The first zoetrope was invented by Ting Huan from china and was named
"The Pipe That Makes Dreams Come True"
Later adaptations of the zoetrope came around. The Praxinoscope was invented by
Charles- Emil Reynaud in France 1877.
It worked using the same principle's as a zoetrope but used mirrors in the centre reflecting the outer wall images.
I feel although it was an improvement over the zoetrop, its still not great animation and is very limited to what can be animated as there is suck a small work space. It also does not need your vision channelled or directed as the mirror takes on this roll showing you only a segment of the outer wall.

Here is a perfect example of why your vision must be channelled.

Here is an example of a early zoetrope. The zoetrope works by tunnelling your vision whilst spinning at speed showing you only a section of the pictures opposite.

Here is a more modern zoetrpe but this time animated by using models rather then images.I feel it is easier to see how it works with this example and the fluidity of the animation far surpasses the one above.

Here is a Disney zoetrope. The method of it portraying animation is the same as the ones above but works in a different way. Rather than your vision being obscured by the actual zoetrope and your vision being directed, a strobe light is activated timed correctly to the rotation of the zoetrpe allowing you to see only segments of its rotation.

We are all familiar with Egyptian hieroglyphs and that they where some form of communication but animation sequences such as this combat/wrestling diagram where also created by the Egyptians.
This piece is approximately four thousand years old.

Although its depicted fairly clearly i feel that the sequences in which the actions are occurring may not make much sense if they where shown as animation like the jug example. This is due to the white and black characters switching places which occurs in some parts of the pictures.

 Here is another remarkably early piece displaying the method of animation.
The image was found on a bowl in Iran dated at being five thousand and two hundred years old.













The jug has five different pictures of the same animal in slightly different positions and when spun makes the animation to the left.
I feel although the animation is simple and does not move correctly following the laws of physics, the idea and method practised in which to create the animation, for the time it was created is amazing.
Although none of the modern equipment was available to the Creator of this work you can see he still has guide lines for his animation. For example, the lines on the top and bottom, as well as the trees on either side gave the artist a guide line on where the animals next position could be.

Early attempts of animation

 Here are some cave paintings found in southern France at a predicted thirty seven thousand years ago, it can be argued that these are some of the verry first attempts in portraying movement. The way in which images overlay one another can be compared to the way 2D animator's create there work today.

I find it amazing that at such a early stage of man the principles and even desire to animate or replicate events and animals accoured.

I do feel that these pictures succesfuly depict movement and life.