Quarrying Games in Antiquity | Alex de Voogt, Professor, Psychology Department at Drew University

Using the pavements of Palmyra, the pyramids of Meroe, and the quarries of Gebel el-Silsila, researchers are carving new chapters in the history of board games with the documentation of large numbers of graffiti game boards. Starting with discoveries in Egypt and the Near East, the identification, relative dating, and distribution of graffiti games have changed our understanding of gaming practices in antiquity. At the same time, graffiti game boards are starting to provide insight into the histories of an archaeological site, making games research an increasingly important and independent source for archaeologists to document the presence of human activity in antiquity. Alex de Voogt is Professor in the psychology department at Drew University with a special interest in mancala games. He has published extensively on the history and archaeology of board games as well as on contemporary gaming practices in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. In 1995 he started the Board Game Studies colloquium series and in 1998 he co-founded and co-edited the Board Game Studies Journal, both of which continue today. Thumbnail credit Sai Island, Sudan (photo courtesy of Alex de Voogt, 2011)