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According to recordings of the history of puppetry, the use of these objects dates back thousands of years. The first may have been shadow-puppets, which are mentioned in Greek philosophy.
Puppetry flourished in China, originally in pi-ying xi, the "theater of the lantern shadows", or, as it is more commonly known today, as Chinese shadow theater. Japan has many forms of puppetry.
Perhaps the most internationally famous is the Bunraku, where the puppets are operated by three puppeteers in full view of the audience. India, Java, and Thailand also have a strong tradition of puppetry.
If one looks at the history of puppetry, then one would find that in India, the use of puppets dates to 5th century BC. The traditional puppetry was based on religious and historical themes only saying the stories of kings, gods and super natural event. Religious portrayals in puppetry developed in South India with shadow puppets performing stories from Ramayana and Mahabharata. Besides dealing with religious themes, Indian puppetry also conveyed useful messages from Panchatantra and other mythological and historical epics