Entertainment in Daily Life
What did people do in their spare time before they had television, movies, radios and even books? For archaeologists, it’s easy to get wrapped up in how people hunted and built their houses because we can see the physical remains of that activity when we excavate an archaeological site. It’s much harder to see the physical remains of social interaction, but there are some tantalizing hints at Wilson Butte Cave.
Among the artifacts found at the cave are many bone dice or game pieces. We can only guess the games played with these pieces. Perhaps it was similar to the modern Shoshone stick game, which is still played today with carved bone game pieces. The game is played by men and women and usually involves a wager of some kind. The group is divided into two teams. One team secretly passes the game pieces amongst themselves while singing and playing a drum. The other team has to guess which person is holding the pieces.
Singing and playing the drum, as well as dancing, were all important forms of recreation. There are many kinds of songs and dances, some of which have ceremonial significance. Another form of recreation was storytelling. Stories were told in the evenings before bed, most often in winter when the daylight hours were short. Stories were an important way of passing on information before written language and taught lessons in proper behavior or history.
Art was another activity both men and women took part in. Seashells found at Wilson Butte Cave were probably traded for and used as jewelry or decoration on clothing. Pottery pieces found at the cave have decorative thumbnail impression designs around the rim. Occasionally, clay figurines of animals or people are found in archaeological sites. These were probably children’s toys. Ochre, a red mineral, could be used to make red paint when mixed with grease. The paint could be applied to skin and clothing as decoration. Ochre designs and pictures were also painted on smooth rocks to create rock art. Archaeologists puzzle over the meanings of rock art today. While some rock art was certainly created for special ceremonies, some of it was probably created for the sheer pleasure art brings.
