingsystemwasarareaggregationofcommunicationandknowledge(includingritualandreligiousknowledge).
Itisthroughthecontrolofallofthesekeyre-sourcesthattheShangroyalcourtrealizeditsdominationofanintegratedsystemofdivination.
Furthermore,theLateShangcourttriedtoinitiateanothermethodofdivination,namely,theguayaosystem,basedonthecountingofyarrowsticks.
Althoughwedonothaveenoughevidencetosaywhetherpyro-osteomancygavewaytotheguayaosystemintermsofsignicance,theubiquityoforaclebonesatShangsitescouldbeseenasasignthatpyro-osteomancyhadlessmysticationthanbefore.
TheWesternZhousawtheconsummationoftheguayaosystem,whileoraclebonesclearlybecamelesssignicant.
Pyro-os-teomancywasthusreducedtoinsignicanceasacomponentofnecromancyrelatedtoTaoismandpersistedmainlyinperipheralareas.
Theresearchonoraclebonesunearthedfromperipheralsitesisquitecompelling.
Untilnowtherehasbeennocom-prehensiveclassicationorinterpretationoforaclebonesintheCentralPlainsareaduringtheShangandZhouperiods.
Flad'sanalysisoforaclebonesintheYangziRivervalley,basedonmaterialshehimselfcollected,isawonderfulcasestudy,showingushowlocalpeopleadoptedandadaptedtraditionaldivinationprocesses,particularlythepretreatmentoforaclebones,fromtheCentralPlains.
Thediversityofpyro-osteo-manticproceduresinperipheralareasshouldbemoreobviousthanthatofthepre-Shangperiodbecausestateshadlesscontroloverthiskindofactivityatthattime.
Site-by-sitecasestudieslikethisonewillrevealmoreandmorenewinfor-mationaboutthisimportantpractice.
MagnusFiskesjo¨DepartmentofAnthropology,CornellUniversity,Ithaca,NY14853,U.
S.
A.
(nf42@cornell.
edu).
10I08Flad'sarticleisanexcellentcontribution,anup-to-datesurveyofrecentmaterialsofgreatvaluetoeveryoneinterestedinissuesofdivination,power,andstateformationinancientChinaandbeyond.
IhavesomequestionsthatIwouldliketoraiseaboutthesebigissues,butrst,someobservationsonthegeneraldiscussionaboutdiviners,theirsocialstatus,andtheirdenitionaseitherindividual-orgroup-oriented424CurrentAnthropologyVolume49,Number3,June2008intheirservice:Thismayneedsomequalication.
Instateless,egalitariansocietiesknownethnographically(suchastheWaoftheBurma/Chinaborderregioninrecenthistory,withwhichIamfamiliar),divinersmayalternatelyservebothin-dividuals(andfamilies)andwidersocialgroups(kingroups,villages).
Butevenwhentheserviceisorientedtowardhelpingbutasmallpartofsociety(e.
g.
,asinglenuclearfamily)tochooseitscourseofactioninthefaceofillnessorothertroubles(themostfrequentusesofdivination),itsavailabilityandthepresenceofdivinationasaculturalpracticearestillofgreatimportanceforsocietyasawhole.
Evenso,divinersaresimplyordinary,ifdivinelygifted,personswhouselittlemorethantheirownbodiesastoolsandarenotidentiedastaughtcraftsmen—somethingwhichisprobablyintimatelyrelatedtotheemergenceofsocialclassesinearlystates,whichthearticleproceedstodiscuss.
Onequibblehereiswiththeformulation"acrossChinainShangtimes":thestatestructurethatgoesby"China"hardlyexistedinShangtimes.
Itwasbeingbroughtintoexistence.
Thismakesitnecessarytoavoidthepresentnation-statetem-plateof"China"andinsteadspeakgeographicallyof"EasternAsia.
"Also,onewondersifanyprecisecontextinformationwasrecordedforanyoftheprestateoraclebonesmentioned.
Sadly,thishasseldombeenthepracticeinChinesezooar-chaeology.
Mostofthepiecesmentionedprobablyhavenoprecisecoordinates,onlygeneralproveniencefromaperiodstratum.
Ifwehadcoordinateswemightexpectthatinegal-itariansocietiesdivinationbonesandthelike(whichcanserveasahistoricalmemoryandindeedrecordevenwithoutwrit-ing,astheyoftenhaveamongtheWa)mightbekeptinsidehomesordiscardedinsignicantspotsnearby.
(Instateso-cietiestheygetarchived,asisseeninthepalacesoflateAnyang.
)Asregardsstateformation,inmy2001pieceonhuntingdivinationsIsuggestedthatthesuccessivestandardizationofexpecteddivinationoutcomesthatisapparentintheLateShangoracleboneinscriptions(whichdovetailswiththeob-servationoftechnologicalstandardizationoverthesamegen-eralperiod),eliminatingmuchoftheoriginaluncertainty,indicatedthebureaucratizationofasecurelyestablishedstatepower.
Therewasnolongeranypointintheking'sdisplayinghimselfopenlyonthehuntingpathashehaddoneinthepast.
Ritualizedhuntingnowtookplaceonlyinsecuresettingswithprearrangedprey.
Thestate,basedasitwasondra-maticallymoredeadlymilitarymightthanbefore,hadalreadybecomesosecurelyestablishedthathuntingasasymbolic-performativetoolofstateformationwasnolongeruseful.
NowildanimalscouldthreatensuchforcesastheyhadthreatenedpeopleintheNeolithicandprecedingperiods.
AndthisiswhataccountsfortheabandonmentofstatebonedivinationinZhoutimesandevenforthecuriousshifttoandsometimepersistenceofturtle-shelldivination.
Iwonderwhattheauthorthinksaboutthisargumentandabouttheintimatelyrelatedproblemofthechoiceofmedium.
Inmypiece,Isoughttoexplainthesechoices,suggestingthattheonce-dominantcattleboneswereusefulbecauseofthesymbolicallymeaningfulintermediatelocation(thuspsuit-ablemedia!
