The Mesoamerican Ball Game Introduction The M

The Mesoamerican ball game was played for recreational, sociopolitical, and religious reasons. The ball game held a central, primary part in the lives of Mesoamerican people. It was played across a wide geographic area by many different peoples. The ball courts began emerging in the Maya lowlands, at the end of the Middle Formative period (Ashmore 496). There is much, about the ball game, which is only theorized or speculated. The archeological evidence concerning the ball game is limited to the location and design of the ball courts, a few pieces of artifacts found in refuse piles, the contents of caches (when they have been recorded), art work depicting the game in progress, and ethnographic accounts. From these sources of information, a general picture of the ball game in Mesoamerican society can be drawn.

The Mesoamerican ball game was played throughout most of what is now known as Central America, Lower Central America, and the American Southwest. It was played as far north as the indians of the American Southwest and a version was played as far south as Amazonia. The sites of ball courts were both large central regional centers and smaller villages. The ball courts are usually located within the public, ceremonial building of the town. Ball courts continue to be discovered and uncovered during archeological expeditions.

Ball courts have been documented at the following archeological sites: Cuymapa

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f the hero twins, Hun Hunahpu and Xbalanke (Ekholm 243). Palmas, palmate stones, and hachas, which were thin stone heads are also associated with the playing of the game (Ekholm 244). The Ball game There are at least three different ball games which were played in Mesoamerica. Pelota Mixteca is still played, in Oaxaca, and may not be a game indigenous to Mesoamerica, even though, there exists a definitive relationship between the attire of current day players and historical evidence. There is some concern that it may have been introduced after the spanish conquistadors arrived (Taladoire and Colsenet 162). A second ball game represented, on the murals at Teotihuacan, was played with sticks and specific markers. Similar findings have been found at other sites (Taladoire and Colsenet 162). The generally recognized ball game, of Mesoamerica, is Tlachtli. It is the best known of the games (Taladoire and Colsenet 162). The ball game was played in several versions over 2,000 years and over the entire area of Mesoamerica. Almost all male adolescents and adults participated in the game (Santley, Berman, and Alexander 9 ). The uniformity, of play, suggests that there was a strong cultural and symbolic element to the game

Category: History - T