Chronology of Play

Meredith Eliassen

30,000 to 10,000 B.C.E. —A period of cave art traditions in Europe where cave paintings, primitive writing, and signs at Lascaux, France, reflect a fascination with hunting and interaction between man and nature and recognition of passing seasons. Play becomes a natural part of survival training. For instance, aboriginal Australians develop an ancient game of keep-away called Mungan-mungan that pits young athletes against their elders. 10,000 to 8000 B.C.E. —Sedentary hunter-gatherer Natu-fian culture and rituals form in the Lèvent region, and permanent farming villages develop. Throw sticks in Egypt, South India, North Africa, and the Americas are used during this period, possibly indicating that play is associated with hunting. In Australia, the oldest existing boomerangs date to this period. 5500 to 4000 B.C.E. —The indigenous Badarian culture in Egypt trades in copper, ivory, shells, and turquoise. The sail, plough, and potter's wheel are developed in Mesopotamia. Contests of traveling through ...

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