Innovation from 4000 Years Ago
Bronze Age Board Game Discovered Source: Archeologist Walter Crist Game On Chiseled in Stone A fascinating archeological discovery. A dot pattern chiseled into stone in a rock shelter in Azerbaijan. Archeologist Walter Crist, who discovered it, says it shows that an ancient Near Eastern game called 58 holes or Hounds and Jackals, spread to a population of herders in Azerbaijan. That region is 1000 to 2000 kilometers away. Roll of the Dice Hounds and Jackals was thought to exist only in Egypt, Mesopotamia and other Near Eastern regions during the Bronze Age. Dr. Crist, of the American Museum of Natural History in NYC, says the Azerbaijan herders must have had contact with the Near Eastern world more than 1200 miles away. The archeologist says ancient games often passed across cultures. In this case, players are thought to have rolled the dice to move pebbles and get to the top first. 4000 years ago, someone created a new piece of innovation - a game and a roll of t