In a tomb near Siirt in southeast Turkey, archaeologists believe they may have just found the oldest gaming tokens ever after dating them back to a whopping 5,000 years young.
The extensive set is made up of 49 small, carved stones that wouldn’t be entirely dissimilar to chess pieces if not for the fact that, in addition to black and white, the tokens also come painted in red, blue, and green and were accompanied by poorly preserved wooden sticks. And the shapes of the pieces aren’t much help in figuring out how this Mesopotamian pastime actually worked; some are carved to look like pigs, dogs, and pyramids while others take on more generic board game staples such as cylinders, dice, and flat, round discs. So while previous similar finds were a bit easier to diagnose, this elaborate set has archaeologists puzzeled.
via Gizmodo
