) at Beni Hasan. Wrestling as a type of
mock combat and
display behaviour among males has anthropological roots, and is also seen in non-human
Great Apes. Its documented history however necessarily begins with the history of pictorial representations. The oldest representations of wrestling date back 15,000–20,000 years ago, found in
southern France. Cave paintings in the
Bayankhongor Province of
Mongolia dating back to Neolithic age of 7000 BC show grappling of two naked men and surrounded by crowds. In the
Ancient Mesopotamia, forms of
belt wrestling were popular from earliest times. A carving on a stone slabe showing three pairs of wrestlers was dated to around 3000 BC. A cast
Bronze figurine, (perhaps the base of a
vase) has been found at
Khafaji in
Iraq that shows two figures in a wrestling hold that dates to around 2600 BC. The statue is one of the earliest depictions of sport and is housed in the
National Museum of Iraq. ian
burial chamber mural, from the tomb of
Baqet III dating to around 2000 BC, showing
wrestlers in action, and subsequently showcasing a highly developed ancient martial art, containing some distinct manoeuvres which could be described in terms of the present-day
Judo throwing techniques,
freestyle single and
double leg takedowns,
Sambo and
BJJ par terre techniques. Portrayal of martial arts sporting in Egypt has begun by the time of the
5th Dynasty mastaba tombs at
Saqqara, circa 2400 BC. After a boat joust scene recorded in the tomb of
Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep, who were manicurists to
King Nyuserre, six pairs of boys wrestle in the nearby tomb of Akhethotep and Ptahhotep. Another early piece of evidence for wrestling in
Egypt appears at 11th and 12th Dynasty
Beni Hasan (2000 BC, images at right and above), where wrestling scenes in several tombs are elaborated to cover much of a wall. On the 406 wrestling pairs found in the Middle Kingdom tombs at Beni Hasan in the Nile valley, nearly all of the techniques seen in modern
freestyle wrestling could be found. .
Greek wrestling was a popular form of
martial art in which points were awarded for touching a competitor's back to the ground, forcing a competitor out of bounds (arena). Three falls determined the winner. It was at least featured as a sport since the eighteenth
Olympiad in 704 BC. Wrestling is described in the earliest celebrated works of
Greek literature, the
Iliad and the
Odyssey. Wrestlers were also depicted in action on many vases, sculptures, and coins, as well as in other literature. Other cultures featured wrestling at royal or religious celebrations, but the ancient Greeks structured their style of wrestling as part of a tournament where a single winner emerged from a pool of competitors. Late Greek tradition also stated that
Plato was known for wrestling in the
Isthmian games. This continued into the Hellenistic period.
Ptolemy II and
Ptolemy III of Egypt were both depicted in art as victorious wrestlers. After the Roman conquest of the Greeks,
Greek wrestling was adopted by the Roman culture and became
Roman Wrestling during the period of the
Roman Empire (510 BC to AD 500). By the eighth century, the Byzantine emperor
Basil I, according to court historians, won in wrestling against a boastful wrestler from
Bulgaria. Celtic wrestling has an extensive history, with wrestling being mentioned in the
Tailteann Games dating back from somewhere between 1839 BC to 632 BC (academics disagree) to the 12th century AD when the Normans invaded. Various styles such as
Cornish wrestling,
Gouren,
Collar-and-elbow wrestling, etc. are likely to have evolved from some common style. == Medieval and Early Modern Europe ==