New Scientist
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Even in the Bronze Age there was more to life than work. Excavations at a burial site in south-east Turkey have revealed a set of 49 sculpted pieces that may once have been used in board games. They are among the oldest evidence of such games ever found.
Haluk Sa?lamtimur at Ege University in ?zmir, Turkey, and colleagues made the find during excavations of a 5000-year-old burial at the site of Ba?ur Höyük, according to Discovery News. The stone pieces, which were found gathered together in a cluster, show a bewildering array of shapes and styles. Some are carved into elaborate pigs and dogs, whereas simpler ones are pyramids and bullet-shaped.
Sa?lamtimur discussed the finds at the annual International Symposium of Excavations, Surveys and Archaeometry in the Turkish city of Mu?la. He thinks the pieces belong to some complicated chess-like game. His team now hopes to work out the strategies that the game must have involved. Read more on newscientist.com…
