Early China on the Yellow River: dynasties, bronze and writing
Grade 6 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
Oracle bones: early Chinese writing
Topic What the card says Material pieces of ox shoulder bone and turtle shell, carved with characters When and where the late Shang period, at Yinxu near Anyang, the last Shang capital How many pieces more than 100,000 inscribed pieces have been found Characters thousands of different characters; about 1,200 are known with certainty Today the known characters include much of the core vocabulary of modern Chinese Rediscovery scholars learned of oracle bones in 1899 The script of the Indus Valley, another early river civilization, has not been deciphered.
More than 100,000 inscribed pieces have been found at Yinxu (card D). What is a careful conclusion, Bo asks?
- There were exactly 100,000 pieces, so the count is certain
- The people who lived at Yinxu could read and write
- Yinxu was the biggest town in the world at that time
- Writing was used often and on a large scale at Yinxu
Card D says the known oracle bone characters include much of the core vocabulary of modern Chinese. What does that show, Esme asks?
- Chinese writing has stayed the same since the Shang dynasty
- Chinese writing has continued for 3,000 years, with changes on the way
- The oracle bones are written in a language that is not spoken today
- Chinese writing began in 1899, when scholars first used the characters
Card D says some oracle bone characters can be read, but the Indus script has not been deciphered. What is the best reason for the difference, Jun asks?
- Oracle bone characters link to later Chinese writing, which gives clues
- Scholars have studied oracle bones for years and have not tried the Indus script
- Oracle bone characters are simple pictures, so anyone can read them
- The Indus script is too old to read, while the oracle bones are much more modern
Card D says scholars learned of oracle bones in 1899. Kira says that means they were made in 1899. What is the fix?
- They were made in the Shang, then carved again by scholars in 1899
- They were made in 1899, because that is the date on the card
- 1899 is when scholars learned of them; they were carved in the Shang
- They were carved in 1899 and found in the late Shang period
Three sources about oracle bones (field report, textbook, brochure)
Source What it is Who made it and why Field report an archaeologist's report on pieces dug out of the ground at Yinxu written by the diggers, to record what they found where Textbook a school textbook chapter on early China written by an editor, to teach students from other people's work Brochure a brochure from a shop that sells copies of oracle bones written by the shop, to get visitors to buy Two summaries we wrote: one says oracle bones number about 100,000 pieces; the other says about 160,000 pieces.
Luz needs to know exactly where a set of oracle bone pieces was found in the ground. Which source on card E is best for that?
- The field report, because the diggers wrote it to record what they found where
- The textbook, because a textbook has the final word on any topic
- The brochure, because a shop that sells oracle bone copies knows most about them
- Any of the three, since each of them mentions oracle bones
Why should Milo be careful about using the brochure to say how many characters are known? Use card E.
- It sells copies of oracle bones, so its facts must be copies too
- It is the newest of the three sources, and newer sources are weaker
- It was written to get visitors to buy, so it may stretch facts
- It is a brochure, and a brochure is too short to hold any facts
Oracle bones: early Chinese writing
Topic What the card says Material pieces of ox shoulder bone and turtle shell, carved with characters When and where the late Shang period, at Yinxu near Anyang, the last Shang capital How many pieces more than 100,000 inscribed pieces have been found Characters thousands of different characters; about 1,200 are known with certainty Today the known characters include much of the core vocabulary of modern Chinese Rediscovery scholars learned of oracle bones in 1899 The script of the Indus Valley, another early river civilization, has not been deciphered.
Suppose oracle bones show 4,800 different characters (a made-up number) and 1,200 are known with certainty. What share is known, Pia asks?
- 50%, because the known characters would be about half of 2,400
- 25%, one quarter of the characters
- 75%, the share that is not known
- 4%, because 4,800 ÷ 1,200 is 4
Ren's note says, "Oracle bones were written on paper." Which fix uses card D?
- They were painted on turtle shells with brushes and ink
- They were carved on stone that scholars later cut into pieces
- They were carved on ox shoulder bone and turtle shell
- They were pressed into wet clay and baked hard
Tala's note says, "There are 100,000 different oracle bone characters." Which fix uses card D?
- The note is right, since each piece has a character no other has
- There are about 1,200 pieces, and each piece has a different character
- 100,000 is a count of pieces; the characters number in the thousands
- There are 100,000 pieces and 100,000 characters, one on each piece
Two summaries we wrote: one says oracle bones number about 100,000 pieces; the other says about 160,000 pieces. Zee compares the textbook with the field report on card E. Which description of the difference is fair?
- Both are the same kind of source, since both are about oracle bones and early China
- The textbook is closest to the ground, because the editor handled the bones
- The field report is weak, because it was written by people with no training
- The field report records the dig; the textbook summarizes others' work for students