The Mesoamerican Ball Game
An ancient ball game that the olmec invented around 2500-100 BCE. The olmecs were a culture who believed in gods and that you could actually go into the next world by going through a mountain. The olmec discovered the secret to making the rubber ball keeping its shape by using a special plant. Ballcourts were located in the prime of the city. The olmecs were the only civilization to play this game in this time frame. It was believed that men were the only ones allowed to play the game, but in some sculptures women were dressed in armor and game wear. If you won this game you were praised by the people and rewarded with gold and riches, but if you lost you were sacrificed to the gods to keep peace in the city. the ballcourt was spaced for thousands of people to come and watch. The ball could actually be a weapon in the game, measuring from 10 to 30cm in diameter and weighing 500 to 3.5 kg. meaning it could easily break bones. Now for their attire they wore more protective cloth. The court would be centered and shaped like a I, for the movement of players. The classic Maya origin told in the Popol Vuh stated that the ballcourt represented a portal to the underworld, because after you were sacrificed you were sent to the underworld instead of the holy place. They often practiced religious rituals before and after the game. Ball players that lost the game would not be able to say their goodbyes to their families.
www.ballgame.org/subsection
www.socialstudiesforkids.com
An ancient ball game that the olmec invented around 2500-100 BCE. The olmecs were a culture who believed in gods and that you could actually go into the next world by going through a mountain. The olmec discovered the secret to making the rubber ball keeping its shape by using a special plant. Ballcourts were located in the prime of the city. The olmecs were the only civilization to play this game in this time frame. It was believed that men were the only ones allowed to play the game, but in some sculptures women were dressed in armor and game wear. If you won this game you were praised by the people and rewarded with gold and riches, but if you lost you were sacrificed to the gods to keep peace in the city. the ballcourt was spaced for thousands of people to come and watch. The ball could actually be a weapon in the game, measuring from 10 to 30cm in diameter and weighing 500 to 3.5 kg. meaning it could easily break bones. Now for their attire they wore more protective cloth. The court would be centered and shaped like a I, for the movement of players. The classic Maya origin told in the Popol Vuh stated that the ballcourt represented a portal to the underworld, because after you were sacrificed you were sent to the underworld instead of the holy place. They often practiced religious rituals before and after the game. Ball players that lost the game would not be able to say their goodbyes to their families.
www.ballgame.org/subsection
www.socialstudiesforkids.com