Abstract:
The discovery and identification of the Diviner burials in Wangyukou Locus South, Yinxu Site of the Shang Dynasty, have important academic value for testing the current dating standards of oracle bone inscriptions. The Burial M103 and Burial M94 there belonged to the second and third phases of Yinxu Archaeological culture, and both had the same character “”. From the bronze inscriptions and burial goods, it can be seen that the status of two tomb owners were Diviners. as a symbol of Diviners has been found during different periods and different burials, which indicates that it represented the clan name. In the Shang Dynasty, the clan named as Diviner demonstrates that it was not an individual person but many in the same clan in oracle inscriptions. This view that diviners there belonged to the same clan who could tell the fortune and served the king of the Shang accords with the explanation of the content in the burials and the historical features in the Shang Dynasty. Diviners from the same clan serving for the king of Shang is a fresh understanding to challenge the previous dating standard based on diviner as an individual name and thus to promote the scientific development of dating standards of oracle bone inscriptions.
