Games and toys in the North American native world: contributions to visibility and children education

Abstract

We analyze the importance of games and toys during childhood in the context of North American native cultures, taking as a reference the cultural evolutionary stages proposed by E. Service. The objective is to assess the meaning of these activities within the different studied societies and the role they play as a learning activity inside the culture. We also aim to determine what games and toys are the most typical for each culture and, eventually, decide how the social and cultural organization of these societies defines the type of toys and games children use. For this purpose we assume a toy is an object that has moved from its functional meaning to its status of artistic object preserved in anthropological museums. We have used the analysis of bibliography, particularly historical sources, such as travel diaries, archaeological sources, as well as the analysis and study of different museum pieces. This piece of work, which intends to draw attention to childhood, exposes the importance of the ludic activity for the group social regulation and the learning and preparation for adulthood within the native cultures of North America.