Research suggests that the earliest wooden toys date from sometime during the Stone Age (2.9 million years ago-2030 BC) in Africa and were simple models of useful implements such as clubs, axes and bows as well as dolls, intended to teach children critical survival and family skills and as a secondary intention to entertain them. Egyptian and Grecian cultural studies show evidence of the creation of less practical and more entertaining toys – from basic playthings fashioned by craftspeople for family members to extraordinary artisanal examples commissioned by the wealthier members of society for privileged children. Commercial manufacture of wooden toys on a small scale began during the Middle Ages in small shops, with industrial manufacture commencing in the 1800’s especially in Germany and Northern Europe.