Ancient kids’ toys have been hiding in the archaeological record

spinning disk

A SPIN ON PLAY  An ancient spinning disk (reconstruction shown) found in what's now southwestern France may have been a children's toy.

St-Germain-en-Laye

Youngsters have probably been playing their way into cultural competence for at least tens of thousands of years. So why are signs of children largely absent from the archaeological record?

A cartoon that Biblical scholar Kristine Garroway taped up in her college dorm helps to explain kids’ invisibility at ancient sites: Two men in business suits stare intently at an unidentifiable round object sitting on a table.