)ofroyaltamedcattleinthedynamicprocessofestablishingthekingdombyvanquishingtheforcesofthewildonbehalfofwhatwouldconsequentlybecometheking'speople.
Itisalsoworthsuggestingthathardbonemaywellhavebeenthesymbolicmediumofchoicefordiviningthebuildingofthestate,asopposedtotheshiveringliversgazedatinsomanyegalitariansocieties,wherethehardeningofanymo-nopolyofpowerwassowidelydiscouraged.
Lastly,IhopethatFladandotherscholarsonthefrontlinesofChinese(or,perhapsbetter,EastAsian!
)zooarchaeologymayhavetheopportunitytoexaminethesubstantialandwell-preservedcollectionsofanimalbonematerialsfromtheear-liestmodernarchaeologicalexcavationsinChinamadebyJohanGunnarAnderssonincentral/northChina(Qinghai/Gansu/Henan,etc.
)inthe1920sandstillstoredattheMu-seumofFarEasternAntiquitiesinStockholm.
LongdormantandunstudiedsinceAndersson'stimesbecauseoflackoflocalscholarlyinterest,theybegforcomprehensiveresearchandreevaluation.
Thiswouldincludeseveralexamplesofpur-portedlyLateNeolithicuninscribeddivinationscapulaethatareverysimilartothefascinatingpiecesexhibitedinFlad'sgure2.
ZhichunJingDepartmentofAnthropology,UniversityofBritishColumbia,Vancouver,BC,CanadaV6T1Z1(jingzh@interchange.
ubc.
ca)15I08Movingbeyondthetraditionaltreatmentofdivinationasanevolvedreligiousactivity,Fladexploresthesocialaspectsofdivinatorypractice,particularlyarguingthatthecontrolofaccesstospecializedknowledgeaboutdivinationcouldbeachievedthroughtheelaborationandstandardizationofdi-vinatoryproceduresandthatincreasinglyelaboratedivinationpracticeduringthelateShangperiodwaslikelylinkedtobureaucraticinstitutionsasasourceofstatepower.
Istronglyagreewithhimthatalong-termperspectivewithaspecialfocusonthesocialdimensionofdivinationwillshednewlightonthevariedforms,dynamics,andhistoriesofthecom-plexsocietiesofearlyChina.
Pyromancywas,asFladpointsout,commoninvariousregionsinChinaduringtheearlyBronzeAge,butitsrolesinmaintainingsocialrelationsand/orlegitimizingpoliticalauthorityvariedgreatly.
Toagreatextent,hetreatstheCentralPlainasasingleregionforanalysis,assumingtheevolutionarydevelopmentofdivinationasareligiousinstitutionfromtheErligangthroughtheHuanbeiorTaixitotheAnyangperiod,builtuponhistoricalaccountsontheShang'sremovalofitscapital.
ThisassumptionleaveslittleroomforinquiryintoFladDivinationandPower425theworkingsofthevariouscitiesandpolities,whichmayshowsubstantialvariation.
Theone-to-onelinkageofmoreelaboratedivinationpro-cedurestostateinstitutionsmaynotbeempiricallygrounded.
SomeearlysocietiesintheCentralPlainweresufcientlycomplexorganizationallyandsociallytobecalled"stateso-cieties,"butthereislittleevidencethatpyromancywasnec-essarilyastate-sponsoredorstate-controlledenterprise(e.
g.
,HSWKY2001;ZSKY1999).
Flad'sanalysissuggeststhatdi-vinatoryactivitiesusingoraclebonesatAnyangwereperhapssystematizedandinstitutionalizedduringtheLateShangpe-riod.
Moreimportant,however,theywereintensiedtoanunprecedenteddegree(Cui2003;Keightley1978b;ZhangB.
1988),andthesamewastrueofotherritualssuchashumansacrice(HuangZ.
2004).
Theseintensiedritualactivitieswereaccompaniedbysocialandculturaltransformations,asmanifestedbytheinventionofwriting,theintroductionofhorse-drawnchariots,intensiedexchangeofmaterialgoods,andthepresenceofethnicallydifferentpopulations(ZSKY1994).
Clearlyallthesecannotbeexplainedsimplybyanevolutionarymodelinwhichtheculturesortraditionsrep-resentedatErligang,Huanbei,andAnyangdevelopedinalinearfashion,withincreasingsocialcomplexityresultingfromtechnologicalinnovation,economicspecialization,so-cialdifferentiation,andpoliticalcentralization.
Flad'sproposalofthe"coexistenceofmultipleritualsys-temsormultipleversionsofaritualsystem"intheShangsocietyisnotwellsupported.
Theremayinsteadhavebeendifferentdivinatorytraditions,particularlyintheearlyphasesofAnyangoccupation.
Remainsofpyro-plastromancyandpyro-scapulimancytendnottooccurtogether(LiuYiman1997),andli-groupdivinersseemtohavehadapreferenceforpyro-scapulimancy.
Theearlyphasesshowmuchmorevariabilityanddiversityinformsandstylesofartifacts(pot-tery,bronzes,evenjades)andarchitecturethanthelaterphases,possiblysuggestinggreaterheterogeneityofmaterialcultureandpopulationinthebeginningofurbanizationatAnyangandaprocessof"simplication"towardtheendoftheYinxuperiod.
Similarly,thereweremanydivinersintheearlyphases,andtheyperformeddivinationindifferentsocialcontextsforkingsaswellasnonroyalelites.
Manyofthemwereinuencedbydifferentdivinatorytraditionssuggestiveoftheirdiverseculturalorreligiousbackgrounds(TakashimaandYue2000).
Incontrast,onlyaveryfewdivinerscanbeidentiedduringtheterminalphaseoftheurbanoccupationatAnyang.
Recentstrontiumanalysisofhumanteethsuggeststhepresenceofmanymoremigrantsfromotherterritoriesintheearlyphasesthaninthelateones.
Moreandmorelinesofevidenceseemtosupportthehy-pothesisthatAnyang,likemanyearlycities,mayhavebeenintentionallycreatedtoservetheinterestsofdifferentsocialgroups,bothlocalanddistant.
