Kalmyk bone divination scapulas. Artwork of scapulas (shoulder blades) used by the Kalmyk people of Central Asia for divination purposes. The bones were heated and the resulting cracks used to foretell the future. This practice, known as scapulimancy, was carried out over a wide geographical area, particularly in Asia and over a long period of time. In China, divination rituals using tortoise carapaces and scapulae date back to the Shang and early Chou periods, as far back as the second millennium BC.