The ball in front of the goal during a game of pok-ta-pok, 2006
Mesoamerican ballgame, Ollamaliztli, (Nahuatl languages: ōllamalīztli, Nahuatl pronunciation:[oːlːamaˈlistɬi], Mayan languages: pitz) was a sport with ritual associations played since at least 1650 BC[1] by the pre-Columbian people of Ancient Mesoamerica. The sport had different versions in different places during the millennia, and a modernized version of the game, ulama, is still played by the indigenous populations in some places.[2]
The rules of the Mesoamerican ballgame are not known, but judging from its descendant, ulama, they were probably similar to racquetball,[3] where the aim is to keep the ball in play. The stone ballcourt goals are a late addition to the game.
In the most common theory of the game, the players struck the ball with their hips, although some versions allowed the use of forearms, rackets, bats, or handstones. The ball was made of solid rubber and weighed as much as 4 kg (9 lbs), and sizes differed greatly over time or according to the version played.
The Mesoamerican ballgame had important ritual aspects, and major formal ballgames were held as ritual events. Late in the history of the game, some cultures occasionally seem to have combined competitions with religious human sacrifice. The sport was also played casually for recreation by children and may have been played by women as well.[4]
Pre-Columbian ballcourts have been found throughout Mesoamerica, as for example at Copán, as far south as modern Nicaragua, and possibly as far north as what is now the U.S. state of Arizona.[5] These ballcourts vary considerably in size, but all have long narrow alleys with slanted side-walls against which the balls could bounce in.
^Jeffrey P. Blomster and Víctor E. Salazar Chávez. “Origins of the Mesoamerican ballgame: Earliest ballcourt from the highlands found at Etlatongo, Oaxaca, Mexico”, “Science Advances”, 13 March 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
^Fox, John (2012). The ball: discovering the object of the game", 1st ed., New York: Harper. ISBN 9780061881794. Cf. Chapter 4: "Sudden Death in the New World" about the Ulama game.
^Schwartz, Jeremy (December 19, 2008). "Indigenous groups keep ancient sports alive in Mexico". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved December 20, 2008.[permanent dead link]
^The primary evidence for female ballplayers is in the many apparently female figurines of the Formative period, wearing a ballplayer loincloth and perhaps other gear. In The Sport of Life and Death, editor Michael Whittington says: "It would [therefore] seem reasonable that women also played the game—perhaps in all-female teams—or participated in some yet to be understood ceremony enacted on the ballcourt." (p. 186). In the same volume, Gillett Griffin states that although these figurines have been "interpreted by some as females, in the context of ancient Mesoamerican society the question of the presence of female ballplayers, and their role in the game, is still debated." (p. 158).
^The evidence for ballcourts among the Hohokam is not accepted by all researchers and even the proponents admit that the proposed Hohokam Ballcourts are significantly different from Mesoamerican ones: they are oblong, with a concave (not flat) surface. See Wilcox's article and photo at end of this article.
and 27 Related for: Mesoamerican ballgame information
Mesoamericanballgame, Ollamaliztli, (Nahuatl languages: ōllamalīztli, Nahuatl pronunciation: [oːlːamaˈlistɬi], Mayan languages: pitz) was a sport with...
Maya Ballgame, which is a branch of the MesoamericanBallgame, is a sporting event that was played throughout the Mesoamerican era by the Maya civilization...
for more than 2,700 years to play the Mesoamericanballgame, particularly the hip-ball version of the ballgame. More than 1,300 ballcourts have been identified...
Background of the Pre-Hispanic Ballgame". In E. Michael Whittington (ed.). The Sport of Life and Death: The MesoamericanBallgame. New York: Thames & Hudson...
practice ritual bloodletting and played the Mesoamericanballgame, hallmarks of nearly all subsequent Mesoamerican societies. The aspect of the Olmecs most...
sometime before 1600 BCE, and used them in a variety of roles. The Mesoamericanballgame, for example, employed various sizes of solid rubber balls and balls...
They Were Sacrificed: The Ritual Ballgame of Northeastern Mesoamerica Through Time and Space", in The MesoamericanBallgame, University of Arizona Press,...
SUPER BOWL AT FLUSHING MEADOWS?: La pelota mixteca, a third pre-Hispanic ballgame, and its possible architectural context". Ancient Mesoamerica. 14 (2):...
Polo Hockey family Horseshoe Hurling Kickball Lacrosse Loofball Mesoamericanballgame Newcomb ball Polo Paintball Quidditch Ringette Roller derby Rowing...
balls for the Mesoamericanballgame ōllamaliztli. The Nahuatl word for rubber was ulli / olli, from which their word for the ballgame derived), and also...
By 1600, rural folk in Great Britain had begun to play early versions of cricket, football and golf. Early in the 16th century, English public houses were...
solid and not inflated) which were employed most notably in the Mesoamericanballgame. Balls used in various sports in other parts of the world prior...
where the ancient Mesoamericanballgame is still played, in a handful of small, rural communities not far from Mazatlán. The ritual ballgame was central in...
bounciness of balls has been a feature of sports as ancient as the Mesoamericanballgame. The motion of a bouncing ball obeys projectile motion. Many forces...
from death to birth. Xolotl was the patron of the Mesoamericanballgame. Some scholars argue the ballgame symbolizes the Sun's perilous and uncertain nighttime...
1130–1160), depicting Chinese children playing cuju Paint of a Mesoamericanballgame player of the Tepantitla murals in Teotihuacan A group of indigenous...
E. Michael Whittington (2001). The Sport of Life and Death: The MesoamericanBallgame. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 978-0500051085. Stephen G. Miller (2006)...
names for a number of ball games: Basque pelota Chaza Jai alai Mesoamericanballgame Palla Pelota mixteca Valencian pilota Frontenis Pétanque Racketlon...
(1991). "Ballgame Imagery of the Maya Lowlands: History and Iconography". In Vernon Scarborough; David R. Wilcox (eds.). The MesoamericanBallgame. Tucson:...
identified in Chichen Itza thirteen ballcourts for playing the Mesoamericanballgame, but the Great Ball Court about 150 meters (490 ft) to the north-west...
Conflictual Aspects of the Ballgame in the Northern Chiapas Area". In Vernon Scarborough; David R. Wilcox (eds.). The MesoamericanBallgame. Tucson: University...
rubber was used, among other things, to make the balls used in the Mesoamericanballgame. Early attempts were made in 1873 to grow H. brasiliensis outside...
balls were made before European contact, including for use in the Mesoamericanballgame. Christopher Columbus witnessed Haitians playing with a rubber ball...
Global Information