Where Did Dolls Originate?

The easiest answer is-everywhere. The doll is one of the very oldest human institutions and is found among both savage and civilized people. There were dolls in the ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman civilizations. It is thought that the first dolls were invented by children themselves and those were made of natural things such as sticks and stones. But the main thing is that dolls were not only just playthings but for some people dolls were more than playthings.

Among the American Indians the child's doll made of wood was the image of a god and it was given to the child as per religious instructions. A primitive Japanese doll was made of a shaved willow stick with strings for hair and paper clothes. But there was also a "scapegoat" doll. It was fed and dressed and treated as though alive. Scapegoat doll was given to mothers to ward off evil from their children. Among Mohammedans it is not allowed to represent the human figure, but ornately dressed dolls were often given to a girl who is getting married. But mothers didn't like dolls, because they fear an evil spirit in the doll that can harm the child. Dolls were also common in Africa but they were used for magical observances instead of as toy. Many dolls were connected with images of saints and those were associated with the Christmas festival. In the protestant parts of Europe dolls became purely toys long before the Catholic countries.