Heretheformationofnewgroupidentitiesmayhavebecomecrucialbecausethecityrepresentedanewsocialorderinwhichdifferentsocialgroupsinteractedand,moreimportant,wererecombinedundernewleadership,probablybymeansofthedevelopmentofanewreligiouslygroundedideologyofsocialorderandhierarchy(Yoffee2005).
Intensieddivination,humansacrice,andotherritualactivitieswerethematerializationofthisideology,whichwasusedtojustifyandpromotetheprogramsandbenetsoftheShangkingsandotherelitegroups.
AmajorsourceofthesocialpoweroftheShangupperclasseswasthepossessionofspecializedknowledgeincludingelaborateformsofdivination(ratherthantheuseofpracticalknowledgeasFladhasit).
ItalsoneedstobeemphasizedthatintensiedpyromancyatAnyangduringtheLateShangperiodwashistoricallycon-tingentuponthelong-termdivinatorytraditiondevelopedinnorthernHenanandsouthernHebei.
BeforetheriseofAn-yangasamajorpowerthisareahadalonghistoryofpy-romancyunmatchedbyanyotherregion.
AmongthemanypyromanticremainsfromXiaqiyuanistheearliestexampleofanoracleplastronpretreatedwithdoublehollows,datedtothersthalfofsecondmillenniumBC(HWG1979).
DavidN.
KeightleyDepartmentofHistory,UniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley,CA94720-2550,U.
S.
A.
(keightle@socrates.
berkeley.
edu).
4I08Flad's"DivinationandPower"isavaluablecontributiontotheeld.
Ihavejustthreeminorcomments:1.
DivinationwithintheLateShangchangedconsiderably(Keightley1999a,243,245;seealso1997,27,30;2004,esp.
29–44):Notonlydiddivinersusecomplementary,positiveandneg-ativechargepairsincreasinglyrarely,buttheyreducedthewholescopeoftheenterprise.
.
.
.
Calligraphy,moreover,oncelargeandboldinPeriodI.
.
.
hadbecomeminuscule.
.
.
.
Cracknotationsthat,inPeriodI,hadidentiedtheauspiciousnessofparticularcracks.
.
.
werealmostcom-pletelydiscarded.
.
.
.
Shangdivination,inshort,had.
.
.
becomemoresystematic,lessspontaneous,andlesscom-prehensive;ithadalsobecomeroutinelyoptimistic.
Whatthesechangesmeanisnoteasytoassess.
Probably,severalstrandsofcausationareinvolved:bureauracraticla-ziness,thegrowingpopularityoftheYijingformsofdivi-nation(Vandermeersch2001),etc.
LiuYiman(1995),forex-ample,onthebasisofthecheaper"funeralwares"(mingqi)inthetombs,seesatrendofincreasingreligiousskepticism.
Underhill(2002),226)suggeststhat"thesystemofsocialrankingwasbecomingmoreentrenched.
.
.
.
Onlyaminorityofeliteswereentitledtohigh-qualitybronzevessels.
"2.
WhatwasdonewiththebonesandshellsaftertheywereusedTombs,specialarchives,garbage—allmustbeconsid-ered(Keightley2006b).
GenerallyFladdoesnotmentionthesourcesoftheoraclebones.
3.
IwishthatFladhadused"ancestorworship"alittle426CurrentAnthropologyVolume49,Number3,June2008more.
AncestorworshiphaddeeprootsintheNeolithicandShang(see,e.
g.
,Keightley1999c:11,17,38n.
119,40,43–44;2004).
"Shangreligiouspracticeresteduponthedoutdes('Igive,inorderthatthoushouldstgive')beliefthatcorrectritualprocedurebytheShangkingswouldresultinfavorsconferredbyDi"(Keightley1978b,214–l5)ortheancestors(seealsoKeightley2004;3–5,11–30).
Ancestorworshiphadbuiltthedynastyinpart.
Whentherearenooracle-boneinscriptions,wemustpro-ceedcautiously.
Eventheblankoraclebones(Song1999,392)mayhavecontributedtothecultoftheancestors.
Presumablytheroyaldivinerssharedaculturewiththerestofthediviners,includingancestorworship.
Thewritingrenderstheoraclebonesparticularlyvaluable,buteventheblankbonewaspartofthesameculture.
IlookforwardtomoreofFlad'swritings.
EvangelosKyriakidisClassicalandArchaeologicalStudies,SchoolofEuropeanCultureandLanguages,UniversityofKentatCanterbury,CanterburyCT27NG,UK(evangelo@ucla.
edu)23I08Throughhisthought-provokingdiscussionofthewaybone-divinationritualswereadaptedovertimeinChina,Fladtouchesonissuesinvolvingriskintheperformanceofritual(forwhatIconsiderritual,seeKyriakidis2007,289–96).
Inexploringthisdimensionofthearchaeologyofritualhemaybecontributingnotonlytotheunderstandingofthematerialathandbutalsotothearchaeologyofritualingeneral.
AsFladmentions,"Thepersonalityandcharismaofin-dependentdivinersareasignicantpartoftheeffectivenessoftheirprognostications(WinkelmanandPeek2004,7).
"Indeed,theabilitytoprovidegoodinformation,tosatisfytheneedsofthe"patron,"andtodevelopastrategyfortacklingtheambiguityofthefuturearenecessaryvirtuesforasuc-cessfuldiviner.
Havingtodealwitha"patron,"however,con-strainstheindependenceofthediviners:failedprognostica-tionsmustbeexplainedefciently,unpalatabledivinationswillhavetobeeitheromittedor"sold"withcaresoasnottoinfuriatethe"patron,"andthetricksofthetradewillhavetobesafeguardedtomaintainone'sauthority.
Theseissuesposeanumberofrisksforadivinerwhichinfactlargelyoverlapwiththetypesofriskidentiedforallrituals.
Howe(2000,69)identiesextrinsicandintrinsictypesofrisk,theformerbeing"riskswhichaccompanytheenactmentofaceremonybutarenotbuiltintothestructureoftherite"andthelatterbeing"integraltotheriteitself,partofitsveryessence.
