Found a bizarre “scoreboard” for the ball game of the Mayan civilization

An ancient “scoreboard” used to play ball by the Mayan civilization has been found by archaeologists in Mexico. The age of the amazing find is believed to be over 1000 years old. A round carved stone found in the Chichen Itza complex in the Yucatan depicts hieroglyphic writing and two ball players.

A stone scoreboard that served as a scoreboard in an ancient ritual ball game has been discovered at the famous Mayan archaeological site at Chichen Itza in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, Reuters reports.

Measuring just over 32 cm in diameter and weighing 40 kg, the round object features hieroglyphic inscriptions surrounding two players standing next to the ball, according to a statement from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).

“It is rare to find hieroglyphic writing on this Maya site, let alone a full text,” said Francisco Perez, one of the archaeologists who coordinated the research at the Chichanchob complex, also called Casa Colorada.

Describing the carved image, archaeologist Santiago Alberto Sobrino Fernández explained that “the character on the left wears a feathered headdress and a sash that has a flower-shaped element, probably a water lily. In line with the face is a scroll that can be interpreted as a breath or a voice. The adversary wears a headdress known as the “serpent turban”, the image of which can be seen on numerous images in Chichen Itza.

The stone, believed to be the plaque, dates back to between 800 and 900 AD, Reuters notes.

The game, played with a heavy rubber ball, was a traditional practice of the peoples of Mesoamerica and is believed to have ritual overtones.

INAH researchers are now preparing to take high-resolution images of the text and iconography for detailed study, while preparing them for conservation.

The Chichen Itza complex, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the main archaeological centers of the Mayan civilization in the Yucatan Peninsula. According to official figures, about 2 million people visit this place every year.

Chichen Itza was a pre-Columbian city built by the Maya people at the end of the classical period. The city was the main center in the Northern Lowlands of the Maya from the Late Classic (600-900 AD) to the end of the Classic period (800-900 AD) and in the early stages of the Postclassic period (900-1200 AD). .e.).

Among the peoples of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, a ball game, or tlachtli, was common, in which sports elements could be combined with rituals. The game was played differently in different places. Pre-Columbian ball stadiums have been found throughout Mesoamerica from Nicaragua in the south to the US state of Arizona in the north. Although the ancient stadiums discovered vary greatly in size, they all have long, narrow fields, bounded by walls, from which the ball can bounce.

The exact rules of the ancient game are believed to be unknown, however, it can be assumed that they were similar to the rules of racquetball or volleyball, where the goal is to keep the ball in play.

In the most common version, the participants in the game had to hit the ball with their hips, but in some versions it was also allowed to use elbows, rackets, bats and stones. The balls were made from a single piece of rubber and these shells weighed four kilograms or more.

Large “matches” of ball games were held as ritual events, sometimes including human sacrifice. However, the game was usually played just for fun.

The Mayan game of ball originated, as it is believed, more than 3000 years ago. The importance of this game is emphasized in the Popol Vuh, which tells the story of the Quiche people and their rulers. The game was portrayed as a way to recreate the battle between the forces of darkness and light as a religious rebirth event that the Maya considered an integral part of their continued existence.

By playing this game and making sacrifices, the Maya demonstrated their devotion to their gods. Scholars disagree about what kind of people were ritually killed during the games and what was the frequency of such sacrifices.