New Discovery in Archaeology: The Oldest Dice Found in America

New research results led by anthropologist Robert Madden from Colorado State University are challenging traditional views about the origins of gambling and the development of mathematical thinking. The scientist has identified objects that are likely the oldest dice in the world, dating back over 12,000 years. This discovery makes these artifacts thousands of years older than any similar findings previously discovered in Asia or the Middle East.

According to the study, these ancient gaming pieces belonged to Native American hunter-gatherers who lived at the end of the last Ice Age. Unlike modern six-sided dice, these artifacts were two-sided objects made from wood or bone. Each side featured unique markings, which could have been drawings, pigments, or notches. The principle of the game resembled coin tossing: players would throw several of these items simultaneously to achieve a random outcome.

Historians had previously believed that the theory of probability and gaming dice were innovations of the Old World that emerged around 5,500 years ago. However, the new findings in America suggest that indigenous peoples had long been crafting items for generating random results in structured games, well before this time.

To support his theory, Robert Madden developed a specialized testing system, through which he analyzed known historical artifacts and identified four key characteristics of prehistoric gaming dice: multi-sidedness, side markings, shape, and ergonomics, allowing for easy handling and tossing of multiple dice at once.

During the research, Madden examined over 560 artifacts from 57 different archaeological sites across North America. The oldest of these artifacts belong to the Folsom culture, which existed between 12,200 and 12,800 years ago, while one specific object may belong to the Clovis culture, pushing the date of gaming back to 13,000 years ago.

This discovery holds immense significance for the history of science, as the invention of gaming dice is considered humanity's first step towards understanding randomness and the probabilistic nature of the universe. Although there is a theory that these items could have been used for divination, the evidence supporting their gaming purpose is significantly more compelling.

The results of the study, published in the journal American Antiquity, confirm that gambling has been an integral part of social integration among Native Americans for the past twelve millennia. This discovery not only expands our understanding of the history of gambling but also highlights the importance of cultural practices among indigenous peoples that existed long before the creation of modern games.