The world’s first animation? This smal bone disc is carved with a deer on either side. When you spin it, it looks like the deer is running. Marc Azema & Florent Rivere, 2012.
The internet has fallen in love with this small bone disc marked with a deer on each side. It was made at least 14,000 years ago and when it spins, it looks like the deer is running.
This incredible artefact was originally discovered in 1868 in Dordogne, southwestern France. It’s made of bone, and similar ones have been found in northern Spain and the Pyrenees. For years, archaeologists assumed they were buttons, or pendants.
But then, in 2012, archaeologist Marc Azema teamed up with artist Florent Rivere Marc Azéma teamed up with artist Florent Rivère, and together they discovered that if you thread a string through the hole and spin it, you’ve basically got the world’s first animation.
Archaeologists think this spinning disc might be a children’s toy! It’s at least 14,000 years old. When you spin it, the two sides make it look like the deer is running. Delightful! #archaeologypic.twitter.com/Mby4b1lvBc
— maiya🏺 (@muckymaiya) February 9, 2018
Film-lovers were quick to point out that this could be the world’s earliest animation, and a recent article suggested it might originally have been made as a toy. In it, archaeologists argue that children are often overlooked in the study of prehistory, and that rather than being part of a ‘ritual’, this charming device could simply have been made to entertain.
More #IceAge animation – this bone-carved roundel from Mas d’Azil cave may also be a thaumatrope showing a young aurochs transform into an adult #IceAgeTech pic.twitter.com/GVTmARwyAz
— The Ice Age (@Jamie_Woodward_) February 11, 2018
Either way, we think it’s one of the most amazing artefacts we’ve ever seen, and can just imagine a Palaeolithic child being enthralled and enchanted by it – just as we are today!
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Written by Maiya Pina-Dacier
Director of Engagement at DigVentures, Maiya digs with a trowel in one hand, and a Twitter feed in the other. She loves finding new ways to get people involved in archaeology - online and in the field.
Comments (2)
Thank you so much for not automatically labelling this artifact religious or sacred. Finally someone’s put the fun back into those past lives!
Hear hear Sarah – I agree. Kudos to Marc Azema (and other Fun Arckys) for – as you say – “putting the fun back into those past lives!” Children play, and parents and grandparents make toys for them. That strikes me as a universal – not just throughout cultures but throughout time.