The origin of Chinese Character

The oldest Chinese character is Oracle bone script, and it was written on the tortoise shell, pottery and the cattle bone (Oracle bones).

According to the naver encyclopedia, they predict that Chinese Character was created 7000~8000 years ago in the early stage of the New Stone Age. For example, in Xi'an, there are famous remains of the New Stone Age, called "Banpo ruins". There were some potteries with script, which had been discovered at that place. These ruins had been discovered in 1953.

At this point, some people might commit offenses against the origin of Chinese character, because after Oracle bones antiquities had founded in 1899, many people recognize that first Chinese character had been made in B.C.1600. Moreover, after it was founded, people believe that Chinese character was created in Shang Dynasty. However, archeologists found that the pictographs in Shang dynasty already have composed the sentence structure and grammar to express the idea or thinking. (The picture below shows that each oracle bone indicates particular events and ideas of ancient people had.) (Naver Encyclopedia, 2012)

In addition to Banpo Ruins, archeologists found out the created era of the potteries from Banpo ruins by "Carbon Isotope Dating Method". There is an isotope carbon, which has 14 neutrons, in all organisms and stuffs. It is a radioactive element, and also unique. It's only provided when nuclear reaction happens between neutron from spaceship and Nitrogen (N14) at the atmosphere of the Earth. (Naver Encyclopedia, 2002)

The organisms and plants absorb and release C14 when they are alive. When they die, the C14s in the body or at the dead plants start radioactive decay, so the amount of C14 in the body getting decreased as the time passed. Thus the people can predict the era of the antiquities by the amount of remaining C14. This method is what scientists generally use, and this method also used on the potteries from Banpo Ruins.

---

References

http://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=2271519&cid=51213&categoryId=51213 (Origin of the Chinese Character, and the picture of the pottery)

http://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=941177&cid=47338&categoryId=47338 (Carbon Isotope Dating Method)

http://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=1832967&cid=42976&categoryId=42976 (Pic of oracle bones)