THE ANTHROPOLOGICALSTUDY OF HUMANPLAY byEdward Norbeek The papers presented in this symposium concern for the most part certain limitedaspectsofhumanplay,andtheynecessarilyrepresentonlyasmall part of the range ofpotential subjects ofinvestigation. The general although implicit goal ofthe symposium was t o discuss humanplay from two related viewpoints:1)therelevanceofthestudyofhumanplaytothegeneral anthropological aimofgaining an understandingofmanandculture,and 2) the relevance of anthropology to the study ofhumanplay. This statement implies no claim ofpreeminence for anthropologyin thestudyofplay.The professionalidentifications ofthe participantsinthissymposiumwerenot limitedt o anthropology,andthelackofparticipantsfromstillother disci- plinesreflectsprincipallythefactthatthismeetingwasaconveningof anthropologists. Definition of Play Itisusefulattheoutsetto defineplay,whichwillherebedefinedina waythatismorebroadlyembraciveofhumanbehaviorthanmanyother conceptions.Scholarsinterestedinthissubjecthavebeentroubledin answering the question"Whatis play?"Itis troubling, for example,t o note that some societies do not havea generic wordfor play, andthusseemingly donotdistinguishworkfromplay.Ofcourse,thesesocietiesdohave activities that we readily identify as play. With the hope that this symposium willaidinformulatingamoresuitabledefinition,playisprovisionally definedhereas behavior,restinguponabiologicallyinheritedstimulusor proclivity, that is distinguished bya combination oftraits: playis voluntary, somehow pleasurable, distincttemporallyfrom other behavior,anddistinct inhavingamake-believeortranscendentalquality.Manydefinitionsof playhaveincludedtheviewthatthegoalsofplayarenon-utilitarian,but this statement needs qualification.Except among professionalplayers, such as artists and baseballplayers, forms ofplayare oftenprimarilyexpressive andplayispursuedforitsownsake.Thequestionofutilityisclouded, however,bythe distinction betweenmanifestgoals and covert,unconscious orsubconsciousgoals.Moreover,manyinterpretationsoftheimplicit functionsofspecificformsofplay,suchaswitandhumor,seethemas Mr. Norbeck is Professor of Anthropology at Rice University. 2RICEUNIVERSITY STUDIES beingsociallyandpsychologicallysupportiveinwaysthatmightreadily becalledutilitarian.Perhapsitisacceptabletosaythat,atleastamong non-professionalplayers,thegoalsofplayareusuallynotconsciously utiIitarian. Particularlynoteworthyamongthesetraitsarethedistinctivenessor separation ofplay from other behavior in time and its quality of transcending ordinary cognitiveor psychic states. The activitiesofplayhaveabeginning andanend.Muchofplayisoutrightmake-believe,asinmimicryand theatricalperformances,andasillustratedbytheapologeticstatement, whentheintentofone'sbehaviorismisunderstood,that"Iwasonlyplay- ing."Thetranscendenceofordinarycognitivestateswhichplayinvolves seemstorepresentalteredneurophysiology,adistinctanddistinctive physiologicalstate. We may note also that althoughplayis often inasocial contextofhumancommunication,one mayachievepsychic,ecstatictran- scendencewhilealone,andthatotherformsofplaymayalsobesolitary activities. So defined,playincludesgames andsports, theatrical performancesand other forms ofmimicry; painting,music, dance, and the entire rangeofarts andesthetics;witandhumor;fantasy; andecstatic psychicstates.Ecstasy maybeinducedbysuggestion, auto-suggestion.the ingestionofdrugsand othersubstances,fastingandbodilydeprivationofotherkinds,andby still other physical means. Mammalian Play Biologistshavelongobservedthattheimpulsetoplayisbiologically inheritedandthatplayischaracteristicofthe entire classofmammals.At least,certainformsofplayappearto besodeeplyrootedasmammalian behaviorthattheycrossspecies,genera,families, andorders,andplayis sometimes inter-specific.Such playiscommon betweenhumanbeingsand domesticatedanimals,andthusrepresentsavoluntarysocialactivityof species far apart in zoological classification.Amongnon-humanmammals, playappears t orepresentakindoftemporal disjunction,occurringwhen one kindofactivity ends for whatever reasonor when conditions that affect living organisms change.Butplayisnotsimply