How were puppets invented?

Answer 1

Ah! Well, I have a theory about how the very first puppet/puppet show came about. Imagine a bunch of cave people huddled around a fire, their shadows cast about on the cave walls. Now imagine one particularly observant caveman/woman/child lifts their hands and begin to manipulate their fingers, all the time watching the shadows they cast. VOILA! The very first performance of Little Bunny Foo Foo, shadow puppet style.

Another answer would be that whenever man first used an object to represent another. For instance (and let's return once again to the past) another ancient ancestor wanted to communicate something that happened, like a fight with another. He picks up two sticks. Each stick represents a person involved in the fight. Now the sticks have become puppets. He bashes the sticks together to show how the fight went. Now he is performing a puppet show.

To understand the true origin of puppetry, you must think outside the muppets, the marionettes, and the box. It's deep in your psyche, folks.

Answer 2

This probably goes back to before written language, so it is unlikely that we can ever know.