Pitt Rivers Museum Anthropology and World Archaology

 

Africa

 

Pebbles used as dice

South Africa

 

Collector not known

Given to the Museum by the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum in 1951

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Dice pebbles, South Africa

Cube-shaped dice, with markings similar to those of today’s dice, have been found in archaeological sites dating from some 4000 years ago. However, all over the world, objects of different shapes, materials, and markings have been used as dice. Each side of each of these quartz pebbles from South Africa has been ground differently to enable them to be used as dice.

View database record 1951.6.35