The crucial thing when working with the Maya ballgame is to remember that the Maya played two main kinds of game: handball and "big ball". Their "big ball" game had two main variations, that played by dynastic rulers and that played by other members of the elite. Each variant could be played using either stone yugos low around their waist or wooden ball deflectors high on their chest. There seem to have been three classes of "goals". The Mayans played A game called tiachtili. They were good at weaving, carving, and pottery. They were not that popular for thread making. The Mayans played a game called tiachtili which was a very hard game. It was hard to win a game. If you use your hands or feet you get a penalty. Who ever gets the most penalty's they lose. For sports they had tons of sports. On the right there is a picture of people playing a game called the ball game. It was the deadliest game they played. You get sacrificed to the gods. There where tons of people watching they also placed bets. They played a game called the hip game. The hip game was played with a hard rubber ball without it touching your hand, head, or feet. In some religions you had to hit it through a ring. Another game they played was Pok-A-Tok. They were usually played at religious ceremonious. Some of the players were sacrificed to the gods. It was usually played in the cities. The courts were thin and surround by stepped stone walls. They had heavy suited padding so they did not get injured by the ball. The Mayans didn't have that many hobbies but they still had some. They liked art so they did it a lot. They taught princely families in the cities. Men played the ball game. The women were good for weaving. They played Pok-A-Tok a lot.
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The Aztec ball game was called Tlachtli. The other game they played was patolli. a games played with pebbels and beans. x
I don't think we know it's original name, but there is a modern version some indigenous people still play called Ulama. But for the ancient version, we just call it the mayan ball game.
The ball's used in the traditional Mayan ball game were made from rubber which they had tapped from the nearby trees.
One possibility of the Mayan ball game is that the losers lost their heads. Carvings at Popol Vuh show the sacrifice of ball players.
The rules were not to touch the ball with your hands and the first team to put the ball through the hoops wins automatically and the loser is faced with death Something that might help... watch to movie El Dorado.
Mayan Luise
pok a tok