Well, if you like I can toss one of the many competing theories at you. I'm quoting from "The Scissors of Eden" by R. Q. Stevens of the Royal Academy of RPS Studies based in Oxford:

"RPS is the oldest game known to mankind. There are traces of its roots in some of the earliest cave paintings and pottery carvings found in North America, Africa, and the Middle East. It would not, of course, have been played in its current form, as neither scissors nor paper were yet invented. The original variant no doubt centered around the hunt, our primitive ancestors' most important pastime, and the symbols they used might have represented such items as 'spear', 'mammoth', and 'tar pit'. There is evidence that an even earlier iteration used only two symbols, with one always defeating the other. This could well be the origin of the phrase 'Good old rock, nothing beats it', predating known and attributable references by several thousand years at least.
"Prehistoric man probably used his form of RPS for decision making purposes, having no use for a game that is played for 'honour'. He would have used it to solve very concrete problems, like who would have the use of a dry cave on a rainy night. The loser would be stranded in the rain, and often become ill and, in the absense of effective medical care, die of pneumonia. The winner, however, would enter the cave and promptly be devoured by the sabre-toothed tiger that had already taken up residence inside. Those were harsh times. As we can see, however, RPS and its predecessors played a vital role in the natural selection of homo sapiens. . . ."

As good old R. Q. has a tendency to be a bit long-winded, I'll cut him off there. You can check his book out from the library if you're really interested. I've found it, as well as R. Q.'s other volumes, to be invaluable in curing insomnia.

Arbiter
Zone Captain, Media Brigade
"Scissors for scissors' sake."

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Comments:: Well, if you like I can toss one of the many competing theories at you. I'm quoting from "The Scissors of Eden" by R. Q. Stevens of the Royal Academy of RPS Studies based in Oxford: : "RPS is the oldest game known to mankind. There are traces of its roots in some of the earliest cave paintings and pottery carvings found in North America, Africa, and the Middle East. It would not, of course, have been played in its current form, as neither scissors nor paper were yet invented. The original variant no doubt centered around the hunt, our primitive ancestors' most important pastime, and the symbols they used might have represented such items as 'spear', 'mammoth', and 'tar pit'. There is evidence that an even earlier iteration used only two symbols, with one always defeating the other. This could well be the origin of the phrase 'Good old rock, nothing beats it', predating known and attributable references by several thousand years at least. : "Prehistoric man probably used his form of RPS for decision making purposes, having no use for a game that is played for 'honour'. He would have used it to solve very concrete problems, like who would have the use of a dry cave on a rainy night. The loser would be stranded in the rain, and often become ill and, in the absense of effective medical care, die of pneumonia. The winner, however, would enter the cave and promptly be devoured by the sabre-toothed tiger that had already taken up residence inside. Those were harsh times. As we can see, however, RPS and its predecessors played a vital role in the natural selection of homo sapiens. . . ." : As good old R. Q. has a tendency to be a bit long-winded, I'll cut him off there. You can check his book out from the library if you're really interested. I've found it, as well as R. Q.'s other volumes, to be invaluable in curing insomnia. : Arbiter : Zone Captain, Media Brigade : "Scissors for scissors' sake."

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