ANCIENT PEOPLE

No one can say when sports began. Since it is impossible to imagine a time when children did not run races or wrestle, it is clear that children have always included sports in their play, but one can only question when sports became physical contests for adults. Hunters have a big role in prehistoric art, but we do not know about the mood of the hunters. Did they feel only determination when they hunted, or did they enjoy it as a sport? It is certain, however, from the evidence of ancient civilizations that hunting soon became an end in itself. Archaeological evidence indicates that ball games were common among ancient people. If ball games were contests rather than non-competitive ritual performances, such as the Japanese football game kemari, then they were truly sports. We don’t know for sure, because the evidence from Ancient Greek and Roman times shows that ball games were mostly playful pastimes, not competitive events.