Toys throughout men's history
Children in the Ancient Rome used to play with jackstones. During the Middle
Age kids used to play with whistles and maracas to make noise, custom that
has remained until nowadays. There are some particular elements from
pre-Columbian times that evidence the existence of toys in American
Continent. Unfortunately those toys where made out of palm, wood, nut shells
and other vegetable products, therefore it's conservation wasn't possible.
One of the most archaic and popular toys has been the yo-yo. There are two
other toys that have practically shared their history with the history of
men in society: the doll and the ball. Both of them are among the first
registered toys in Men's history.
Most ancient nations used the ball. In 1400 BC Egyptian children already
played with it. As time went by balls where no longer filled with sand.
Nowadays they have especially design air chambers for better direction and
bump.
As time went by we observe a sophistication of dolls; they were the fist
ones to be standard produced. We can trace their evolution from simple baby
dolls to the modern Barbie.
An other toy from yearn are Toy soldiers, whose production begun a long time
ago together with a militarist ideology many times translated into
nationalism. The circulation of these toys is usually bigger during Empire
or expansion times.
The first puzzle dates from 1762, shortly after it's invention it was not
only a child game but an adult game also. One hundred years before, during
the eighteen century, board games were very popular in Western Europe,
specially in France, alike the puzzle children and adults played them.
During the twentieth century, along with the industrial revolution of this
branch, the first metal wagon is invented, making a statement in toy's
history, in 1927. Car toys, another icon in toy's history, where standard
produced for the first time in 1952, by Matchbox; by 1960, the American
company Mattel competed with Matchbox for the control of this
great-profit-market with the famous Hot Wheels Cars: miniature cars with
wheel friction. This motivated a vertiginous competence and industry
evolution.
Plastic was invented during the 1940s, but its use for industrial production
of objects for children broadens during the '50s. It's quality to mold into
different shapes and colors suited perfectly the toy industry. Here fore we
can say that starting at 1960 plastic initiates a new era in the toy
industry. The 1950s where, no doubt about it, the most productive decade in
the evolution of these artifacts for children. The industry's and commerce
direction was settled then. Furthermore, the appearance of this new
material, plastic, and the invention of Barbie and Lego represent such a
deep revolution, that its very own limits exceeded the toy industry itself,
giving birth to a parallel industry.

The Industrial Process

The manufacturing of toys to an industrial scale took place during the
second half of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century.
New and modern materials -such as the rope, which gave the toy movement- are
used in toys; polychrome wood, wax and rugs, paper and cardboard were
materials of great importance in the confection of toys.
The real change in the world of toys is during the first decades of the
twentieth century, when specialists acknowledge that toys are pedagogic
objects, that stimulates children's intelligence and cognitive aptitudes.
For more than three decades -until the upcoming of plastic- industrial
produced toys coexist with the traditional popular ones, made out of mud,
wood or paper. In the 1930s celluloid doll production outspreads, these
washable hygienic dolls show a clear German influence. Also at the beginning
of the twentieth century we find the embryo -coinciding with motor vehicles
standardized-production- of high-tech toys, during the game the child played
a passive role, with little direct participation.
Before 1950 industrial toys production centers were concentrated in
high-consumer countries such as the United States and Western Europe. But
after WW2, all main companies relocated their production plants in
developing countries with low labor costs in order to increase their
profits. Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea first and in the late '70s China, Malaysia
and Indonesia hosted those production plants. As a result of these
relocations we see how production and mass consumers were geographically
separated in order to keep up the benefit. Nowadays, toys world production
is concentrated in the far East, especially in China. In the future, Latin
America and Eastern Europe may turn into the new toy industry hosts