Surprisingly early in ancient China people played with leather balls, according to a dating of finds from equestrian graves. Whether they were used in some kind of polo remains questionable – so far, one can only speculate about the function of the earliest known balls in Eurasia. The around 3000 year old finds suggest that the riding troops of Central Asia emerging at the time were already keeping fit through ball sports.
From football to rugby to tennis: ball games are one of the most popular leisure activities today and inspire viewers of mass events and broadcasts in the media. Against the background of this social importance, the question arises when and where people first played with the round objects. The record age is held by balls made of linen, which were used in Egypt around 4500 years ago. As can be seen from monumental stadiums and depictions of ball players, rubber balls were played in Central America at least 3700 years ago.
Oldest known balls in Eurasia
As far as Europe and Asia are concerned, it was previously assumed that the first balls would not roll there until much later. The earliest illustrations of ball sports from Greece are 2500 years old. They show running players with batons. The oldest representations from China to date are 300 years younger and show players on horseback with sticks. The dating results of the new finds put this hitherto earliest evidence of ball sports in Eurasia now clearly in the shade.
These are three stuffed leather balls between 7.4 and 9.2 centimeters in diameter that were found in the graves of the old Yanghai cemetery near the city of Turfan in northwest China. They show traces of blows, which suggests that it was sports equipment. Scientists from the University of Zurich, together with German and Chinese colleagues, have now subjected these three balls to a date using the radiocarbon method. They came to an age between 3200 and 2900 years. “This makes them around five centuries older than the previously known ancient balls and depictions of ball games in Eurasia,” says first author Patrick Wertmann from the Asia-Orient Institute at the University of Zurich.
Use remains unclear
As part of their study, the researchers also discuss how the balls could have been used in the past. One indication is that at least two of the three finds come from graves that the scientists attribute to riders based on the findings. The remains of a composite bow and trousers, which were made in the region at the time and are among the oldest in the world, have been preserved in a grave. Both are signs of a new era in horseback riding, fighting on horseback, and profound social changes that were emerging in east Central Asia at that time, the scientists say.
“Unfortunately, the archaeological information so far has not been sufficient to answer the question of how exactly these balls were used,” says Wertmann. Curved sticks were also found in Yanghai, but not in direct connection with the balls. They are also dated to a more recent period. “So the Yanghai leather balls have not yet been able to expand the history of hockey or polo, even if two of the balls were found in the graves of riders,” said Wertmann.
According to the researchers, however, the current study results fundamentally suggest that balls and ball games as a form of physical exercise were part of military training from the very beginning. It is believed that the balls and ball games appeared in the region at the same time that horse riding and equestrian warfare began to spread in the eastern part of Central Asia. Just like today, sport was probably a central part of social life even then and was used for general entertainment, say the researchers.
Source: University of Zurich, specialist article: Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, doi: 10.1016 / j.jasrep.2020.102576