Two of the sides - the belly and the hole - are much broader than the other two and are therefore more likely to come up. Tossing knucklebones is not a truly random process. In Roman antiquity, each of the four sides was given a name corresponding to its shape: the belly, the hole, the ear and the vulture. by numerous civilizations, including Indigenous Americans, ancient Greeks and ancient Egyptians, who prized them so highly that they were sometimes buried with their favorite astragals. They have been used as four-sided dice since at least the fifth century B.C.E. As their colloquial name suggests, knucklebones are literal bones taken from the back ankle of a sheep, goat, deer, horse or other large, hoofed mammal.

Some modern cultures, like the Navajo Nation, still use them for traditional games.ДЄstragals, also known as knucklebones, are fascinating objects in their own right. Two-sided dice were widely used by ancient peoples across the globe, from the Aztecs to Native Polynesians.

Sometimes the two sides were decorated with paint or carvings to further differentiate them. But this hasn't always been the predominant dice template.ДЄncient dice were often made of stick, shell or seed and most were two-sided, often with one flat side and one rounded side, like a shelled peanut. When most people think of dice, they generally picture a six-sided white cube sporting one to six black dots on each side.

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