Entertainment has been a cornerstone of human culture for as long as we can trace back in history. We’re going to be exploring five of the oldest forms of entertainment that are still around to this day. We’ll also look at how they’ve changed through the years and what we might be able to expect in the future of these timeless forms of entertainment.
1. Storytelling
One of the most well-known ancient forms of entertainment is storytelling. Storytelling started out as oral traditions used to preserve history, culture, and moral lessons before writing was invented.
While storytelling has made giant leaps to what it has become today, we still tell oral stories. Many of us grew up listening to our parents reading us a book or even just telling us stories from memories, and every day, when loved ones tell us about their day, storytelling is involved.
Storytelling truly seems to be one of the most persistent forms of entertainment and is deeply embedded in almost every other form of entertainment in one way or another. Storytelling is an important part of music, movies, dance, books, conversation, and even games. This brings us to our next item on the list.
2. Games and Gambling
At first glance, games might not seem like an eternal source of entertainment that’s been around for thousands of years. But games and gambling with money have been traced back to as far as about 3000 BCE.
Of course, games have changed a lot. Not only are there tons of varieties of games today, but we also have digital games that offer far more complexity now than ever before. Before, people might gamble by rolling a die; today, there are thousands of games available 24/7 at online platforms and real money tables in Canada.
3. Music
While it’s impossible to know how long music in the form of singing has been around, the first recorded musical instrument dates back at least 40,000 years. This was an ancient form of bone flute with four pierced holes. For a very long time, music has been used for religious ceremonies, bonding, and pure and simple enjoyment. The same is still true today.
These days, music is made with hundreds of instruments, recorded and sold, streamed and downloaded online. It’s a massive industry, and the appeal of music does not seem to have faded one bit since we made bone flutes so many thousands of years ago.
4. Dance
It’s hard to trace back how long dance has been around, but cave paintings from 10,000 BCE depict early dance rituals that indicate it was a common form of enjoyment back then. Music and dance are, of course, quite interconnected, and dance, too, has long been used for both rituals and social connection.
Most people don’t dance much for social bonding anymore, and in many ways, dance has been formalized. We have different styles of dance with different standards, and people devoting their whole lives to dance, but also many people who have never in their lives danced except privately in front of the mirror every now and again.
5. Theater
While the theater isn’t as old as the other items on the list, it still dates back to 500 BCE in Greece. Back then, theater performances were, of course, much different from now. For example, ancient Greek actors used voice-amplifying masks to amplify their voices during performances.
Today, we still have theater, but both culture and technology have changed what it looks like a lot. Elaborate makeup, memorized scripts, and lightning effects may create a quite different result, but in essence, theater is still much the same – humans performing in real time to tell a story and entertain.