The Ancient Maya: Archaeology and History

Matthew Wenger

November 23, 2015

Dr. Freidel

The Ancient Maya: Archaeology and History

The Mesoamerican Ballgame

Introduction

Perhaps one of the first exposures any of us had to the ancient ballgame played by Mesoamerican people was while watching “The Road to El Dorado” (the animated movie that was released in 2000), but the earliest historical evidence of the ballgame comes to us from ceramic figurines of ball players recovered from El Opeño, Michoacan state in western Mexico about 1700 BC. Fourteen rubber balls were found at the shrine of El Manatí in Veracruz, deposited over a long period beginning abut 1600 BC (Whittington). The oldest example of a ballcourt discovered to date was built about 1400 BC, at the site of Paso de la Amada, an important Formative site in the state of Chiapas in southern Mexico; and the first consistent imagery, including ballplaying costumes and paraphernalia is known from the San Lorenzo Horizon of the Olmec civilization, ca 1400-1000 BC.

Archaeologists agree that the origin of the ball game is linked with the origin of ranked society. The ball court at Paso de la Amada was constructed near the chief's house and, later on, the famous colossal heads were carved depicting leaders wearing ballgame helmets (Whittington). Even if the locational origins are not clear, archaeologists believe that the ball game represented a form of social display and whoever had the resources to organize it gained social prestige. According to historic records, we know that the Maya and Aztecs used the ball game to solve hereditary issues, wars, to foretell the future and to take important ritual and political decisions.

The Game in Context

        The ballgame was first played around 1500 B.C. on the gulf coast of Mexico by the Olmec- Mesoamerica’s first great civilization. This hot, tropical setting formed the backdrop for the evolution of formalized teams, rubber balls, standardized protective equipment, religious rituals, and ballcourt architecture. Eventually these concepts spread throughout Mesoamerica and into the American Southwest and the Caribbean islands, becoming one of the true hallmarks of pre-Columbian civilization. More than 1,500 ballcourts have found in Mesoamerica, and many more still probably lie undiscovered beneath the streets and buildings of modern cities in Mexico and Guatemala (Whittington). Together with the art associated with them, such as ceramic figurines and vessels, stone sculptures, carved monuments, wall murals, and specialized gaming equipment, these ballcourts provide the fundamental evidence for this ceremonial sport.

        Between 1500 B.C. and A.D. 1521, with some notable exceptions (a few ballcourts were as large as a football field; others were big enough only for 2 players), most courts averaged 120 by 30 feet. They were shaped like a capital “I” with parallel masonry walls enclosing a narrow playing alley that connected two endzones.

Rubber and Early Rubber Artifacts

The Mesoamerican peoples have long been known to utilize the secretions of plants that grew in their tropical location. In most cases, these secretions were used in their natural state. Among them were tzictli, a gummy resin used mainly in the production of of images of deities; copal, an aromatic resin that was burned during ceremonies; and the gum of the prickly pear cactus, a powerful binding agent employed in mural painting (Nadal).

        Other plant secretions had to be treated before they could be utilized. This was the case for the rubber used in the production of the ball used in the ball game. Archaeological evidence indicates that rubber was already used in Mesoamerica by the early formative period (1600 B.C.). It was produced in large quantities in tropical zones, from where it was exported to all corners of Mesoamerica and even beyond its frontiers (Whittington).

        The Mesoamerican people used rubber for many purposes. They could attach stones to wooden handles, as well as making the tips for drum sticks, protective gear against arrows, and footwear for the nobility. However, if one examines pre-Columbian iconographic representations and historical documents from the 16th century, it is clear that the main use of rubber was to manufacture balls, both as offerings and for the ritual ballgame (Whittington). The offering balls, called ultelolotli in the Nahuatl language, were smaller than those used in the game and were slightly irregular in shape (Nadal). Priests and worshippers offered them to supernatural beings as venerated gifts. Such balls were burned in bonfires in front of images of deities, although they were also buried inside pyramids and shrines, or were cast into lakes, natural sinkholes, and springs. As depicted in the codices, rubber offering balls are often seen in the hands of gods and officiating priests, inside temples, or on altars (Nadal).

        Balls manufactured for the ritual game were critical for the ritual activity. The game had strong religious connections and was practiced by various Mesoamerican societies. Game balls, like offering balls, were solid, extremely compact, and consequently heavy. They had very regular surfaces and were distinguished by their dynamic bounce (Whittington).

        Latex is a viscous, whitish suspension. When exposed to the air it becomes even thicker and changes colors, taking on increasingly yellowish, greyish, or blackish tones. The composition of the suspension is very complex- it contains particles of rubber, water, resin, esteric oils, waxes, carbohydrates, tannins, acids, and salts (Whittington). The percentages of each component changes from one plant species to another. When the rubber particles in the latex are exposed to the air, an acidic substance, or with certain enzymes, the rubber particles begin to coagulate. This process continues and one is left with solid and liquid parts. Today, we have no archaeological or historical evidence for the precise techniques used by the Mesoamerican people in latex extraction (Nadal).

        We do, however, have archaeological remains of pre-Columbian rubber. They are limited in contrast to the vast amount of iconographic and and written evidence on the widespread use of rubber in Mesoamerica. Only 100 pre-Columbian artifacts made of rubber are recorded. Because rubber, an organic material, is very vulnerable to all agents of deterioration, it is even surprising that archaeologists have been able to discover any artifacts. The science behind rubber’s instability is the presence of double bonds in its molecular structure which tend to break very easily (Whittington). Deterioration of the bonds may be caused by oxygen, ozone, light, heat, copper, manganese and other metals, strong acids, oils, fats, fungi, and bacteria. Rubber can only be preserved if these exposures are kept to a minimum.