Used through the ages for ritual and religious presentations, for education, and for entertainment, puppets appeared in all corners of the globe long before human beings could write.
Puppets still enjoy substantial popularity.
Usually the puppet manipulator, or puppeteer, is screened from the view of the audience. There is no limit to the kinds of puppets that may be contrived or to the size of them. Perhaps the simplest and smallest is the finger puppet, in which a little paint or makeup and some cloth turn a human finger into a make-believe character. Hand, or glove, puppets have a hollow cloth body that fits over the puppeteer's hand so that the puppet's head and arms can be moved by the puppeteer's fingers. The heads of such puppets are often made of papier-m ch , wood, or a rubberlike material.