Baby rattle

Rattles have been used for this purpose since antiquity, and experts in child development believe they help the infant improve hand eye coordination by stimulating their senses.

A rattle made of clay was found in Poland in a grave of a baby who was a member of the early Iron Age Lusatian culture, and was documented by archaeologists.

Pigs were associated with the Greek goddess Demeter, who was invoked in rituals intended to protect babies in life and death.

[4] Greek philosopher Aristotle says in his Politics that young children should be given a rattle (particularly one designed by Archytas) to keep them quiet and "stop them from breaking things in the house".

Edith Wharton, who was born during the American Civil War, received a similar elaborate silver baby rattle as an infant, which was engraved with her name and had a coral teething extension.

Rattle in the shape of a child's bed, 3rd century BC, in the collection of the Goulandris Museum of Cycladic Art
16th and 17th century toy rattles.
An 18th century silver baby rattle in the shape of a lion passant. In the collection of the Zuiderzee Museum in the Netherlands
Early 19th century silver child's rattle and coral teether, in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art . British, imported to the United States. Original ownership attributed to the daughter of Duncan Phyfe .
'Morthwyl sinc' or 'Ragyrud', an ancient Welsh weaving practice of a child's rattle made out of rushes or sedge.
A modern plastic rattle toy