Owlkids

8 Chickadee PHOTOS: WIKIMEDIA (YO-YO); DREAMSTIME (ALL OTHERS) ILLUSTRATIONS: JULIE MCLAUGHLIN Discovery Kids have been playing with toys for thousands of years. Read on to learn about ancient playthings that have stood the test of time — and how playing helps us learn! By Hadley Dyer The The World's World's Oldest Oldest TOYS TOYS LEAD IMAGE?!?! W hat toys did ancient kids have on their wish lists? Turns out, they loved the same types of toys that you might play with today! Archeologists, or experts on people and things from the distant past, found a 7,500-year-old toy chariot in Turkey. Chariots were popular vehicles centuries ago. So ancient kids played with their own version of a toy car! But how do archeologists know when they have found a toy? Imagine they dig up a stone carving of an animal. Is it a toy, a piece of art, or a religious object? The answer isn't always clear, even to experts. To confirm an object was a toy, archeologists look for proof that it could have been used for play. Read through the list on the right to see what they look for. What Experts Look For • Artwork from the same time period as the object that shows people playing with something similar. • Ancient writing from the same time period that talks about the object. • Other objects around it that may have been used by kids. • Materials that are tough enough to play with.

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