THE SHANG DYNASTY ARTEFACT

Bronze is a mixture of copper and tin. It has a low melting point and a high degree of hardness when cooled. When it is cast, bronze can produce objects with razor-sharp edges and very detailed designs. Ancient China employed bronze objects as early as 4000 years ago (during the Longshan culture period). The use of bronze ceremonial vessels was at its peak during the Shang and Zhou Dynasties.

The religious practices of the Shang dynasty people rose from the belief in the spirits of ancestors in the supernatural world controlling the human earthly well-being. It was therefore necessary for the Shang people to offer prayers, food and drinks to them.

Below is an artefact found in a Shang tomb.

EXERCISE:
What do you think is the purpose of this artefact?
What does this artefact infer to you about the Shang dynasty people?

References Cited:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longshan_culture
http://www.npm.gov.tw/exhbition/cves2000/english/eves2000.htm

HOW DID WRITING CAME ABOUT?

The earliest evidence of a writing system came from Mesopotamia (present day Iraq). For the past 200 years archaeologists working in the region discovered large collections of ancient written document in the form of clay tablets with a cuneiform script. These incised signs were the first know written script, which led scholars to conclude that writing was invented by the Sumerians (who inhabited Mesopotamia at that time) around 3100 BCE.

Back in the ancient times, not everyone can write (or were allowed to write). Writings were often done by the scribes or priests, who worked for the rulers or government. Considering that only a handful could write during those times, we should consider ourselves fortunate that humanity progressed this far, and that all of us here can read and write (something that we sometimes take for granted). Very early writings were often about government affairs, or religious issues. The Dead Sea Scrolls is an example of religious writings in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. It was discovered in some caves in Qumran (about a kilometer away from the Dead Sea), hence the name. The Dead Sea scrolls contain the earliest known surviving copies of Biblical texts on parchment and papyrus!

Writing comes in many forms. The ancient Egyptians wrote their language in the form of pictures (as a saying goes: "A picture is worth a thousand words!"). The writing is called hieroglyphs, which means "sacred carvings". These ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic writings could be deciphered today, thanks to the discovery of the Rosetta stone in Egypt by Napoleon's French army in 1799. The stone tablet had two forms of writing on it. One form is in ancient Greek, and the other in Egyptian hieroglyphs. This allowed scholars to eventually unlock the secrets of reading these ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs in 1822.


Above: The Rosetta Stone

However, not everything is that simple when it comes to the translation of ancient writings by scholars in this field. The ancient text often has to have a "key" in order for it to be translated. The "key" may come in the form of a side-by-side or word-for-word translation of the text like in the case of the Rosetta Stone. As of today, there are a few ancient writings that continue to remain untranslated, one particular set of ancient writings is the Rongo Rongo tablets of Easter Island (or Rapa Nui), which has remained a mystery till today. For over a hundred years since its discovery, much controversy surrounds the translation of these enigmatic inscriptions. According to oral traditions by the locals, these hieroglyphic-like inscriptions (about one centimeter high, very formal and highly stylised) were done using obsidian flakes or a shark's tooth! The descendants of Rapa Nui were of Polynesian descent, and was first believed to have inhabited Easter Island around 400CE.


Above: The Rongo Rongo Tablet of Easter Island

References cited:
http://www.ancientscripts.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Island