Bodysurfing Caveman? Deep Oceanic Thoughts

I've been thinking about the times of the cavemen lately (totally normal) and had a thought...

I wonder if they ever played in the ocean back then. Then I started visualizing cave men and women gliding through the waves with their loincloths all strewn about. Then I started laughing to myself. But seriously, I wonder when people even started bodysurfing. 

I guess you could say that before the invention of the surfboard leash in 1971, everyone was a bodysurfer. If you weren't at least somewhat able to ride the waves without a board, recovering from a wipeout would've been much more difficult (and let’s face it, less fun).

It’s impossible to know when and where body surfing originated (according to the internet) but board surfing pre-dates back to around 2000 BC, so you can imagine how long the sport has been around! The only real studies done on the subject were from the University of Hawai’iwhere they have remains of ancient boards and more hard evidence on the matter. That’s not to say that Hawai’i is where it all began, but it very well may be.

The history of surfing may not be as important and relevant to us today than say- the history of medicine but who knows, it could be significant if we were able to learn it. What if they held surfing contests in ancient times to see who becomes the next king? Probably not very realistic but you never know until you do the research!

As ancient as it is, bodysurfing didn't become popular in the United States until the 1920’s. Pro bodysurfers like Wally O’Connorwould come show off their stuff and captivate audiences with their impressive wave riding. Does that even make sense to you? So… what were people doing at shorebreak beaches before then? Nothing? Now I'm picturing a bunch of cavemen families sitting at the beach staring at the waves doing…. nothing.

Since I don't believe that decades and even centuries could possibly pass without ocean-dwellers using the ocean for sport, I am forced to believe that since man lived near the ocean, man surfed- in any capacity really. Perhaps they used large flat round animal bones as handboardsand shredded harder than we can imagine. If these kinds of bones are found at the bottom of the ocean somewhere, I think I should be officially credited for the theory.

To sum things up- cavemen probably bodysurfed. I’m not sure if special loincloths were constructed but that’s a possibility too. Anything’s a possibility I suppose.

That being said, I think It’s time to leave your computer and start body-surfing like our ancient ancestors except instead of using large flat round animal bones, make your life easier and use a Slyde Handboard = Epic Wave Riding in the Palm of Your Hand!