It seems that the idea of rolling a round object in order to knock over a group of standing objects, occurred to man as one of the first ways to play a game. In the, grave of an Egyptian child, more than 7,000 years old, implements have been found which were used in playing a game very similar to modern tenpins!

There is even evidence that during the Stone Age there was some sort of bowling game in which large pebbles and rocks were rolled at pointed stones which served as pins.