Page 34 - All About History - Issue 18-14

Through History

TOYS&GA

From the dawn of civilisation, humans have wanted to pla
even the most primitive objects were transformed into the

most wondrous of toys. Check out some of history’s best

The kite was invented
in Ancient China and
used to relay messages,
measure distances and

in play
rte
BOARD GAME 3100 BCE
Oneoftheearliesttoystobediscovered, nt
thehumbleboardgameisnowover st
5,000 years old, with the Ancient nd
EgyptiangameofSenetdatingfrom tin
priorto3100BCE.Thegame’sname nd t
translates as the ‘game of passing’ and ut
whileitsruleshavebeenlostintime,it ites
was played on a board consisting of 30 fo
squaresandwithtwosetsoffivepawns. ed
Many depictions of Senet being played figures u
still exist, including one of the famous cheaper
A well-preserved box of a
QueenNefertarisatincontemplation game of Senet paper an
during a game. with hist
the item

YO-YO 800 BCE Mozi
While it is believed the yo-yo was invented
in Ancient China, the first surviving Also known as Mo Tzu, he was
CHINESE 470-391 BCE
depiction of the toy dates from Ancient supposedly the inventor of the kite,
Greece, with a boy depicted playing with with the Chinese philosopher creating
the device during the early Warring
a terracotta variety. In fact, despite its States period. While the kite’s origin
current fame dating from the 1930s – when remains clouded, Mozi is recorded as
the name ‘yo-yo’ was coined and the first being both a skilled carpenter and
inventor, designing mechanical
mass-production began – the toy has
birds and siege engines.
repeatedly cropped up throughout
history, with several
depictions of women A linen rag doll dating from
Roman times
and children playing
with them through
Renaissance and Victorian literature and
RAG DOLL 50 CE
1
art. The modern transaxle type of yo-yo as The rag doll is among the oldest
used to perform tricks today was pioneered toys discovered, with a few Roman
in the 1980s.
MARBLES 3000 BCE examples dating from the early
A toy that has appeared independently in many centuries CE surviving for study.
A modern design of the
ancient cultures, marbles are one of humanity’s classic, wooden yo-yo These dolls were made from coarse
most produced toys. Early examples of marbles linen stuffed with rags and papyrus,
have been discovered dating from Ancient Egypt, with coloured wool used to create
China and Rome, with the small balls constructed hair, as well as wood and clay to
from clay, glass and even rock frequently found create any accompanying shoes and
buried in graves and tombs. Which games accessories. Historians believe these
were played with the marbles in each culture is dolls would have been widespread in
unknown, but reference to their use can be found Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, but
in Roman literature and art. Marbles are still due to the perishable nature of their
incredibly popular as toys to this day and are now construction materials, not many have
produced on an industrial scale. survived for excavation today.

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