Reading between the lines

Deciphering typically takes two dimensions into account: the precursor and its actual meaning in context.

A specific oracle bone character could vary in strokes or carving style while retaining the same meaning. Researchers have discovered that the matching between a certain precursor and its variations is crucial to decoding, much like image recognition, Wang explains.

To match precursors, the first step is to create a database for matching, starting by extracting them from the oracle bones. "AI detection algorithms can accurately identify the different parts and shapes of oracle bone characters. These algorithms recognize and fill in the missing or damaged strokes, significantly speeding up the character collection process for the database," Wang says.

A micro-trace enhancement process is used to allow for the high-fidelity visualization of the start and finish of strokes, shapes and divination cracks on the bones.

"This significantly reduces storage and transmission costs, allowing terminals and devices to easily download compressed oracle bone models and quickly decode them for real-time display. The system enables six degrees of free interaction — forward or backward, up or down, left or right, pitch, yaw and roll — making it possible to zoom in and rotate the bones, giving users an immersive visual experience and promoting the research and exploration of oracle bone scripts," Wang says.