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I find the theory that it is a game especially intriguing. In ancient times, games were used as divination methods, a way to know the will of the gods [1]. Th
by JoeDaDude 7y ago
I find the theory that it is a game especially intriguing. In ancient times, games were used as divination methods, a way to know the will of the gods [1]. The game theory explains many things, such as the uniqueness of the symbols and the spiral pattern.
Board games, like language, music, and religion, have been created in every culture [2] [3], but physical evidence is very scarce. Written evidence is even more lacking. There are games we know of, but know very little of how they were played or used (e.g.: Senet) [4]. Could the Phaistos disc be a rare piece of physical evidence?
An entire book has been written about the Phaistos disk as board game [5]. I can't speak to the specific theories/guesses made in the book, but the notion that the disc is a game seems very plausible to this casual observer.
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Games-Gods-Ancient-Systems/dp/087728752X/ref=sr_1_12?keywords=board+games+ancient&qid=1567635148&s=books&sr=1-12 https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Games-Gods-Ancient-Systems/dp/...
[2] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2688609-ancient-board-games-in-perspective https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2688609-ancient-board-ga...
[3] https://www.amazon.com/Board-Table-Games-Many-Civilizations/dp/0486238555/ref=sr_1_10?keywords=board+games+ancient&qid=1567635629&s=books&sr=1-10 https://www.amazon.com/Board-Table-Games-Many-Civilizations/...
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senet#Gameplay https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senet#Gameplay
[5] http://phaistosgame.com/ http://phaistosgame.com/
- jacobolus 7y agoThere are also a lot of old boards found by archaeologists which are assumed to be game boards but might have instead (or also) been counting boards (abacuses) used for performing calculations. I’m fairly convinced (though I’m not an expert and it’s hard to be sure about ancient artifacts without documentary corroboration) that backgammon, mancala, and chess boards were originally used as calculation tools. Maybe senet too.