(1) Archaeologists Discover Oldest Chinese Characters in Shandong
[CND, 08/20/97] Archaeologists have discovered what they believe to be
4,000-year-old Chinese characters on two pieces of oracle bones unearthed
from a sacrificial pit in Shandong province, AFP reported. They were
nearly 1,000 years earlier than inscriptions on tortoise shells and ox
bones that belonged to the late Shang dynasty (16-11th century BC).
(Jian-Min LI, Guochen WAN)