This was fun!

Abstract

tivities that are relevant to the play of games from other cultures. The history of play is not all fun and games, as colonialism and capitalism have had effects on the cultural heritage of play. European board games have replaced local games, as pressure to behave in ways similar to Europeans led to the spread of football and cricket (Appadurai 1995) as well as the standardized European rules of chess, which were introduced to South Asia and replaced local versions of chaturanga, the original form of the game; moreover, reintroduced versions of local games (e.g. Ludo and snakes and ladders) were commercially appropriated in Europe and resold to their communities of origin (Mukherjee in press). Even today, video and commercial games are replacing traditional forms of play, leading to their disappearance. Organizations have begun to address this issue – again, largely focusing on sports. To date, only one board game has been inscribed by UNESCO on its list of intangible cultural heritage (UNESCO 2020). There is still much to accomplish to bring the archaeological study of play to where it should be, and to more completely integrate it into a holistic archaeological approach to understanding ancient life. After all, isn’t the whole point of life, with all the economic, political and ritual choices we make, meant to be being able to enjoy ourselves – to have fun? This is not so different from life in the past, and recognizing this will lead us to better understand the motivations, interactions and daily lives of the people we study. We have a lot of work to do to solve this puzzle, so to echo the authors’ sentiment, let the games begin!