Before the turn of the 19th century, experimental methods in education were brand new phenomena. Herbart invoked promoting the scientific study of education, based on observational methods, and developed mathematical psychology
No se si aun sirva la información, pero en el libro "El desarrollo de los procesos psicológicos superiores" (Vygotski, 2000), el capítulo 7 habla del papel del juego en el desarrollo del niño, tema que atraviesa la concepción de aprendizaje a la que te refieres...
For hands on learning and acquisition of new "old" games, try the museum gift stores for 200 years ago for US immigrant culture, they sell hoops/sticks, ninepins etc. On the other hand, pebbles for Mancala and "Jacks" (old name depends on the culture/language base), are available if you look in the right place outside. Depending on how old is old, most of the games were made with materials that were easily accessible and take minimal skill to assemble and were used to teach the children the skills needed to survive, so dolls (for baby care and learning to sew) and bows/arrows, boomerangs, etc. would be something that the children might have. On the third hand, what culture and era are you examining? For Appalachia- the Foxfire book of Toys and Games (1985)- edited by Linda Page and Hilton Smith, EP Dutton, publisher ISBN:0-525-48181-8.
I recommend the following TED talk from 2010 in which game designer Jane McGonigal PhD mentions i.e. an interesting story from around 2500 years ago how one of the ancient countries was saved thanks to playing a game.
Thank you for all your comments and links. I am looking at all cultures, but particularly searching for pre-historic games or even those up to the late 1800s. One source I found was http://www.gamesmuseum.uwaterloo.ca/Archives/index.htm#Piccione which links to articles on games, if anyone is interested. I am trying to focus on those with a learning component. For example, Gyan chauper which was used for teaching spiritual lessons.