Above: Jade turtle excavated from the Lingjiatan site
Excavated from a 4500-year-old cemetery next to the Lingjia ruins in Hanshan County, Anhui Province, it is collected by the Anhui Museum.
Dimensions: Jade Turtle: Length 9.4cm, Height 4.6cm, Width 7.5cm, Thickness 0.3-0.6cm; Jade Piece: Length: 11cm Width: 8.2cm;
Above: Jade plates excavated from the Lingjiatan site
The jade plate is engraved with a mysterious eight-pointed star pattern.
When unearthed, the jade piece was sandwiched inside the jade turtle armor [see the picture below], which is the same as the ancient documents recorded in the "Yuan Gui Title Symbol" ("Yellow Emperor's Tips for Sending the Army"), "Yuan Gui Negative Book Knock" ("Shang Shu Zhonghou"), and "Big Turtle Negative Match" ("Dragon Turtle River Map").
This combination of jade turtle and jade plate is included in China's first large-scale archaeological and collection tool book of ancient jade excavated nationwide - "Complete Collection of Jade Unearthed in China".
The creation myth of the ancient Indian turtle elephant "Stacked Arhat"
Why divination with turtle shells
Mainly derived from a long-ago myth
At that time our earth
It was carried by a very large turtle
Above: What the jade turtle looks like when it is opened (one is the turtle's back armor, and the other is the turtle's belly carapace)
Both pieces of jade turtle carapace have drill holes, which are consistent with the number of real turtle carapace. The two pieces of jade turtle armor are combined to resemble a turtle.
The artificial jade product, the jade turtle, and the natural physical turtle, perfectly correspond.
Above: The jade turtles together
The ancients had a limited level of knowledge
Very superstitious
When something happens, you have to divinate
Doesn't it rain these days ?
Can the crops be harvested?
Can you win a war?
Having a baby, getting sick, dreaming?
Basically, I will divinate
Turtle shells were unearthed at the Jinsha site
The materials used for divination are mainly the turtle's belly carapace, the dorsal carapace, and the scapula of the cow. Usually, small pits are dug or drilled into the back of oracle bones to be used for divination, which oracleists call "drilling chisels". During divination, heating on these small pits causes cracks in the surface of the oracle bones. This rift is called a "megabyte." The word "bu" in the oracle bone is like the appearance of a sign.
Shang Dynasty inscription on cow bones (excavated from Xiaotun Yin Ruins in Anyang, Henan)
Turtle shells were unearthed from the Jinsha site
This type of divination accounts for the vast majority
Diviners made of jade and their rarity
At least there are two systems of divination along with the oracle bone
Specifically how to use it for divination
Looking forward to more archaeological discoveries in the future