There are those who wonder who invented bowling. Bowling is a sport that brings various health benefits. It is basically an anaerobic type of exercise that is comparable to lifting free weights and walking. This popular sport is older than you might think. Let’s go over the history of the game to figure out who invented bowling.
There are those who believe that you can trace the history of bowling all the way to the stone age. Flinders Petrie, a British anthropologist found evidence of this game in ancient times. Along with a team of archaeologists, he found evidence of a game that resembles bowling in Egypt in a find they made in the 1930’s.
Among the unearthed objects from a grave of a small child they found a somewhat primitive form of the game. This is an interesting evidence to point to the Egyptians to be those who invented bowling. Of course, this discovery will not go on without any challenges. There are those who went on to argue that the game didn’t actually begin in Egypt but in some other place some time later.
Other Possible Origins
The argument against crediting the creation of bowling to the Egyptians is contested. A German historian by the name of William Pehle claims that the game of bowling actually originated in Germany. He gives 300 AD as the date of the game’s origin.
The claim that the Germans are to be credited as the ones who invented bowling is not too far fetched. The game takes origins as a religious ceremony that was used to determine if one has no sin. German monks introduced the game to the populace as a way to test the people’s faith.
Another possible origin is that from the English. It can also be argued that they are to be credited as the ones who invented bowling. The game’s presence can be traced here during the early 1100’s. The game is quite popular in England where one can find that it has taken on several variations. Several variations include nine pins, skittles, and half bowls.
It appears that the game was quite popular among the English then. This is so since we will find in the records that King Edward III made a proclamation about the game in 1366. He particularly imposed a ban on the game since it proved to be quite a distraction to his soldiers. The game then became popular in America during the 17th century with settlers often importing their own version of the game. With so many developments occurring, you can never really pin point who invented bowling.