Ancient fortune-telling bones acted as the world's first climate archives
Ancient animal bones used for divination in the Shang Dynasty have become unexpected scientific tools, preserving thousands of years of weather data that reveal how catastrophic storms once toppled powerful Chinese empires.
Archaeologists have transformed 55,000 oracle bones from the Shang Dynasty into the world's first climate archives. Originally used for spiritual divination between 1200 and 1050 BCE, these inscribed animal remains contain meticulous records of droughts, floods, and seasonal shifts. By tracking the frequency of these carvings, researchers can now reconstruct paleoclimate patterns with remarkable precision.
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