Native Americans had dice 12,000 years ago

5 hours ago

Native Americans in the present-day Southwestern U.S. used dice and probability-based games as early as 12,000 years ago, thousands of years earlier than in Europe, Africa, or Asia.
The study, led by a former lawyer turned archaeologist, compiled existing archaeological evidence to establish a continuous timeline of dice use from 12,000 years ago through European contact to today.
Dice were two-sided, made of bone or wood, and designed for random outcomes; they served as social and possibly religious tools, facilitating trade and community interaction.
The findings suggest Native Americans may have been the first to engage with complex concepts like probability and the law of large numbers, challenging historical sidelining of Indigenous intellectual achievements.

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