The Indus Civilization c10.10

c10.10

It is not yet known whether the throwing of dice constituted a game in itself among the inhabitants of the Indus valley, but even so, it seems likely that they were used in other ways as well, for a number of objects have been discovered in both cities which are undoubtedly "men" used for the type of board game in which dice seem indispensable. The appearance of these “men” varies considerably, some being coarsely made objects of clay, while the best specimens are made of hard stone, such as agate and chalcedony, and show the finest workmanship. The pieces are sometimes the same shape as the modern halma-man, but others are conical, with a smooth rounded top and sloping sides. It is interesting to note that no two stone gamesmen of the latter type have yet been found of exactly the same size, and for this reason they may not have been used for games at all, but may have been lingas, phallic symbols which are described in Chapter III. In the case of the halma-shaped pieces, however, four of the same shape, size, and colour have been found together, while another group consisted of three red, two dark grey, and one yellowish-pink. Another kind of piece, usually made of faience, is tetrahedral in shape and is especially interesting in view of the fact that identical objects have been found at an early level at Ur.