"AlthoughIfollowHowe'sobservationsontherisksinvolvedwiththeperformanceofritual,Icannotseeadis-junctionbetweenthestructureandtheperformanceoftheritual.
Infact,Iwouldclaim,theritualexiststhroughitsperformanceandnotonthebasisofanintangible"structure,"evenifthisperformanceisnotforpublicdisplayanddoesnoteffectanyperceptiblechangeintheworld—aswithsomeprayers.
Toputitsimply,ifthereisnoaction,noperformance,thereisnoritual.
Theenactmentofritualandtheextenttowhichitfollowsthenormscreatedthroughcomparisonswithpreviouslyper-formedritualscreatesriskfortheperformer.
Aperformancemaybeconsidered"correct"or"incorrect,""successful"or"unsuccessful,"withimmediateconsequencesforthestatusofthoseresponsible.
Socialstatusisalsoriskedinthepublicreceptionofone'sprojectedstatusinritualperformanceorparticipation.
Adivinermayundertaketopredictsomethingextraordinaryorshowoffwithsomeveryexpensiveequip-ment,butthe"patron"orthepublicmaynotbeimpressed.
Sincestatushastodowithpublicrecognition,whenitisprojectedinanyritualperformanceandespeciallypublicrit-ualsitinvolvesrisk.
Fladmentionsthat"divinersdrilledhollowsintothebonespriortoburningtofacilitateandcontrolcracking.
"Theyhadthusdevelopedastrategyforminimizingtheirrisk,ensuringthattheirstatusassuccessfulperformerswasnotendangeredbytherandomcrackingofthebones.
Italsomeansthattheycouldthusavoidsurprisesthatwoulddisadvantagethemintheirrelationshipswith"patrons.
"TheadvantagesprovidedbythistreatmentofthebonespriortoburningmayhavebeenbehindthespreadofthispracticethroughouttheLowerXiajiadianandthenslowlytheErlitou.
Althoughvariousrea-sonscanbegivenfortheadoptionofspecicritualpractices,thefactthatdrillholeswereclearlydesignedtomitigateriskintherstplacerendersriskaprimemotiveforthedissem-inationofthispractice:thosewhoresistediteitherdidnotknowaboutitorwouldhaveconsidereditatypeof"cheating"thatwouldplacetheirstatusas"true"ritualperformersand"true"divinersatrisk.
Otherdivinationpractices,however,mayhavespreadforanumberofreasons,asFladpointsout,reectingclass,parochial,orotherdifferences.
Infact,relativelyinstitutionalized,crystallized,andstan-dardizedrituals(Kyriakidis2005,68–76)suchastheRoyalShangdivinationritualsaremorelikelytoincluderisk-mit-igatingelementssuchasthedouble-hollowtreatmentofor-aclebones.
Thisisbecausearitualwithariskmitigationstrategyismorelikelytobepropagatedandrepeatedforthelongperiodoftimethatisessentialforfurtherinstitution-alization(Kyriakidis2005,68–75).
Flad'sinspiringpaperoffersinsightintothechangingbone-divinationpracticesinearlyhistoricChina,butitalsobeau-tifullyillustratestheroleofriskandriskmitigationintheworkingsoftheserituals,anissuerelevanttomanydifferentritualsinChinaandbeyond.
AdamSmithCotsenInstituteofArchaeology,FowlerMuseum,UniversityofCalifornia,LosAngeles,CA90095,U.
S.
A.
(adsmith@ucla.
edu).
5I08AsFladmakesclear,EastAsianpyro-osteomancyisanex-tensivelyattestedphenomenon.
Helistssome80localitiesFladDivinationandPower427yieldingrelatedremains,andfurtherimportantexamplescouldbesuppliedfromadditionalChinese-languagestudies(e.
g.
,XieDuanju1993;ZhangandLi2007)andfromrecentexcavationreports(e.
g.
,BDKandSDW2000).
Accountingforthiswell-attestedbehavioraltraitrequiresexplainingwhat(ifanything)itwasgoodforanddecidingwhatbeliefstoassigntoparticipantsinthepractice.
WhatdidtheythinkitwasgoodforThedivinationrecordsfromAnyangindicatethatLateShangkingsbelievedthatcrackingbonypartsofdeadanimalswasauseful(butfallibleandtestable)techniqueforpredictingrainfallanddeterminingthesourceoftoothache,amongotherthings.
Theyweremistaken,butbeliefsofthiskindareap-pealingpartlybecausebelieverswouldbeempowerediftheyturnedouttobetrue.
Theymayalsoberesistanttofalsi-cationforthereasonsdiscussedbyDelfabbro(2004)andFugelsangandDunbar(2004).
Moreover,therearereasonsforthinking(andsomeslightevidence)thatsuperstitioninmoderationmaybegoodforyou,fosteringthe"illusionofcontrol"andenhancingperformanceoncertaintasks(Thompson,Armstrong,andThomas1998;Dudley1999).
Theillusorypromiseofdivinationiswhatsustainsthepractice.
Butthereareothermotivationsforparticipating,mostob-viouslytheprospectofmakingalivingthroughitsperfor-manceasamanticentrepreneuroranattachedspecialist.
Fladsuggeststhattheevidencehereviewsrepresents,consistently,theoutputofspecialists.
TheroleofspecialistsatthelargeShang-periodsitesisevident,buttheirpresenceatearlierandsmallersitesishardertodiscerncondently.
Someevidencecouldequallyrepresentattemptsbysmallgroupstodivineabouttheirowninterestswithoutexternalspecialistinterces-sion.
TheInnudivinersmentionedbyFladwerespecialistsonlyintheminimalsenseofbeingindividualswithadis-tinctivetalent,butthedescriptions(seealsoArmitage1992)implythattheinterestsofthegroupforwhichtheydivinedwerealsobroadlytheirown.
Adifferentdynamicaccompaniesasharperconictofin-terestsbetweentheperformersandthosewhoseanxietiestheyaddress.
