The check pattern has been used by humans on every populated continent for thousands of years; the oldest examples going back at least 3,000-10,000 years in some cultures.
The pattern most likely occurred spontaneously in each human culture independently, either inspired by insects and reptiles that bear the pattern, or as a natural consequence of the fabric weaving process from alternating the colors of warp threads and weft threads.
The name "check", denoting a pattern of alternating lines of that form blocks, seems to have entered the English language via the French, from an ancient Persian game played on a board similar to a chess board or checkers board.
Two different color threads are alternated on both the weft and warp giving the look of three colors, the light thread, the dark thread, and a mix of the two.
There are many derivations of the check pattern including Gingham Check, Graph Check, Tattersall Check, Windowpane Check, and Buffalo Check.
