Wednesday 20 August 2014

Rollin' Bones: The History Of Dice

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Dice have been used since before recorded history, and it's uncertain where they originated. The oldest known dice were excavated as part of a 5000-year-old backgammon set at the Burnt City, an archeological site in south-eastern Iran.

The first dice throwers weren't gamers, though. They were religious shamans who used astragali (talus bones), as well as sticks, rocks, or even animal entrails, for divination, the practice of telling the future by interpreting signs from the gods. How did these early dice make their way from the shaman to the layman?

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