amarkerofdiscontinuity. Itmightbecalledabreakinpacethatismarkedlydifferentfromthe activitiesprecedingandfollowing it.Itispossible,perhaps,toreversethis statement,sayingthatworkandothernon-playactivitiesaresimilarly breaksinpace; that is, like work andsleep, playappears to benormaland necessaryhumanbehaviorinwhichhumanbeingsengagefrequently.For non-human forms, the changes or disjunctionsassociatedwithplaymaybe inconditions ofthephysicalenvironment,such as thebeginningor endof rainfall.Amonghumanbeings,the activitiesofplayarealsomostintense atdisjunctions,at timeswhensustainedactivitiesofasinglekindcome naturally to an end or are put to an end. The festivals describedso frequently in anthropological writings,for example, occuratthe ends oflong periods THE ANTHROPOLOGICALSTUDY OF HUMANPLAY3 ofsustained activity ofone kindandthebeginningofperiodsofactivityof a different kind, often connected with gaining a livelihood. In other instances, play is institutionalizedas an interlude, or disjunction, in continued activities ofasinglekindthatareotherwisemaintainedforperiodsofonlysome hours. These remarks intend inpart to say that human playresembles in various ways the playofnon-humanforms oflifeandto emphasizethat, as among other mammals, the proclivityto playamong human beingsisuniversal and geneticallytransmitted.Human playdiffers,however,inanumberofways from thatofothermammals.Asmeasuredbytheincidenceofplay,the biologicaltraitofplayfulnessgrowsinintensityinthemammalianclassin accord with the position ofspecies in the evolutionary scale leading to man. Amongthemammals,speciesoftheOrderofPrimatesarethegreatest players and, among these, man appears to playthe mostofall.Human play is also, of course, distinctive in being culturally moldedor expressed, varying fromsocietytosocietyinaccordwithacomplexsetofculturalvariables thatincludessocialorganization,technology,andattitudesandvalues. Manyspecific forms ofhuman play dependuponsymbolism,andtheseare quitebeyondtherealmofcompetenceorunderstandingofnon-human forms. 77ze Anthropological Study of Play Thissymposiumisthefirstinanthropologyonthegeneralsubjectof humanplay,acircumstancewhichleadstothequestionofwhyanthro- pologyhaspreviouslygivensolittleattentiontothisconspicuousand universalcategoryofhumanbehavior.Tobesure,anthropologistshave often enough described games,sports, esthetics,andother forms ofplayin foreign societies as a part ofroutine ethnographic accounts. Certainaspects ofplay and certain forms ofplayhavealsoreceivedattentionandinterpre- tation now and then.Interests ofthis kindhavebeenshownbysome ofthe mostdistinguishedoftwentieth-centuryanthropologists.Forexample, Kroeber expressed a general interestinhuman playand a specific interestin the roleofplayin inventions; JulianSteward attemptedto deduce universal themes ofwit and humor; andGeorgeP.Murdockhas offeredaninterpre- tation ofthe roleof competitive games in the resolutionofconflict.Thelist ofanthropologistsshowingsimilarinterestsincludesMargaretMeadand GregoryBateson.Inveryrecentyearsmanybriefanthropologicalstudies ofrestrictedformsoraspectsofplayhavebeenadded.Itisreasonable, however,to conclude thatplayasagenericsubjectandtheinterpretation ofits significanceinhumanlifehavebeenneglectedbyanthropology. This neglect appears to beinconsiderable partareflection,or manifestation,of theWesternattitudetowardplayasbeingafrivolousandevensinful activity,unworthyofseriousattentionunlessthegoalsofitsstudyare somehow practical or remedial. Itis also useful to note that all societies have stronglysanctionedrulesor 4RICEUNIVERSITYSTUDIES conventionsthatrepress,suppress,disguise,andchannelman-animal behavior,thatis,anybehaviorwhichcallsattentiontotheanimalnature ofman.Allsocietieshaverules,onlysomewhatvariable,concerningsuch behaviorassneezing,belching,flatulence,scratchingthebody,excretion, sleeping, eating, andsexualrelations.Some oftheseconventionsare called etiquette andare thusexplicit; others are implicit, andviolationofthemis such an unseemly,unthinkableoffensethatfewformalsanctionsforthem ordinarilyexist.Violationoftheseconventionsisun-human,puttingthe