Buzz Bones - the Original Fidget Spinner

For as long as there have been children, there have been toys which make irritating noises.

Originally made from the foot bones of a pig, Buzz Bones make a humming sound when spun around quickly and are really quite fun.

In this project, I have recreated this historical toy as a 3D print, with no visit to the butchers required! Files are included below as well as instructions on how to get it spinning.

A summary of the historical significance of these toys from my friend and collaborator Dr Hattie Soper - Lecturer in Medieval Literature, University of Bristol.

The noise-making toys known as ‘buzz-bones’ are crafted from a small animal bone (often a foot bone such as a pig’s metatarsal) with one or two holes bored through the centre. They survive from the prehistoric period all the way up to early twentieth-century Shetland and Orkney, where they are known as ‘snorie banes’ or snoring bones, but they seem to have been especially popular in medieval Europe.

Examples from the Middle Ages have been found in settlements including Norwich, Bristol, York, Dublin, and Birka in Sweden, dating from early as the eleventh century right through to the sixteenth. In the past, when these bones were found by archaeologists they were often misidentified as toggles for clothing, but more recently they have begun to be recognised as devices that made a sound and were designed to entertain.

Some reconstructions of buzz-bones have previously been attempted, including by Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery, but the difficulty of preparing the animal bone makes for a time-consuming process; the bone needs to be cleaned through gradual soaking, which even after weeks can leave grease and residue and leave the bone at risk of rotting. No videos of buzz-bones can be found online, suggesting that the difficulty of treating the bone or finding a functional substitute has held back researchers and reenactors from making them. The experience of enjoying and fully understanding this toy has therefore mostly been out of reach for a long time.

References

Cramb, Auslan, ‘Toys that make a noise go back to the Bronze Age’, The Telegraph, 24 December 2001. Available at https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1366193/Toys-that-make-a-noise-go-back-to-the-Bronze-Age.html, accessed 28 April 2025.

Crawford, Sally, ‘The Archaeology of Play Things: Theorising a Toy Stage in the Biography of Objects’, Childhood in the Past 2:1 (2009), 55-70.

McAlister, Deidre Katherine, ‘Gender, Age and Visibility: The Archaeology of Women and Children in Ireland, 700–1200’, unpublished PhD thesis, National University of Ireland, Maynooth (2008).

Image credits:

https://cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk/museum/buzz-bone/

https://research.yorkarchaeology.co.uk/historic-pastimes-musical-instruments/

Starting from a 3D file of a pig metacarpal bone found here, I used OnShape to add the hole through the middle.

The bone prints with minimal support, recommended infill of 20%.

The stl file is attached to this step.

Also pictured is a real pig bone version with a hole drilled through it, made as part of this project by Dr Noreen Masud (Senior Lecturer, University of Bristol). In comparison, it was a lot more effort to prepare and though it does make the buzzing sound, it also splatters the spinner with bone juice as it hasn’t had enough time to get fully clean and dry. Gross.

The 3D printed version is a clear winner.

Take 2 lengths of string and thread them through the hole in the Buzz Bone. Each hand should hold one string which loops through the hole before returning to the same hand. Spin the bone around several times as seen in the gif above so that the string becomes coiled like a spring.

Pull the strings firmly apart to unwind the string rapidly, spinning the bone. It should wind itself up the other way with momentum, ready to be pulled outwards again to spin the other way.

Pulling and releasing in this way causes the bone to rapidly spin and emit a buzzing noise and feels a bit like a yoyo as it winds and unwinds itself as you pull.

And there you have it!

Any home or classroom with a 3D printer can now experience the same satisfying whirring that children have been making for hundreds of years.

We hope you enjoy your new Buzz Bones!