In the 1930’s,
British Anthropologist Sir Flinders Petrie became the first to discover
evidence of a bowling-like game. He found ancient objects in a child’s
grave in Egypt that were allegedly used for a primitive form of the
game. The artifacts have been dated back to 3200 BC, effectively making
bowling over 5,000 years old! Although some critics put the birth of
bowling much later (German historian William Pehle has said that the
game originated in his country in 300 AD), it has certainly endured
centuries to settle into the modern lanes that we all know and love
today.
During 17th century,
English, Dutch and German settlers imported the game to America. At that
time, the game consisted of nine pins which were regularly played in an
area of New York City still known as "Bowling Green". Connecticut banned
ninepins in 1841 because of their gambling implications.
To avoid this ban the American version of bowling (10 pin) was invented
in 1868.
