In ancient Rome, a variety of sports, some transformed from Greek predecessors, were held, initially in gymnasia and palaestrae and later in large stadia, such as the Circus Maximus, and amphitheaters, such as the Colosseum. The remains of the ancient Greek Olympic games, often dated to 776 BCE, are well known and include both the site where games were held but also implements, such as javelins and discuses.
The Greek historian Herodotus (5th century BCE) described games and other pastimes in Egypt and Lydia (western present-day Turkey) while the Roman historian Tacitus (55-120 CE) described dice games among Germanic tribes. A variety of art forms, including painting and sculpture, from around the world commonly depict play in games and sports. Early athletic games, or sports, are well known from archaeological and narrative sources. Boards and pieces for games similar to draughts (checkers in North American English) have been found in the ancient city of Ur in modern day Iraq dating to approximately 3,000 BCE (Oxland 2004) and in Egypt dating to as early as 600 BCE (Masters 1997). These include implements related to games of physical skill, such as balls and hoops, game boards, board game pieces, and playing cards for games of strategy, and dice, used in games of chance. Archaeological investigations have uncovered numerous artifacts from game play in sites around the world.
Games and sports appear to be universal features of human culture, both past and present. George Catlin was inspired to paint the sport after witnessing a game in Indian Territory in 1834. Choctaw stickball, a predecessor of modern lacrosse, was a highly physical game known as the “little brother of war” (Carson 1995).
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