violatoroutsidetheboundaryofhumanclassification.Anthropologists have often said that much ofculture consists of the control of"basicprimate urges,"that is, ofman-animalbehavior.The remarks hereintendtoinclude play in this category. Ingeneral,thesestatementsabouttheneglectofplayasasubjectof investigationapply to theentire scholarly andscientific world.Philosophy, biology,sociology,andpsychologyhaveallshownsomeinterestinthe subject. As exemplifiedbythe writingsofFriedrichvonSchiller, inphilos- ophy the interesthas some depth intime.Untilveryrecentyears,however, the only sizeable body ofstudies ofhuman play was conductedin psychology and educational psychology,andthe majorityof thesestudieshadpractical aimsinconnectionwiththeroleofplayintheeducationofchildrenand the roleofplayorrecreationinpromotinghealthandwell-being. The Relevance of the Study of Play ro AnthropologicalConcerns Itisnownecessaryto makeclearwhyandhowthestudyofplayisa matter of importance to anthropology. Since human play is both a biological andaculturaluniversal,itis asubjectofproperconcerntobothphysical and cuItural/social anthropology. The list which follows consists ofsubjects indicating the relevance to anthropologyof the study ofplay in general, and of specific forms and aspects of human play. The Biological Significance of Human Play Since the impulse to playisabiologicaluniversalandsince theactivities ofplayseem to bemosthighly developedinHomo sapiens,theconclusion isforcedthatplayhasbiologicalsurvivalvalue.Ifplaywerebiologically deleterious, the genetically transmitteddispositiont o engage initwouldbe eliminated by means ofnatural selection. Instead, this traitappears t o have increasing development along the line of primate evolution. The development of the biologicalelementin human playispossibly linkedwiththedevelop- ment ofprolonged immaturity that characterizes the Order ofPrimates and, especially, Homo sapiens. The reference here is t o the trait or traits of human beingsthathavevariouslybeencalledpaedomorphosis, foetalization, and neoteny,termswithsomewhatdifferentbutrelatedmeaningswhich,asa matterofconvenience,maybesummarizedastheretentionintheadult form ofinfantile and juvenilephysical characteristics. Physical anthropology THE ANTHROPOLOGICALSTUDY OF HUMANPLAY 5 hasoftendescribedmanas beingthemostpaedomorphic,foetalized,and neotenousoftheformsoflife.Amongmammals,includingman,play appears tobethemostcommonduringimmaturity.Unlesshomocentrism has obscured our vision so that forms ofplayofnon-humananimals are not alwaysrecognizable,itappearsthatadultplayisthemostfrequentand commonamonghumanbeings.Withthesespeculativesuggestions,the subjectofthe biologicalsignificance ofplay willbeset aside andthe discus- sionwhichfollowswillconcerntheconventionalrealmsofculturaland social anthropology. The list that follows consists of aselectionoftopics relatedt o playwhich appearprofitabletostudy.Somesubjectscenteronplayitself.Others concern the relevance ofplay to a varietyofother topics ofanthropological interestthathavenotordinarily beenseenaslinkedwithplay.Variousof thesubjectsoverlap,acircumstancewhichreflectsprevailingviewsof anthropologyaboutthenatureofculture as composing asystemoraunit ofrelatedparts.It isnotpossibletolistor discussallofthetopicswhich relateto play.Intheinterestsofeconomyoftimeandwords,anattempt hasbeenmade to formulate embracivetitlesunderwhichavarietyofdis- tinguishable but related subjects may be subsumed. The order ofpresentation represents no judgmentofhierarchyofimportancebutisinsteadamatter of convenience. Remarks about each topic wilt be brief. 1.Play as a Mirror of PervasiveValues and Attitudes Theformsofplayofeachsocietydifferinwaysthatmaybeseenas congruentwithpervasiveandoften covertvalues andattitudes thatextend far beyondthe realmofplay.Thus,insome degree, thestudy oftheforms of play specific to each society serves as a key to the character of the society, an ideathatgoesbackto thephilosopherSchillerbutwhichhasnotbeen pursuedinactual studies. A comparisonofthe forms ofplayofJapanand theUnitedStates,forexample,isilluminating.CharacteristicJapanese formsofplayillustratesuchgeneralJapanesedispositionsorvaluesas strongaffectivedependenceuponothers,thesuppressionofviolence, asceticism, andorderliness. An examinationof differencesintheforms and incidence ofplayaccording to sex andageshould alsobeilluminating.An additionalsubjectthatmightwellbeincludedunderthisheadingisthe relationshipofplayandmotivationtowardachievement.Ourstudiesof theProtestantethic havegivengreatattentiontoattitudestowardwork, andmuchlessattentiontowardthestatusofplay.Forthemostpart,we simply do not know the attitudes toward either workor play ofthe majority of the societies of theworld. 