History of Sport

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History of sport

Ancient sumo-wrestling competition from the Japanese Heian or Kamakura period (between 794 and 1333)
The history of sports extends back to the Ancient world in 70,000 BCE. The physical activity that developed into sports had early links with warfare and entertainment.[1]

Study of the history of sport can teach lessons about social changes and about the nature of sport itself, as sport seems involved in the development of basic human skills (compare play).[citation needed] As one delves further back in history, dwindling evidence makes theories of the origins and purposes of sport more and more difficult to support.

As far back as the beginnings of sport, it was related to military training. For example, competition was used as a mean to determine whether individuals were fit and useful for service.[citation needed] Team sports were used to train and to prove the capability to fight in the military and also to work together as a team (military unit).[2]

Sports in prehistory

Paintings of humans in the cave of swimmers
Cave paintings found in the Lascaux caves in France appear to depict sprinting and wrestling in the Upper Paleolithic around 15,300 years ago.[3][4][failed verification] Cave paintings in the Bayankhongor Province of Mongolia dating back to the Neolithic age (c. 7000 BCE) show a wrestling match surrounded by crowds.[5][failed verification] Neolithic Rock art found at the cave of swimmers in Wadi Sura, near Gilf Kebir in Egypt shows evidence of swimming and archery being practiced around 10,000 BCE.[6] Prehistoric cave paintings in Japan depict a sport similar to sumo wrestling.[7]

Ancient Sumer

An Egyptian burial chamber mural, from the tomb of Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum dating to around 2400 BCE, showing wrestlers in action[8]
Various representations of wrestlers have been found on stone slabs attributed to the Sumerian civilization.[9] One showing three pairs of wrestlers has been generally dated to around 3000 BCE.[10] A cast bronze figurine[11] (perhaps the base of a vase) found at Khafaji in Iraq shows two figures in a wrestling hold and dates to around 2600 BCE. Interpreted as one of the earliest depictions of sport, the statue is housed in the National Museum of Iraq.[12][13] Archeology has also found early suggestions pointing to the sport of boxing in ancient Sumer.[14] The Epic of Gilgamesh gives one of the first historical records of sport, with Gilgamesh engaging in a form of belt wrestling with Enkidu. The cuneiform tablets recording the tale date to around 2000 BCE; however, the historical Gilgamesh is supposed to have lived around 2800 to 2600 BCE.[15] The Sumerian king Shulgi (c. 21st century BCE) boasts of his prowess in sport in the Self-praise of Shulgi A, B, and C.[15] Fishing hooks not unlike those made today have been found during excavations at Ur, suggesting some sort of angling activity in Sumer around 2600 BCE.[16]

Ancient Egyptian

The Charioteer of Delphi, Delphi Museum
Monuments to the Pharaohs found at Beni Hasan dating to around 2000 BCE[17] indicate that a number of sports, including wrestling, weightlifting, long jump, swimming, rowing, archery, fishing[16] and athletics, as well as various kinds of ball games, were well-developed and regulated in ancient Egypt. Other Egyptian sports also included javelin throwing and high jump.[18] An earlier portrayal of figures wrestling was found in the tomb of Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum in Saqqara dating to around 2400 BCE.[8][19]

Ancient Greece
See also: Outline of ancient Greece
The Minoan art of Bronze Age Crete depict ritual sporting events - thus a fresco dating to 1500 BCE records gymnastics in the form of religious bull-leaping and possibly bullfighting. The origins of Greek sporting festivals may date to funeral games of the Mycenean period, between 1600 BCE and c. 1100 BCE.[20] The Iliad includes extensive descriptions of funeral games held in honour of deceased warriors, such as those held for Patroclus by Achilles. Engaging in sport is described as the occupation of the noble and wealthy, who have no need to do manual labour themselves. In the Odyssey, king Odysseus of Ithaca proves his royal status to king Alkinoös of the Phaiakes by showing his proficiency in throwing the javelin. It was in Greece that sports were first instituted formally, with the first Olympic Games recorded in 776 BCE in Olympia, where they were celebrated until 393 CE. These games took place every four years, or Olympiad, which became a unit of time in historical chronologies. Initially a single sprinting event, the Olympics gradually expanded to include several footraces, run in the nude or in armor, boxing, wrestling, pankration, chariot racing, long jump, javelin throw, and discus throw.[citation needed] During the celebration of the games, an Olympic Truce was enacted[by whom?] so that athletes could travel from their countries to the games in safety. The prizes for the victors were wreaths of laurel leaves. Other important sporting events in ancient Greece included the Isthmian games, the Nemean Games, and the Pythian Games. Together with the Olympics, these were the most prestigious games, and formed the Panhellenic Games. Some games, e.g. the Panathenaia of Athens, included musical, reading and other non-athletic contests in addition to regular sports-events. The Heraean Games, held in Olympia as early as the 6th century BCE, were the first recorded sporting competition for women.

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The history of sports dates back to which time period?

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Sports in ancient times were often connected to what?

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What were team sports used for in the past?

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The history of sports dates back to which time period?

Sports in ancient times were often connected to what?

What were team sports used for in the past?

What makes theories about the origins of sport difficult?