Oracle bones are the oldest known form of Chinese writing. The Shang used oracle bones to tell the future. Scribes would take a bone from the shoulder of a buffalo or cow (but sometimes they used a turtle shell) and would carve a question on it. Then they carved pits in the bones and stuck a hot metal rod in it until the bone cracked and then they would read the cracks.
The Shang Dynasty existed during the bronze age of China. Bronze represented power, wealth, and luxury and was considered more valuable to The Shang than gold. Only the people with the highest degrees of power in the kingdom were allowed to own bronze. The Shang were masters at bronze technology. They made bronze mold castings and huge bronze vessels for food, wine, and were used in religious ceremonies. They also made bronze weapons for the army which was a huge advantage in war.