Shang Dynasty

Late Shang rulers are documented by contemporary oracle-bone inscriptions and excavated royal sites near Anyang. The earlier Xia dynasty remains much harder to connect securely with written and archaeological evidence.

Diviners recorded questions about harvests, warfare, weather, childbirth, sacrifices, and royal ancestors on ox shoulder blades and turtle shells. Heat produced cracks that were interpreted as answers, and some inscriptions later recorded the outcome.

Shang workshops produced elaborate ritual vessels and weapons using sophisticated piece-mold casting. Bronze vessels displayed elite power and were used in ceremonies involving food, wine, and ancestral offerings.

The Zhou defeated the last Shang king at the Battle of Muye around the mid-11th century BC. Zhou rulers justified the conquest through the idea that the Shang had lost Heaven's mandate.