Adivinerwhoampliesthoseanxieties,providespersuasiveandelaboratelyunfalsiablejusticationsfordiv-ination,drawsattentiontoprognosticatorysuccesseswhileconcealingfailures,andpreventscreepingincredulityinpa-tronswillprosperattheirexpenseandattheexpenseoflessablecompetitors.
Theresultingcompetitiveratchetisexemplied,Isuggest,bythemodicationsappliedtodivinationbones(drilling,chis-eling,splitting,"doublehollows")thatFladdiscusses.
Allareattemptstosqueezeasmanypromptandpredictablecracksfromtheboneaspossible.
TheYaoxianBeicunreport(BDKSZandSSKY1994,330)remarksthatdrilledholesweredeeperinthickerareasofthescapula:thebonewasreducedtoauniformthinnessatthepointswhereitwastobecracked.
Theaimwasacontrolledperformance,affordingprotectionagainsttheskepticismofincreasinglydiscerningpatrons.
The"doublehollows"controlledtheorientation(leftversusright)ofcracks.
Theinnovationcoincideswiththeintroductionofthesym-metricalturtleplastrons,onwhichpositiveandnegativever-sionsofadivinatorypropositionwereassociatedwithoppo-sitelyorientedcracksandinscriptionsonoppositesidesofthemidline—anovelbitofhocus-pocusbutnotobviouslyevidenceofincreasedpoliticalsignicance.
FladdescribesShang-periodpyro-osteomancyas"acrucialsourceofpowerfortheShangroyalhouse.
"ButweretheShangkingspowerfulbecausetheypracticeddivination,ordidtheylavishresourcesondivinationbecausetheywerepowerfulandbelievedinitThetwopossibilitiesarenotmutuallyexclusive,butconsiderthecaseofthemoremodestlypowerfulChuofcialShaoTuoamillenniumlater:Hisdiv-inationdiarysurvives(Cook2006,153–210),andformallyandfunctionallyitrepresentsdescentwithmodicationfromtheShangrecordsFladmentions.
In317BChesufferedab-dominalpains,wasshortofbreath,andlackedappetite.
Di-vinersprescribedsacricetoavarietyofimaginarybeingsanddeadkings.
Thefollowingyear,vedivinersrespondedtosimilarsymptoms.
Recommendingthesacriceofmorelive-stock,theypredictedan"auspicious"outcome.
Twentydayslateranotherdiviner,notingpersistingsymptoms,predicted"hewillnotdie.
"Moresacricewasrecommended,andtheprognosticationwas"auspicious.
"AmonthlateraninventorywasbeingdrawnupofthecontentsofthetombinwhichShaoTuoandhisdivinationdiaryweretobeburied.
AswiththeShangkings,wehavestronggroundsforattributingbeliefindivinationtoShaoTuo,andhispowerwasapparentlydiminishedratherthanaugmentedbyhisbehavior.
Playingamixedroleofpatronandperformerandsittingontopofasocialhierarchy,theShangkingsmayhavebeenlessvulnerable,butdistinguishingthepowerthatallowedthemtoindulgeindivinationfromthepowergeneratedbytheindulgenceisasubstantialchallenge.
PhilipM.
PeekDepartmentofAnthropology,DrewUniversity,36MadisonAve.
,Madison,NJ07940,U.
S.
A.
(ppeek@drew.
edu).
8I08Flad'shistoricalreconstructionoftheShangperiodofChinesehistoryonthebasisofevidencefromoraclebonesisfasci-natinganddemonstratesyetanotherdimensionoftheval-uableinformationtobegleanedfromdivinationsystemsandtheirartifacts.
Becausedivinationexistsinallhumansocietiesandusuallyinvolvesthefundamentaltenetsandvaluesofasociety,itbecomesarichresource.
Wearealsoremindedthatvirtuallyanyaspectofculturecanbetracedovertimeandspaceandprovidevaluablehistoricaldata.
WhileIcannotcommentonthehistoryofChinesearchaeologyorFlad'sspeciccitations,Icanoffersomethoughtsonhismethod-ologyandthecomparativestudyofdivinationsystems,es-peciallyintermsofAfricancultures.
AnumberofyearsagoIattemptedahistoricalstudyofthediviningchainofsouthernNigeria(Peek1982).
Related428CurrentAnthropologyVolume49,Number3,June2008tothefamousIfadivinationsystemoftheYorubapeoples,thissystemusestwochainsofeightseedshellseach.
Cognatetermsforcongurationsandcomparableaspectsofthediv-inationprocessallowedcommentonthehistoryofpeoplesofsouthernNigeria.
Suchstudiesarealsopossibleforotherdivinationsystemswhichhaveregionaldistributionsuchasthedivination"bones"usedthroughoutsouthernAfrica.
Giventhewealthofdatawenowhaveontraditionalreligionsandsystemsofknowledge,intellectualhistoriesofAfricanculturesarequitefeasible(Peek1991,13).
Certainlytheex-traordinaryhistoricalstudiesofWimvanBinsbergen(2005)demonstratethewealthofpossibilities.
WhileIamimpressedbyFlad'sreconstructionofthede-velopmentofstatesocietiesinrelationtoincreasedelabo-rationofthedivinationsystem,severalquestionsdoemerge.
IwishthereweremoretextualevidencefromtheoraclesthemselvestocorrelatewiththepoliticalcontrolwhichFladassumes.
Suchevidenceisalludedtoatseveralpointsbutneverexplicitlypresented.
Adistributionhistoryofformsoverspaceandtimedocumentspresenceandabsence,butcor-relationcannotbeassumedtobecausation.
Inaddition,weneedtobecautiousaboutassumingthatelaborationofaculturalsystemnecessarilymeanspoliticalcomplexity.
Cer-tainlytheIfasystem,whichrequiresatleast16yearsoftrain-ing,continuestobetaughtandpracticedbydivinerswhoareveryindependent.
Whilethereareafewstilllinkedtocourts,allthesedivinerspayallegiancetoIfanotsecularauthority.
