Artifact of the Week: Game Pieces

Archaeologists recovered these Go game pieces from Downtown San Diego. The site housed a working class population during the late Victorian period (c.1880-1915).

Go is an abstract strategy board game for two players. The aim is to surround more territory than the opponent. The game was invented in China more than 2,500 years ago and is believed to be the oldest board game continuously played to the present day.

Date: Post-Contact Period (300 ya – present)
Material Class: Stone

Want to learn more? Visit the exhibit Block 112: The Untold Story of San Diego’s Working Class in the 1800s currently on view at the Center.