Dice are ancient. They date back to the dawn of civilization and are the oldest game. Thought to be derived from knucklebones (astragalus), their original purpose was divination (cleromancy). The oldest die found is 5000 years old from the Burnt City, Iran, alongside a backgammon board. In the 16th century Galileo and friends brought ideas of probability and mathematics into the roll of the dice. Until then, the hands of gods were imagined to be directing the fall. Although I know better, it's hard to not be superstitious when numbers persist in appearing, and fortune takes you under her wing. The excitement in not knowing an outcome, analogous to life, is perhaps what has made dice such enduring objects.
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