Infact,therearenumerousexamplesofcomplexdivinationsystemspracticedinnonstatesocietiesthroughoutAfrica.
Alongsimilarlines,toacceptthelinktopoliticalcontrolweneedmoreexplicitevidenceofthemanipulationoforac-ularmessagesanddivinatorydevices.
Iamtroubledbyanyassumptionthatdivinationmustinvolvemanipulationbythedivinerforpersonalorstatereasons.
Closerexaminationofdivinationsessionsusuallynegatesthischaracterization.
InAfricaitiscertainlypossiblefordivinationandpoliticalcon-troltobelinked(see,e.
g.
,Mendosa1982).
Thereisnoques-tionthatthosewhocontroltheinstrumentsofknowledge,especiallythoseofanoracularnature,mayhavegreatpower;buthowisthisexercisedThosewhoconsultdivinersmaydosoonbehalfofothers(husbandsforwives,fathersforsons,andsoon).
WasthereasimilarpatternintheShangperiodWho(ifanyone)ismanipulatingwhatforwhomAlthoughIhaveneverperformedpyromancy,Iamwillingtoacceptthatdrillingholesaffectsthecrackingpatternsinthecattlebonesandturtleshells,but,again,Iwonderhow.
IfFladcandemonstratealterationofcrackingpatternsduetothepatternofdrilledholes,wehaveamuchtighterar-gument.
Thetechniqueofpreparingagridofmarksonwhichtherewillbedivineeffectiswidespread.
Forexample,theDogondivinersofMaliprepareelaboratesix-sectiongridsinthesand,fullofsymbolicmarkersandscatteredcornkernels,whichawaitthenight-timepassageofafoxwhosepawprintscreatetheoracularmessagetobereadinthemorning.
Indeed,thisisaveryelaborate,standardizedsystempracticedinavillagesetting.
Elaborationalonedoesnotmeancourtafl-iationormanipulation.
Iamdelightedtoseehistoriesofesotericculturalpracticesbeingpursued.
Toooftenweassumethathistoriographyde-pendsentirelyonwrittenrecordsandignorewhatartifactscantellusaboutculturalpracticesandhowtheymaychangeovertimeandspace.
Chinesestudieshavetheaddedaidoflocalhistories,courtrecords,andancientscholarlycommen-tary,butsuchstudiescanbedevelopedforsocietieswithoraltraditionsaswell.
Givendivinationsystems'detailedarticu-lationofaculture'svalues,thesehistoriescanbeespeciallyilluminating.
IhopethatthisarticleisapreludetofurtherinvestigationsoforaclebonesinChinesehistory.
ReplyIappreciatetheseextensiveandinsightfulreviews,andIhopethattheyandmyresponsestothemwillfosteradditionalresearchintothearchaeologyofdivinationandritualgenerallyandintotheprocessesofchangethatoccurredinconjunctionwiththedevelopmentofcomplexsocietiesinEastAsiaduringthelastseveralmillenniaBC.
Asisalwaysthecasewithar-chaeologicallyinspiredresearch,futureinvestigationswillcontinuetoaffectourunderstanding.
Severalcommentatorsrecognizethevalueoflong-termperspectivesonancientritualpractices.
Allan,Falkenhausen,andPeekmakethispointmostexplicitly,andIamsurethatthissentimentissharedbyothers.
Thisisnotanidlepointoronethatappliesonlytoarchaeologists.
Falkenhausenurgeshistoriansofreligiontodevelopdiachronicresearchfarther,andthesamecallcanbemadetoanthropologistswhodealwithcontemporaryritualpracticesandthematerialaspectsofchangingritualbehavior.
SeveralcommentsreectmyinvocationofMann's(1986)foursourcesofsocialpower:ideological,economic,military,andpolitical.
Ichosenottoelaborateonthesevariouscom-ponentsbecauseoftheriskofexaggeratingdistinctionsamongthemattheexpenseoftheholisticapproachthatCampbellencourages.
AlthoughIemphasizetheincreasingimportanceofdivinationasasourceofsocialpowerduringtheShang,Idonotmeantosuggestthatothersourceswereabsentorunconnected.
AsAllan,Chen,andFangallpointout,controlovertheextractionandacquisitionofcertainresourceswasanimportantsourceofeconomicpowerduringtheChineseBronzeAge(seeLiuandChen2001).
Militarypowerislike-wiseevidentnotonlyintheformofbronzeweaponsandhumansacricebutalsoininscriptionsonoraclebonesthatrelatetoconict.
Infact,thesesocialinstitutionsareallin-tertwined.
Examinationofthediachroniccourseofrelation-shipsbetweencertaininstitutionsandsocialpowerisnev-erthelessnecessaryandimportant.
Thewidestrangeofcommentsrelatestothewaywein-FladDivinationandPower429terprettheelaborationofdivinationmarks.
Peekemphasizesethnographicvariationintherelationshipbetweentheso-phisticationofdivinationpracticesandpoliticalcomplexity,andJingcriticizestheideathatelaborateoraclebonesarestraightforwardevidenceoftheexistenceofstates.
AlthoughIconsiderincreasingelaborationintheLateShangindicativeofapeakinideologicalpractices(ofaspecictype)servingasacriticalsourceofpowerduringthisperiod,Idonotbelievethatthisisuniversallythecase.
Thediachronicchangeinothertypesofcontemporaryritualactivity,suchastheintensityofhumansacrice,towhichJingpointsseemstoofferfurtherevidencesupportingthechangesIobserve.
AlongwithPeekandJing,Campbellassertsthattheas-sociationbetweenstatebureaucracyanddivinationelabora-tionisproblematic.
Hiscritiqueisasmuchofthetypologicalapproachtosocialformandpoliticalorderasoftheproposedlinkagebetweenritualspecializationandstatecontrol.
IamsympathetictotheformerconcernbutfollowYoffee(2005)inbelievingthatstatesinvolveinstitutionsthatstructureso-cietyinnewways.
Nevertheless,inagreementwithSmith(2003),Iamultimatelylessinterestedintheproblematicdef-initionof"states"thanintheinstitutionsofauthorityandintegrationthattiecomplexsocietiestogetherandstructuresocialinteractions.
