The discovery of oracle bones at Anyang

Record summary

The recognition of inscribed oracle bones in 1899, traditionally linked to Wang Yirong and materials acquired through the antiquities market, initiated systematic interest in the late Shang center at Anyang. Later excavations at Yinxu connected inscriptions, tombs, ritual deposits, workshops and settlement remains. This lead matters for comparing textual evidence with archaeology and for examining how antiquarian collecting shaped historical reconstruction. Early acquisition histories are imperfect, and not every bone in circulation has secure provenance or reliable association with excavated contexts.