Ball Court Model

Ball Court Model, Mexico, Nayarit, c. 200 B.C.E.–500 C.E.

In geographic areas that are now the modern day countries of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, Mesoamerica refers to the wide diversity of civilizations that shared almost the same characteristics in culture as these countries. Architectural features, a ballgame, the 260 day calendar, trade, food, clothing accoutrements, and a complex collection of gods. The food that these cultures relied on included corn, beans, and squash and accoutrements were additional things that a person wears or uses such as ears-pools (an earring that stretches your ear).

Across Mesoamerica, people often played a ritual sport known as the ballgame. City's sacred precinct was often the place to find ball courts. Placing the ball courts here definitely emphasized that this game was of great importance. Solid rubber balls were used in the game and the players wore padded garments to protect themselves. The ball game had many meanings that were varied. Some believe it symbolized cosmological ideas. For example this game could symbolize the movement of the sun. Others believed that it could symbolize a defeat in war because war captives sometimes played against a winning team of members in a city who captured them. An interesting thing I found was that sometimes one of these games was played instead of going to war, imagine how crazy that would be if playing a game like this simply settled foreign matters or disputes without people being killed. 

In the ball court model pictured above, the largest figure is shown hitting a ball with his hip as four other players analyze their next move. Giving prominence to a line of three small markers painted white, the center of the I- shaped passageway is formed by two end zones and two parallel walls. You can see spectators or a crowd watch from the outer walls and end zones. They look quite like a typical modern sports fan. Set on the wall, there are textiles. These may have been intended for the winners as a prize. 

Numerous objects show a particular part or feature of the ball game, providing clear evidence to its important role across Mesoamerica such as the examples of clay sculptures or frequent subjects in Mayan sculptures.  Today, people in Mexico are still known to play a version very similar to this ball game.

References

Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank, "Mesoamerica, an introduction," in Smarthistory, September 12, 2017, accessed November 11, 2020, https://smarthistory.org/mesoamerica-an-introduction/.

metmuseum.org. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/656346.