AtYinxu,theLateShangcapital,onelineofevidencethatsupportsastrongconnectionbetweendivinationandpoliticalpowerinthecourtcomesfromtheinscriptionsonmanybones.
Thisrelationshiphasbeenthefocusofmostoraclebonescholarship.
Allan,insupportofthenotionthatelab-orationisconnectedtostatus,makestheimportantpointthattheinscriptionsthemselvesshouldbetakenasanad-ditionalelementofelaboration.
Thisadditionalelementre-ectsthedevelopmentoforaclebonedivinationduringthelaterstmillenniumasa"prescriptiveproductionprocess"(seeLiYung-ti2007)—thewholesetofdividedlabor,alludedtobyFang,includingtheacquisitionofbonesandtheirstor-age,pretreatment,useinpyromancy,curation,inscription,andfurtherstorage.
Therelationshipbetweenoracleboneelaborationandpo-liticalpowerconcernsthenatureofdivinationpractice,whichIhavelabeled"specialized.
"ChenappropriatelyaskswhatImeanbythis,implyingthatIsuggestthatalldivinationwasmonopolizedbyShangkingsandhighelitesduringtheperiodofgreatestelaboration.
Thiswasnotmyintent.
Specializationisaconceptthatencompassesagreatdealofvariationthatshouldnotbeignored(Costin1991;FladandHruby2007).
ThosewhowereengagedinthemostelaborateLateShangpracticewereinmyviewattachedtotheShangelitethrougharelationshipthatestablishedamonopolyontheirservices,but,asSmithimplies,theyneednothavebeentheonlydi-vinersinthesociety.
Unattached(ordifferentlyattached)di-vinerswerealso"specialists"ofasort,particularlyaccordingtothebroadestdenitionofspecialization,whichemphasizesproductiononbehalfofnondependents(Clark1995;ClarkandParry1990;FladandHruby2007).
Itisimportanttorecognizethediversityofspecializationandteaseouttheimportantdifferencesbetweenpractitionersofsimilarprac-ticesindifferentsocialcontexts.
Inrelationtothisconcernwithdivinationasspecializedactivity,Jingwouldlikemetoreconsidermyuseoftheterm"practicalmastery,"suggestingthatwhatImeanis"special-izedknowledge.
"Bourdieu(1977[1972],15)usestheterm"practicalmastery"asamodeofpracticalknowledgetorefertotheinformal,embedded,unexpressed(andinexpressible)abilitytoskillfullyengageinspecicsocialactivity—often(butnotnecessarily)totheendofmanipulatingsocialrelation-ships.
"Specializedknowledge,"whichJingusefullyintro-duces,isentirelyconsistentwithpracticalmasteryinthecon-textofaspecializedactivitysuchasdivination.
Ifeelthatweshouldconsiderthedegreeofpracticalmastery(andnotjustspecializedknowledge)whendiscussingthedevelopmentoforaclebonedivinationinEastAsiabecausethesuccessofdivinationdependedinpartontheabilitytocombineme-chanicalprocedureswithintuitionandinsight(Tedlock2006).
Bydrawingourattentiontomyuseof"practicalmastery,"Jinghasalertedustoanissueofcontentionamongthevariouscommentators—therelationshipbetweentheincreasedelab-orationofbonepretreatmentandtheissueofpredictability.
Fiskesjo¨stressestheimportanceofchangesindivinationpro-ceduresthatwouldhaveincreasedpredictability,andthisissueisthefocusofcommentsbyKyriakidis,whopointsoutthatstrategiesforminimizingrisk(tothediviners)mayrelatetothenatureofclient-patronrelationships.
Thisintriguingsug-gestionisechoedbySmith,whocomparesthistotherelianceonillusionandsuperstitiontomitigateunpredictabilityinmoderncontexts.
Iurgecautionwithregardtoimplyingthatritualactivities(pastorpresent)are"irrational"(Bru¨ck1999;Tedlock2006),andIbelievePeeksharesthisconcern.
Heisalsotroubledbythesuggestionofmanipulationofresultsbydivinationspe-cialists.
AsSmithandotherspointout,thedirectionofcrack-ingwasclearlycontrolledbytheintroductionofthedouble-hollowform,andinthissensethecrackingwasmademorepredictable.
Wedonotknow,however,exactlywhatthediv-inationspecialistswereinterpretingandcannotassumethattheoutcomewasbeingmanipulatedinarecognizableway.
Nevertheless,thedivinationspecialistsduringtheLateShangwouldhavebeenconcernedwithaddressingsocialuncertaintythroughtheauthorityvestedinthemasmediatorswithan-cestorsandothersupernaturalforces.
Keightleylamentsthelackofattentionpaidtothequestionofancestors.
HehasdealtwiththisissueextensivelyfortheLateShang(Keightley2000,inadditiontothereferenceshecites),andthedevelopmentofancestorworshipforearlierperiodshasalsobeenexplored(LiuLi2000).
AlthoughIhavenodoubtthatancestorswereanothercriticalsourceofpowerfortheShangelite,itisworthbeingcautiousininvokingancestorworshipasanexplanatorytool,particularlyforear-lierperiods(Whitley2002).
Likewise,Iamhesitanttoinvoke"shamanism"acrosstimeinrelationtothispractice,although430CurrentAnthropologyVolume49,Number3,June2008itislikelythatoraclebonedivinationwasinsomewaysshamanistic.
Thedoublehollowsandotherpretreatmentsmayrequiremoreattentionthantheyareaccordedinthispaper.
AllanpositsapossibleinuenceofLowerXiajiadianpracticesonErlitoudivinationtraditions,whileJingfocusesourattentionontheCentralPlainsregion.
InadditionalcommentstomeJinghaspointedtoseveralscatteredexamplesofpretreatedoraclebonesacrossthisregionthatarecontemporaneouswithandmaybeslightlyearlierthantheLowerXiajiadianexamplesIcite.
Theseexamplesaresignicant,andIdrawattentiontothemhere.
