The Urka proto Pac-Man arcade complex, according to the research team, was most likely used during ceremonial amusements.

URKA, Turkey–An archaeological team from San Jose State University, excavating what was thought to be a temple complex dating to 550 B.C., was shocked to learn that the structure was actually the earliest gaming arcade ever discovered, proving that video games are rooted far deeper in human culture than was ever imagined until now.

“As we removed layers of sand, pottery and discarded McDonald’s containers, we began to sense that this site wasn’t at all what we were expecting,” related Dr. Andy Flynntok, the team’s lead archaeologist. “But nothing could have prepared us for the ultimate discovery–the ceremonial Pac-Man mosaic at center court. When I saw that round body and gaping mouth, I thought I was in some sort of time warp.”

Flynntok and his team also uncovered large round pebbles in the surrounding “maze” structures formed by colonnades, which they suggest played the role of pac-dots in the ancient game, which the team has dubbed proto Pac-Man.

“We don’t know what they used to represent ghosts, but we expect that local villagers draped in fleeces or goatskins might have played the roles of Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde and chased a designated Pac-Man,” speculated Flynntok.

The team recreated the proto Pac-Man experience to test their theory, four of the researchers donning ghost sheets while Flynntok, wearing a hula hoop-framed Pac-Man costume, played the hungry hero and scurried about the arcade picking up stones.

“It was lots of fun,” related Molly Biggs, a post-doc candidate who had worked at the dig for two years before the momentous discovery. “I never got to play the original Pac-Man in the arcades of the 1980′s since I hadn’t been born, but I expect it was a lot like the experience we had.”

Local observers seemed impressed by the discovery. Urka’s mayor, Tazmit Flobar, contacted Namco Bandai to begin discussing licensing rights and retroactive royalty payments for the town.

“Clearly they have benefitted greatly from Urka’s intellectual property,” stated Flobar. “Now it is time that the citizens of Urka also benefit. You might say that we are the original Pac-Men.”