The search could have been more precise, or the keywords needed to be corrected, but the origins of pantomime should be more accurate. With quick dispatch, its origin is tied to Plato's allegory of the cave, followed by the allure of the magic of harlequins and Fools.

While Plato's lesson warns about the dangers found in a "prison of false perception," a cultural hegemony, the origin of pantomime, finds its roots in Guided Imagery.

    Rock People cave art of the North African Tibesti Volcanic range                                       Cave art in southern Spain

The hunter/gather cave dwellers of the Tibesti volcano range in North Africa migrated to southern Spain and practiced Guided Imagery and shadow play to elicit strong emotional feelings for the hunt.

In the shadows, on cave walls, they fantasized. Their conscious fantasy life made productive use of their imagination by vividly communicating their desire and intentions.

It's disappointing and unfortunate that the Wiki page on pantomime did not connect pantomime to the sacred rituals of indigenous people worldwide. 

If it had, the origin of religion would also come into view since the same volcanic environmental circumstances that generated cave paintings likewise developed religion, more on this in the Orgia.

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Still, the combination of shadow and pantomime had an even older precursor, the silhouette, which carried psychological implications for how gestalt writing came into existence.