CattlescapulaefromthelateLongshansitesofXiaopangouinMengjin,Henan(LB1978,255)andXinzhongjiinCaoXian,Shandong(HDWG1980,387)aresaidtohavebeendrilledbeforebeingburned.
AlsoinShandong,attheLong-shansiteofXingzhaiwang,inYucheng,about10fragmentsofscapulaeandturtleplastronshavesomepretreatment,al-thoughtheseweresurface-collected(DDWG1983,972).
Fi-nally,atGuangsheincentralShanxi,12cattleandpigscapulaewereusedasoraclebonesduringthelateLongshan,and8ofthemseemtohavebeendrilledbeforeburning(Jie1962,32).
TheLongshantraditionoftheGuangsheregionmayhavebeensignicantinthedevelopmentoftheXiaqiyuanculturethatJingmentions.
Inadditionto3directlyburnedscapulaeintheearlieststratum(level4),thelateXiaqiyuancontexts(level3)contain12cattleandsheepscapulaewithchiseledhollowscontemporarywithLowerErligangremains(HSWG1979).
Inaddition,onecompleteturtleplastronwithwell-aligneddoublehollowsalsoapparentlydatestothislevel.
ThissingleexamplepredatestheearliestdoubledivinationmarksthatIdiscussinthetext.
Inlevel2,duringtheperiodim-mediatelyprecedingtheLateShang(i.
e.
,"MiddleShang"),67oraclebone(plastronandscapula)fragments,17ofwhichhavedoublehollows,havebeenfound.
Thesedatasupportthechronologypresentedfortransitioninthesignicanceofdivination.
TheMiddleShangremainsfromXiaqiyuanarecontem-poraneouswiththesiteofHuanbeiShangcheng(Tang,Jing,andRapp2000),locatedimmediatelyadjacenttotheLateShangsiteofYinxu.
AtHuanbei,46oracleboneswithdoubledivinationmarksareincludedamongthe150specimensfoundatthesiteinanumberofdifferentcontexts,includingpitsattheHuayuanzhuanglocus(ZSKYAG2004)mentionedbyAllan,whocitestheseremainsasevidencefornonroyaldivination.
AlthoughIagreethatnonroyaldivinationoc-curred,theseremainsarenotstrictlycontemporaneouswiththeinscribedbonesfromYinxu.
ArecentlyexcavatedexamplefromGuandimiaomaybebetterevidenceofnonroyalLateShangdivination.
Thissite,reportedonJanuary17,2008,attheChineseAcademyofSocialSciences,isa10-ha.
villagerecentlyexcavatedinXin-gyang,Henan.
ItisanimportantexampleofanoneliteLateShangcommunity,anditcontainstwodiscoveriesworthmentioninghere.
Oneisapitcontaininganarticulatedcattleskeletonmissingitsscapulae,interestingbecauseitsuggestsboththepracticeofcattlesacriceandtheselectharvestingofcattlescapulae(seeYuanandFlad2005).
(InresponsetoKeightley'sandFiskesjo¨'scallformoreinformationaboutthecontextsinwhichoraclebonesarefound,itmaybesaidthatmanyarefoundinpitsalongwithotherrefuse,someinstoragepits,andmanyinundifferentiatedculturalstrata.
Thistopicdeservescarefulstudy.
)ThesecondrelevantdiscoveryfromGuandimiaoisacattlescapulausedfordivinationwithdoubledivinationmarks—anexampleofaLateShangoraclebonewithelaborateprep-arationbutnoinscriptioninanonroyalcontext.
Fangmen-tionsseveralothersandsuggeststhattheseremainsindicateagradualdisseminationofthispractice.
Although,ashepointsout,theproceduresforcreatingdoublehollowswerenottechnicallydifcult,properdivinationprocedurewouldhavebeenmorethanamatteroftechnicalprociency.
Fang'scommentsareechoedbyseveralotherswhodrawourattentiontochangesduringtheLateShang.
Keightley,forexample,pointstochangesinthecharacteristicsofin-scriptionsthatmay,ashesuggests,relatetochangesinthedegreeofdevelopmentofsocialranking.
WeseethisinotherdiachronicstudiesofBronzeAgerankedcommunitiesinan-cientEastAsia(Flad2002).
JingcallsourattentiontothepossibilitythatdiversegroupswerecomingtogetheratthebeginningoftheYinxuperiod,andthismaysuggestareasonthattheperformanceofelaboratedivinationmayhavepeakedatthistime.
AllanmentionsthatZhouprocedureswereal-readydivergingbythetimeofthetransitiontotheZhou(i.
e.
,inthelateperiodofYinxu).
ThisenhancesthecommentsmadebyFangandalsorelatestothewidegeographicalspreadoforaclebonedivinationaftertheShang,whenthepracticewaswaningintheCentralPlains.
TheoraclebonesfromSichuan,theThreeGorges,andthemiddleYangziregionspeakdirectlytothispoint.
Itisinterestingtoconsiderwhy,asFalkenhausenpointsout,despiteampletextualevidencefromtheZhouperiodfororaclebonedivination,thescantarchaeologicalevidenceislargelylimitedtoregionsremotefromtheZhoupoliticalcore.
Fangsuggeststhatthechangehadtodowiththeintroductionofyarrow-stickdivination,butothershavearguedthat,whiledivinationatthepopularlevelgavewaytoyarrowsticks,themostimportantdivinationsremainedthepurviewofosteo-manticspecialists(Loewe1981).
Fiskesjo¨suggeststhatthedemiseoforacleboneusereectsthefactthattherelationshipbetweenthecourtandtheanimalworldwasnolongerassignicantasithadbeenduringtheShang.
Althoughconsiderablymoreresearchwillberequiredtoaddressthisissue,Iwouldsuggestthatthesepatternsofdi-achronicchangeareusefullydiscussedfromthepointofviewthatcertainideologicalpracticesservedassourcesofsocialpowerfortherulingeliteintheCentralPlains.
Ihopethatfutureresearchwillcontinuetoexploretheseissues.
—RowanK.
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