What were the first chess pieces made from?

A number of different woods can be used to make a Chess board, the overriding factor should be that the light wood should be a light as possible the the opposite for the dark wood. It takes something from the effect to have a board made with dark wood for whiteand darker wood for black. This is particularly true when the "real" boards used in tournaments are black and white, literally. Additionally, the squares are called black and white, too. Contrast is important. Certainly you are less limited when making a board out of wood today because of the large number of darker stains and wood lighteners available to treat wood.