The story of the exact origin of string puppets has likely been lost to the cavalcade of history. A legend from India claims that the first puppeteer, Adi Nat, was born from the mouth of the creator, Brahmin. But in fact, it is known that puppetry precedes any written language, making it impossible to be positive when or where puppets of any sort first came about.

What String Puppets Are
The string puppet, or marionettes as they are also known, is a character that resembles either a person or animal that is animated by strings. Strings attached to the head, back, hands and legs and, suspended from above the figure, are manipulated by a person known as a puppeteer in the most realistic, life-like manner possible.

Earliest Known History
Scholars agree that puppetry, including string puppets/marionettes, has played a role in virtually every culture, from East to West, for thousands of years. Puppets most likely came before living actors as performers of ritual, ceremony and theater.

India
One thing known for certain about the origins of marionettes is they might have been around since at least 2,500 B.C. Archaeological relics from ancient Indian civilizations include a terracotta bull with a jointed neck and head manipulated by string for animation. In the temple of the god Shiva, Ganesha, the elephant-headed son of Shiva, is honored as the patron god of all puppets.
According to Indian folklore, puppets are divine creations. A particularly endearing legend tells of a talented carpenter who created charming wooden dolls. Lord Shiva and his consort, Gauri, happened by the carpenter's shop and saw them. Because Gauri adored them so much, Shiva granted them the ability to dance for her entertainment. The carpenter, who witnessed the amazing sight, prayed for the miracle of the dancing dolls to continue. His prayer was answered and, quite possibly based on that legend, it is the continuing tradition of the puppeteers of India to begin and end each show with prayers.

Egypt
Evidence from 2,000 B.C. in Egypt includes string-operated figures of wood, and wire-strung puppets made of clay and ivory have been discovered in ancient Egyptian tombs.
Herodotus, the Greek historian from the fifth century B.C., provides one of the earliest written records of string-animated figures being used in Egypt during the Festival of Osiris. That recorded account would indicate string-operated figures were commonly used to perform in other Egyptian rituals and ceremonies.

The Americas
On the opposite side of the world, in what came to be known as The Americas, artifacts and ceremonies passed down from ancient times are testimony to some of the earliest-known puppetry. American Indians of the Southwest and Northwest used ceremonial and sacred puppetry, and clay figures with jointed limbs have been found in the regions that have become Mexico and Guatemala.

Timeless Entertainment
String puppetry has evolved from the earliest known example from 2,500 B.C. through Pinocchio and Howdy Doody to elaborate theatricals on specially built stages today. At its best, it is a complex, highly skilled form of puppetry that maintains a particular niche in the world of entertainment.