Playing Jacks in the Balkan Nations

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IN various shapes and forms in ethnic groups, tribes and nations all over the world, the game of playing jacks is almost as old as the human settlements of Neolithic Epoch, i.e. this game was played even 5000 B.C. This is one of the oldest games in the world, enjoyed by both young and old people who try to outwit each other by their skill in playing, and, which is even more important, this was and is a game played in pairs (one or two pairs) as well as by single players (one to three players). The form and shape of pebbles remained unchanged; their original characteristics from the Neolithic Epoch remained through all phases of human history up to the modern age, from the ancient prehistoric Neolithic epoch through the classical period and Middle Ages to the modern society with high-level cultural developments. Even the materials of which the 'pebbles' are made remained the same from the prehistoric epoch till today,' namely stones, bones and terracotta; in this article the term 'pebble' will be used as a general term of convenience when describing how the game is played. The scientific approach to this game was based on the form of the game with five pebbles.2 Our investigations in modern Balkan nations showed that the game is played with three, five or nine pebbles. Playing jacks with three pebbles is called 'piggy' by Serbs in South Serbia and 'pushy' by Albanians in the Yugoslav republics. The game with five pebbles has various names with all modern Balkan nations. The game with nine pebbles is called grosanje by Serbs in South Serbia and kosovo, and the same name is occasionally applied to the game with five pebbles in these regions. We shall now explain the way this game is played by the Balkan nations. This game was played by old and young people in ancient times, while now it is played mainly by youngsters and very rarely by adults, so it is at the stage where it is no longer habitual but is becoming despised, even disappearing. During the archeological investigations on Fafos site at Titova Mitrovica during the period 1960-1961, two pebbles made of terracotta were found. Both were small, similar to each other and well shaped. It is difficult to determine whether there were more pebbles on this site since pebbles are small and trivial and were of minor importance for the archeologists investigating the site. After that, in 1975, two pebbles were accidentally found at Neolithic sites at Gumniste and Cukarka (the latter being near the town of Vranje in South Serbia) at Pavlovac. The Pavlovac Neolithic pebble found at Cukarka site was oval and little bigger, made also of terracotta. The other Pavlovac pebble found at Gumniste site was made of smoothed stone (limestone) and was small, similar to the pebbles of Titova Mitrovica. These pebbles from Titova Mitrovica (S.A.R. Kosovo) and Pavlovac (South Serbia) originate from the same epoch between 4500-5000 B.C.3 It is possible that these pebbles were also used for playing marbles. (See Figure 1). Ancient Greeks and Romans enjoyed playing jacks to a great extent. This game was played both by children and by adults, both men and women. Playing jacks was also a habit with ancient Egyptians. The mosaic picture of young girls playing jacks from