Dolls have a rich and fascinating history that dates back to at least 2,000 BCE and stretches across the globe. Although they’ve been played with as toys for centuries, dolls were also used as grave goods and for ritual purposes: girls in ancient Greece and Rome would offer their childhood dolls to the goddesses upon marriage, while boys dedicated theirs to the gods once they reached puberty.
Wooden paddle dolls found in Egyptian graves are believed to have a religious meaning, as well as representing fertility and ensuring the eternal rebirth of the dead. Jointed dolls with moveable limbs date back to at least the 4th or 5th century BCE, and it has been suggested that some of these dolls, too fragile to play with, were used as charms to ward off evil.