6RICEUNIVERSITYSTUDIES 2. Play and Social Control This vastsubject embracesmanyotheroverlappingsubjects thatinclude 1 )formsof playas institutionalized channels forthe expression andresolu- tion ofinter- andintra-societal conflictandhostility,2)the .functionso fwitandhumor,associalsanctionsandinotherwaysthat,foster social amity,3)the functionsof playasa safetyvalvein promotingharmonious social relations, and 4) playas an index of social and psychological tensions. Muchofthe writingofMax Gluckmanandotherscholarsregardingcon- flictandmuchoftherecentthinking about ritesofreversalconcernforms ofplay, although the studies havenot generally beenso identified.Manyof the institutionalizedcustomsofplay,notablyincluding witandhumor and ritesofreversalwiththeirgame-likequalityofmake-believe,mayreadily be seen t o serve in various ways as sanctions forstandards ofbehaviorthat applyatothertimes and, ofcourse,applyevenduring theplay. 3. Play and SocialPsychological Problems ofWestern Society Subsumedunderthistitlearemanysubjectsthathavebeenmattersof scholarlyconcernandspeculationforsomeyears,andalsomattersof popularconcern.Therelationshipofplayt omentalhealth,forexample, hasbeenasubjectofinterestandconcernformanyyears.Ourproblems withplayhavebeenseenasintimatelyrelatedtoourattitudes,religiously supported, that have made workinto an onerous duty andplayafrivolous indulgence,therebyleadingtofeelingsofguiltinconnectionwithplay, inability to play,andpsychologicalandsocialdisturbanceoverillegalbut attractive forms ofplay.As weall know,one ofthe currentlypopularforms ofplayofoursociety,theseekingofmarkedtranscendencebymeansof drugs or chemical substances, is an especially acute social andpsychological problem.Anyanthropologistknowsthatthisbehaviorisancientand widelydistributedthroughouttheworldandthatinothersocietiespro- ceduresofpermissivecontrol overthisbehaviorhavebeenworkedoutso thatitseldomhasbeenasocialproblem.TheWesternviewofpropriety has strongly disapprovedthe seekingofpsychictranscendencebymeansof drugsandhasleftuswithnoeffectivemeansfortheregulationofthis common type ofhumanbehaviorbeyondthedoubtfullyeffectiveforceof law. Inquiryintothesubjectsoftherelationshipbetweenplayandsocial problems and between play and mental health relates also to subjects already mentioned,suchasplayandsocialcontrol,andplayandachievement motivation.Stillotherrelatedsubjectsare playandsymbolismandplajl andpsychosis,whicharethemselvesalsorelated.Forexample,Gregory Batesonhas dealt withschizophreniaandthe symbolsofplay,thewaysby which human beings notify others that they are playing. 4. Play and Linguistics, Communicarion, Cognirion,and Symbolism The ways in which people inform others that theirbehavioris play appear THE ANTHROPOLOGICALSTUDY OFHUMAN PLAY 7 to besubtle; at least, wehavefoundthemverydifficultto describe.1 think we know,however,that they differ according to culture andsub-culturebut neverthelessholdmuchincommon.Theseandothersymbolicaspectsof playhave obvious importance to theunderstanding ofhumancommunica- tion,therangeofwaysinwhichpeoplecommunicate,consciouslyand unconsciously,thatincludeslanguage,gestures,facialexpressions,and bodily stances. The symbols ofplayappear to providearich field of investi- gationfortransformationalistsinlinguisticswhoareconcernedwiththe "deepstructure"oflanguageandthus alsot o scholars ofhumancognition andcommunication.Scholars attemptingtoseepan-humanstructuresof thoughtor universalpatternsofthinkingwillfindinthe abundantritesof reversal ofsocieties ofthe world-alarge part ofwhichare forms ofplay- perhapstherichestsinglesourceofexample ofbinaryopposition.Ishall also suggest that reversals-themselvesexamplesofbinaryopposition-are a universal theme of wit and humor. 