Native Americans had dice 12,000 years ago
3 hours ago
- #indigenous-history
- #gambling
- #archaeology
- 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.