What role did oracle bones play in Shang China?

• A. Currency used in trade.
• B. Divination by rulers to justify governance.
• C. Textbooks for Confucian learning.
• D. Material for weaponry.

Answer: (B)

Oracle bones were used as a tool for divination by Shang rulers to justify and guide governance. Priests would inscribe questions on animal bones or turtle shells, then apply heat until cracks formed. Interpreting these cracks, the diviners provided answers believed to come from ancestors or the gods, and the king used these readings to decide on military plans, weather concerns, harvests, and other state matters. The practice reinforced the ruler’s authority by presenting decisions as sanctioned by the divine. The inscriptions on the bones themselves also preserve the questions and outcomes, offering historians a glimpse into Shang state needs and priorities. They aren’t about currency, Confucian textbooks, or weapon material.