[Artemisia] Period Toys & Games Question

[L.J. Richards]

Children of earlier times played with toys that would teach them their role 
in life as adults.  But 'play' usually became 'work' somewhere around the 
age of 5+ (depending on your family's needs). If you lived in a wealthier 
household, you would be given tasks (i.e., chores) to do to suit your 
station.  The less wealthier you were the sooner you began working.  But 
(almost) everyone played games (including such round dances as 'drop the 
kerchief') and musical instruments or told stories.

In doing research for a games paper long ago, I remember that hopscotch is 
probably the oldest 'recorded' game (China) and was played all over Asia and 
Europe, etc.  The other item I remember was that when adults stepped in and 
turned the game into a competition with their (adult's) rules, children no 
longer played the game among themselves.  A lot of games have been 'lost' 
for this (and other reasons).

Children (not adults) taught the next generation how to play these games 
for, oh, at least the last 20,000 years!   It's where they learned to 'play 
fair', made up their own rules as needed; and if you were a bully, everybody 
just went elsewhere to play and you were left to your own devises.... 
Usually didn't take too long for the bully to come round.

One of the neat things about some of our major camping events is that kids 
actually get to 'play' and use their imagination to 'invent' games, set down 
the rules, and take off for wherever.  Kool!

HE Bronwen

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <ravenmacleod at comcast.net>
****Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 3:27 PM

> ****I wonder if out mideval counterparts didn't encourage this kind of 
> play as well. mothers teaching their daughters to care for their families 
> by allow them to play with different dolls and so on.
>
> I blame my Sociology class :)  ****