The role of play in human development has long been the subject of controversy. Despite being championed by many of the foremost scholars of the twentieth century, play has been dogged by underrepresentation and marginalization in literature across the scientific disciplines. "The Oxford Handbook of the Development of Play" marks the first attempt to examine the development of children's play through a rigorous and multidisciplinary approach. Comprising chapters from the foremost scholars in psychology, anthropology, and evolutionary biology, this handbook resets the landscape of developmental science and makes a compelling case for the benefits of play. Edited by respected play researcher Anthony D. Pellegrini, "The Oxford Handbook of the Development of Play" is both a scientific accomplishment and a shot across the bow for parents, educators, and policymakers regarding the importance of children's play in both development and learning. This book comprises 24 specially-commissioned chapters by the leading psychologists, anthropologists, and evolutionary biologists in the field of play. It discusses human play from an ethological perspective, examining its ontogeny, phylogeny (especially across primate species), proximal factors and functions. It also emphasizes the importance of play in the debate over the role of recess in the school curriculum. It is divided into seven parts. Part I, Introduction and Overview, contains the following: (1) Introduction (Anthony D. Pellegrini). Part II, Definitions, contains the following: (2) Defining and Recognizing Play (Gordon M. Burghardt); and (3) Cultural Variations in Beliefs about Play, Parent-Child Play, and Children's Play: Meaning for Childhood Development (Jaipaul L. Roopnarine). Part III, Theories, contains the following: (4) Theories of Play (Patrick Bateson); (5) Comparing and Extending Piaget's and Vygotsky's Understandings of Play: Symbolic play as Individual, Sociocultural, and Educational Interpretation (Artin Goncu and Suzanne Gaskins); (6) Gene X Environment Interactions and Social Play: Contributions from Rhesus Macaques (Khalisa N. Herman, Annika Paukner, and Stephen J. Suomi); (7) Playing at Every Age: Modalities and Potential Functions in Non-Human Primates (Elisabetta Palagi); (8) Play and Development (Robert M. Fagen); (9) The History of Children's Play in the United States (Howard P. Chudacoff); and (10) The Antipathies of Play (Brian Sutton-Smith). Part IV, Methods, contains the following: (11) The Cultural Ecology of Play: Methodological Considerations for Studying Play in Its Everyday Contexts (Jonathan R. H. Tudge, Jill R. Brown, and Lia B. L. Freitas); and (12) Observational Methods in Studying Play (Peter K. Smith). Part V, Dimensions of Play, contains the following: (13) Object Play and Tool Use: Developmental and Evolutionary Perspectives (David F. Bjorklund and Amy K. Gardiner); (14) The Development and Function of Locomotor Play (Anthony D. Pellegrini); (15) Not Just "Playing Alone": Exploring Multiple Forms of Nonsocial Play in Childhood (Robert J. Coplan); (16) Internalizing and Externalizing Disorders during Childhood: Implications for Social Play (David Schwartz and Daryaneh Badaly); (17) Gender and Temperament in Young Children's Social Interactions (Carol Lynn Martin, Richard A. Fabes, Laura D. Hanish); (18) Social Play of Children with Adults and Peers (Carollee Howes); (19) Rough-and-Tumble Play: Training and Using the Social Brain (Sergio M. Pellis and Vivien C. Pellis); (20) Children's Games and Playground Activities in School and Their Role in Development (Ed Baines and Peter Blatchford); (21) Mother-Child Fantasy Play (Angeline S. Lillard); (22) Origins and Consequences of Social Pretend Play (Robert D. Kavanaugh); (23) The Development of Pretend Play in Autism (Christopher Jarrold and Carmel Conn); and (24) Technology and Play (Jeffrey Goldstein). Part VI, Education, contains the following: (25) Playing around in School: Implications for Learning and Educational Policy (Kelly Fisher, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Roberta M. Golinkoff, Dorothy G. Singer, and Laura Berk). Finally, Part VII contains a conclusion by Anthony D. Pellegrini.