Traditional Sports in Human
Culture
China
Performing and entertaining sports
• ice hockey (binqxi)
• polo (jiju)
• swordsmanship
• throwing arrows into wine pitchers (touhu)
Keep-fit activities
• tai chi and daoyin (physical and breathing exercises combined with
automassage)
• martial arts: wushu, wuqinxi (Five Animal Play), ju-jitsu
Various forms of physical training for military purposes
• archery
• charioteering
• long-distance wrestling
• football (cuju)
• head-butting
Japan
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sumo (wrestling)
kemari (kickball)
dakyu (polo)
kyudo (archery)
jiu-jitzu (judo)
karate
Mesopotamia
Boxing
Wrestling
Archery
Running
Boxing Rellief, c.2000 B.C. from Tell Asram
Gilgamesh the Wrestler
Egypt
Board Games (Senet)
Hittites
Bull leaping scene on a Hittite vase from
Huseyindede Tepesi, 1565-1540 BCE
For more on bull-leaping, see Philippe Guillaume (Professor of Old Testament
at the Near East School of Theology, Beirut) and Noga Blockman
(Archaeology department of the University of Tel Aviv)
Nubia
carved reliefs of Nubian wrestlers and men engaged in "karate" and stick
fighting demonstrations on Temple of Medinet Habu
Journal of Sport History, Vol. 15, No. 2 (Summer, 1988)
Wrestling in Ancient Nubia
Scott T. Carroll
Dept. of History, Gordon College
Egypt
Pharaoh’s demonstrations of skill
chariot driving
archery
hunting
running
Chariot Archery
Relief of Amenhotep II in his chariot firing
arrows at a copper ingot target, Temple of
Amun, Thebes, Egypt.
The king often boasted of his
physical prowess. He recorded,
“…he entered into his northern
garden and found that there had
been set up for him four targets
of Asiatic copper of one palm in
their thickness, with 20 cubits
between one post and its fellow.
Then his majesty appeared in a
chariot like Montu [the god of
war] in his power. He grasped his
bow and gripped four arrows at
the same time. So he rode
northward, shooting at them like
Montu in his regalia. His arrows
had come out on the back
thereof while he was attacking
another post. It was really a deed
which had never been done nor
heard of by report: shooting at a
target of copper an arrow which
came out and dropped to the
groundexcept for the king…”
(ANET 244). [Clifford Wilson]
Djoser Pyramid
Djoser, Third Dynasty, c.2650 B.C.
Sed Festival:
Pharaoh Running
Jubilee Run
More on Djoser
Hatshepsut’s Jubilee Run
Scene showing the Pharaoh Hatshepsut (1490-1468)
performing the rites of her 30th anniversary jubilee, which
included running around a special area to show her
prowess.
Egypt
Wrestling (Tomb of Baket at Beni Hasan
(c.2000 B.C.)
Running Stela of King Taharqa
This stela is a unique record from Egypt of a longdistance race held in circa 684 B.C.E. In typical Egyptian
fashion the winner is not named.
[Sixth year, third month] . . . under the majesty of . . .
Taharqa . . . given eternal life.
His Majesty commanded that [a stela] be erected [at] the
back of the western desert to the west of the palace and
that its title be "Running Practice of the Army of the
Son of the Sun Taharqa, may he live forever." His
Majesty commanded that his army, raised up on his
behalf, daily run [in] its five [sections].
Accordingly, His Majesty said to the men: "How lovely
that is, which my Father Amon has made! No other king
has done the like. He has arranged for the decapitation of
the People of the Bow. The nine Peoples of the Bow are
bound.....
Assyrian Lion Hunt Frieze
Palace of Ashurbanipal
at Nineveh, c. 645
British Museum