Abstract: There are records of games being played in virtually all cultures and in all periods of history, but they were not necessarily viewed in the same way as the sports of today. The term 'sport' is a human construct, like 'art' or 'work', defined by the way in which it is used. Was the football game of Tsu Chu, reportedly played over 3000 years ago in China, perceived by its participants in the same way as football is seen in modern times? There are clearer records of the value that the Ancient Greeks attached to physical activities, revered in ritualised sporting spectacles such as the Olympic Games, but again it is uncertain how far these activities embodied functional skills rather than being seen as sports in the current sense. Indeed, Elias (1978) has suggested that sport, in its true meaning, has only developed since the industrial revolution of the nineteenth century, and must be distinguished from the chaotic and violent games of former times: for example, primitive football between competing villages, with no limits on the numbers involved, bear and bull baiting, cock fighting and badger hunting.
Publication Year: 1998
Publication Date: 1998-01-01
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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