5. Religion and Play Religiousritualandplayhaveratheroftenbeenseen as similarinform, and, of course, much religious ritual consists oftypes ofplay such as games, sports, theatricaldrama, andpsychologicalecstasythathavebeenputina religious context.At leastinthepast,oneofthe mostimportantfunctions ofreligionhasbeentoprovideentertainment.Therelationshipsbetween religionandplayappearto beabundantandcomplex,and,as yet,poorly understood.Onekindofconnectionappearstobeclear.Duringmostof man'shistory,and until moderntimes,religionhasservedto regulateplay, permittingandencouragingcertainformsofplay,sometimesprohibiting other forms, and sometimes,as in theChristianencouragementofreligious ecstasy,allowing or encouraging certainforms ofplaybycalling themacts ofpietyor marksofspecial divinegracebutprohibitingthemunderother guise.Wehavelongknown,forexample,thattheabilitytoentertrance frequentlyhasbeenarequirementforreligiousspecialization.Likeother subjects discussedhere, the relationshipbetweenreligionandplayoverlaps withor leadsintoothertopics.Ageneralroleofreligionwithrespectto playuntilrecenttimes hasbeenas apermissivebut,at thesame time,con- trollingmechanism.The declineofthisfunctionalaspectofreligionmay, of course, be seen as bearing upon our presentsocial problems in connection with drugs and play in general. Other Topics The precedinglistofsubjectsconcerningplayconstitutesonlyasample ofthe potential range. Among other topics,some ofwhichare familiar and many of which relate to subjects previously mentioned, are: playand erstas-v, gametheory, playandpolitics,playandlaw,p1a.vandaggression,the didacticand socializingvalueofplayamong childrenand adults, playand 8RI CE UNIVERSITYSTUDI ES art,and playandcreativit.v or culturalinnovation.Ithas longbeennoted, for example,thatdevices intendedfor playsuchas variousadaptationsof theprincipleofthewheelhaveledorhavebeenalteredtoinventionsof greattechnologicalimportance.JohannHuizinga(HomoLudens)has even extravagantly held that play is the wellspring of culture and civilization. THEROLEOF ANTHROPOLOGYI N THE STUDYOF PLAY The statements concerning the general goalsofthis symposiumheldthat anthropologyisimportantt othesuccessfulstudyofplay.Wehavenow reacheda time when there is greatandgrowinginterestinthesubject, This gathering was, ofcourse,indicative ofthatinterest.Other similar convoca- tionsareplannedorscheduledforthefuture,includingasymposiumon playattheforthcomingcombinedannualmeetingsofseveralbiological societies.Assuming that wemay proceedwithprovisional definitionsofthe realmofplaysuchastheonegivenhere,wehavebeforeusthetaskof interpretingboththebiologicalandtheculturalorsocialsignificanceof play,ataskwhichanthropologyalone cannotdosuccessfully.Aprincipal andimportantroleofculturalanthropologytothisendseemsobvious, however.Biologistsarecurrentlyshowingalivelyinterestinthestudyof thesocialplayofmammals,buthavenotincludedhumanbeingsamong theirsubjectsexceptindirectly.Itisonlyculturalandsocialanthropology whichcanprovidecomparative or cross-culturalinformationontheforms ofhumanplay.The quantityofsuch data presently availableinanthropo- logical publications as raw material cannot be estimated withany assurance, butitissurelylargeifspotty.Recentstudiesofsuchsubjectsasinverted behaviorandsymbolismhavealreadyaccomplishedsomeamassingof information.Primatologistsamong physicalanthropologistssimilarlycan providecomparative informationontheplayofnon-humanprimates,and aredoingso.Whetherdealingwiththebiologicalorculturalsignificance ofplay,suchcomparativeanthropologicalinformationisessential,butit confers no exclusivity on anthropology in the study ofplay.Anexamination of the titlesofpossiblesubjects ofinvestigation discussedhere clearly shows therelevancetotheirstudyofotherdisciplinessuchasbiology,neuro- physiology,psychiatry,psychology,socialpsychology,andsociology.An examination of anthropological writings to date on these subjects also clearly shows the enriching influence of other disciplines.