Villagers discover ancient ball game statue in Mexico
Villagers discover ancient ball game statue in Mexico
1 hour ago
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Handout picture released by the National Institute of History and Anthropology (INAH) on May 20, 2013, showing an image of a player of a pre-Hispanic ball game, possibly dating back over 1,000 years in the State of Guerrero, Mexico.[/font]
Villagers installing a water pipe in southwestern Mexico stumbled onto an ancient granite statue depicting a player from a pre-Hispanic ball game, the national anthropology institute said Monday.
The stone had been sliced at the neck, like a decapitation, and buried in a ritual that was common at the time, the National Anthropology and History Institute said in a statement.
There are indications that the 1.65-meter (5-foot-4) tall statue, which depicts a bow-legged ballplayer with his arms crossed, was built onto an I-shaped ball game field before it was buried and could be more than 1,000 years old.
Mesoamericans would paint objects in red and "kill" them by breaking them as offerings for rituals at the end of calendar cycles.
More:
http://phys.org/news/2013-05-villagers-ancient-ball-game-statue.html#jCp
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= new reply since forum marked as read
in which people on horseback hit enemy heads while riding their horses?
I've read the balls used flew pretty fast, and went through rings somewhat high up on walls in the Aztec, Mayan games, after which people could get killed, of course!
Found this article:
The Importance of the Rubber Ball
Posted on February 22, 2013 by anth2589
~snip~
The type of court used to play the “ball-game” depended on the zone where it was being played. For example, in the lowlands Mayan area the ball courts had open ends which were thought to keep entry to the courts limited for ritual purposes. The courts had vertical walls with stone rings in the center.
The highland Maya zones were shaped like an “I” and had slanted walls. They also had stone heads on each wall. The size and structure of the courts suggests a relationship to the significance of the ritual and the authority of the ruler of that site. Generally speaking however, the ball game was played with the rubber ball in an attempt to get the ball in the hoop, wherever the hoops were placed on the courts. The location of the hoops changed depending on the court, as well as the incline of the walls. Since they could not use their hands, those who were playing used protectors on their knees and hips in order to be able to hit the ball. More specific rules, however, were particular to the site of the ball game and were subject to change. Despite any differences in the layout of the game and specific rules, overall, the game had to be played using ones body to try to put the ball in the hoop.
http://anth2589.wordpress.com/2013/02/22/the-importance-of-the-rubber-ball/
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Lots of images for Mayan ball courts at google images.
Unbelievable structures.
I had the wrong sport and the wrong country !
Thanks Judi Lynn.
