Dice are thought to be the oldest gaming implements known to man. Egyptian tombs, dated to 2000 BC, have been found containing dice, and dice reputedly dated to 6000 BC have been uncovered in archaeological excavations. Amazingly, dice were developed independently by many ancient cultures all over the world. Before standard cubical dice became common, ancient peoples would use fruit stones, sets of flat sticks, sea shells, nut shells and pebbles to get random results for games. These were probably adopted from witch doctors and shaman who would throw them to gain insight and knowledge of the unknown and things to come. Fortune telling is still practiced with standard dice to this day. Animal knucklebones were the next step in the evolution of dice. The Greeks and Romans used sheep anklebones as well as the more developed cubical spotted dice. The Romans called the four-sided anklebones Tali or Astaragali and the standard six-sided dice Tesserae. The Arab word for knucklebones is the same word they use for dice. Playing with dice is still known as "rolling the bones" to this day. Of course games have been played with dice from their early beginnings. The first were probably simple racing games and have been lost to history. The pharaohs of ancient Egypt were portrayed playing with dice and both the Romans and Greeks were keen dice players. Roman Emperors notoriously played and gambled with dice compulsively. Dice games are known to have been popular in Europe during the Middle Ages when French academics taught them to their students. In England, Richard the Lion Heart and King John both gambled with dice and King Henry VIII lost the bells of old St Paul's church on a throw. Dice games have been played in English inns since at least the 15th century. Dominoes descended from dice in China and spread to the west during the 18th century while standard ordinary dice became the vital component of a vast array of commercial board games in the 19th and 20th centuries. In recent times polyhedral dice have gained widespread popularity with modern technological advances in plastic moulding. So when you next play a board game, have a second look at those dice in your hand. Whether it's the old standard six-sided cube with spots or the latest polyhedral shape, dice are still the game players most vital, versatile and treasured piece of equipment.

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