Traditional toys and games have been a part of society and culture
all over the world for thousands of centuries, possibly since the
beginning of time. As long ago as 6000 B.C., we know of the existence
of games similar to modern day chess. Babylonians in 4000 B.C. also
played a board game similar to traditional games of checkers and chess.
The
first games of backgammon have been dated back to ancient Samaria in
3000 B.C. In Egypt, toy marbles were first fashioned out of stone. By
2000 B.C., Egyptians were making and playing with a number of
children's toys and games. Dolls were made from string, paper, and
other easy to find materials and board games much like our traditional
game of checkers were played. At the same time, the first skates,
constructed of iron, were in use in Scandinavia.
Traditional
toys like kites and yo-yos were first introduced in 1000 B.C. Though
kites were probably in existence long before, their first recorded
appearance was in China during this time period. Greek children begin
to play with yo-yos made of stone. Soon after, the first playing cards
were dealt in Asia.
Over the next thousand years, many of the
kids toys we know of today were designed in their earliest forms from
crude materials. Most traditional toy inventions were not a recorded
part of history until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The
first roller skates were invented in 1759 by a man named Joseph Merlin,
and, like many traditional toys, they are still being refined and
altered today to fit modern society.
The 19th century saw the
introduction of many traditional toys in America and throughout Europe.
Dolls were already being made in several European countries, but in
1840 an American doll maker began the first mass production of this
still popular traditional toy. Only three years later, the first
American board game was produced, called 'The Mansion of Happiness.'
Board
games continued to be popular children's toys throughout the years. The
Indian game, Parcheesi, is tone of he oldest toys to still be produced
today and was introduced to England in 1867 as Ludo. As the 19th
century drew to a close, more and more innovative traditional toys came
into production. Traditional toys, like alphabet blocks, stuffed
animals, and wagons and sleds, were all being commercially manufactured.
The
late 1800's saw the introduction of toy guns and pistols, as well as
the BB gun. The concept of talking toy dolls was perfected and high quality wooden toys
were produced in a number of traditional toy styles, including train
sets. Radio Flyer developed the traditional toy sled for outdoor winter
fun and musical toys and soft toys were in mass production.
The
early 20th century marked the invention of lots of traditional toys
children still adore during playtime today. Battery powered train sets
and the famous Lionel trains were invented in the early 1900's and the
cherished teddy bear became more and more popular in the United States.
Other traditional toys, like rag dolls, stacking rings, and all sorts
of block varieties were also introduced during the first part of the
20th century.
Today, video games and electronic toys have
gained a fair share of the toy market, but classic, traditional toys
still continue to warm the hearts of children around the world.
Traditional toys, like dolls, blocks, and board games, have been around
for thousands of years and will most likely continue to be an important
part of childhoods for thousands more.