Origin, diffusion and development of polo: an East to West cultural flow

Abstract

Most scholarship focused on the diffusion of sports has focused on a directional flow from core to periphery nations. Consequently, many traditional sports originating in non-Western countries have received little attention and thus represent opportunities for inquiry. This paper employs a world history approach in order to examine the diffusion of polo from central Asia to Europe and the Americas to better understand the multidirectional flow of global culture as well the nature and impact of globalization on the sport’s development in multiple geographic regions over time.