Ancient Egyptian game reveals deep roots in southwestern Asia

Archaeologists discovered rock-carved boards resembling this ancient game in the southern Caucasus region, in present-day Azerbaijan. Dated to around 2000 B.C., these discoveries suggest that "Hounds and Jackals" could have been popular among the cattle herders of that part of the world at that time.

Notably, this period is close to the date of the oldest known copy of this game, found in the tomb of an Egyptian official who lived between 2064-1952 B.C.

Scientists point out that in ancient times, some board games were particularly popular in certain regions. This phenomenon could have facilitated bond-building between cultures with regular contacts. As researchers explain:

The game of fifty-eight holes (another name for "Hounds and Jackals") likely played such a role in the second millennium B.C. in Egypt and Southwestern Asia, as it was the only game that gained popularity throughout the region.

The game was played by two players who used figurines shaped like dog or jackal heads, moving them across a board with holes. The board contained two parallel rows of ten holes each, and an arc made up of 38 holes, totaling fifty-eight holes. The objective of the game was to move the pieces to the end of the track as quickly as possible, similar to modern games like "Snakes and Ladders" or "Ludo."

Various versions of this game have been discovered over more than a thousand years, suggesting that it was popular from the Bronze Age through the Iron Age. So far, archaeologists have found around 70 boards in an area encompassing Egypt, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Iran, and Anatolia.

Recent discoveries add six new boards to this list, found at archaeological sites in Azerbaijan, in the towns of Ağdaşdüzü, Çapmalı, Yenı Türkan, and Dübəndi. The boards from Ağdaşdüzü are dated to the second millennium B.C., while the others could date from the late third millennium to early second millennium B.C.

A publication in the European Journal of Archaeology indicates the game's possible origin in southwestern Asia, not—as previously thought—in Egypt. The findings suggest that the shores of the Caspian Sea were part of a larger cultural network than previously assumed, and the game might have contributed to strengthening ties between societies in this region.

The game was quickly adopted and played by a wide range of people, from the nobility of Egypt's Middle Kingdom to herders from the Caucasus and ancient Assyrian merchants from Anatolia – researchers write.

The rapid spread of the game shows that board games could have functioned as a sort of "social lubricant," facilitating contact between different social strata. The game connected not only different cultures but also people from various social groups, making it not just entertainment but also a tool of socialization in the ancient world.