What toys have kids played with throughout history?

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: The year is 100 CE, and 11-year-old Julia Lucila is playing with her ivory doll, Pompeia. Named after the Roman emperor Trajan's wife, Pompeia is only 20 centimeters tall, with joints at her arms, legs, knees, and elbows, and a bevy of miniature clothes and accessories. With her doll in hand, Julia hosts elaborate dinner parties, helps Aeneas escape Troy, and accompanies her father on work trips to Egypt. This ancient scene is likely familiar to any modern parent, and that's because kids have been going on imaginary adventures with their toys for thousands of years. While the most common ancient playthings would likely have been sticks and rocks, evidence of their use for play is archaeologically invisible. However, archaeologists have found material, visual, and written evidence for toys across the ancient world. In Anatolia, circa 3000 BCE, miniature toy carriages raced through the dirt at the hands of energetic youngsters. A thousand years later, in the Indus Valley, a toddler giggled gleefully at the chirping sound created by their dove-shaped terracotta whistle. Alongside whistles and wheeled toys, dolls are another common ancient plaything, though they can be a little harder to identify. While some archaeologists think ancient female figurines found across Afro-Eurasia may have been children's toys, others believe them to be sacred fertility idols. But we do know dolls like Pompeia were popular in Greece and Rome, with hair and clothes designed to reflect changing adult fashions. And thousands of years later, in the Arctic, Inuit children carried fur-clad dolls carved of wood or walrus tusk. But perhaps the most common ancient toy is the humble ball. Thousands of years ago, children in ancient Egypt, China, Greece, and Mesoamerica kicked and threw balls made of everything from leather and linen to papyrus and palm fiber. The rules for most of their games have been lost to time, however, some kids may have imitated adult games we know more about. For example, ancient Greek children might have played Episkuros, a team sport where players competed to push their opponents outside the pitch by hurling the ball as far as possible. Meanwhile, Mesoamerican kids might have played a game where players tried to hit a rubber ball through a hoop, using only their hips. Then again, in some cultures, this game had religious significance, so it's possible those children steered clear of this sacred sport. In any case, rougher, physical play was often limited by ancient gender expectations, with young girls being left out of rowdier ballgames in Rome and Egypt. Spartan girls, circa 400 CE, did engage in the same rigorous physical activities as boys, but largely because adults believed it would strengthen their bodies for childbearing. Fortunately, this wasn't the only reason ancient adults encouraged kids to play. Athenian philosopher Plato observed that toys like building blocks and miniature farming implements were useful tools for learning the skills needed in adulthood. That said, many ancient cultures expected children to give up their games and toys as they grew up. A common Roman phrase described a child giving up nuts when taking up their adult responsibilities, since nuts were used in a variety of simple games. And young Roman girls left their dolls as offerings to the gods as part of preparing for their wedding. However, other childhood games resembled those men and women continued to enjoy into adulthood. One, called knuckle bones, was popular across the ancient Mediterranean. Usually crafted from the ankle bones of sheep or pigs, they could be used as jacks or dice, with different faces earning different point values. In addition to games of chance, ancient adults played a variety of strategic board games, which may have been introduced during childhood. Some particularly well-recorded examples include The Royal Game of Ur in ancient Mesopotamia, Go in China, Senet in Egypt, and Ludus Laterum Colorum, or The Game of Soldiers, in Rome. Today, playful kids follow the same instincts as their ancient ancestors. They continue to make up ballgames, invent stories for their favorite dolls, and send toy cars skittering across the floor. Because the simplest kinds of play never get old. And sometimes all that's missing from your games is having a companion. Explore why kids often make up imaginary friends and find out how it can impact cognitive development with this video. Or visit ted.com forward slash play to learn how play can lead to brighter minds, braver ideas, and a more imaginative future.