The Meso-American Ball Game is the oldest team sport on Earth. It was created over 3,500 years ago. Meso-America includes parts of present day Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Azteks and Mayans are examples of cultures that played this game. A very important part of the culture, cities, ceremonies, and daily life revolved around the sport. The exact rules of the game are unknown. From the knowledge we do have, the game is similar to racket ball, keep the ball in play. The court shaped as a capital I has walls angled about fourty five degrees inclining away from the court.
The ball is a rubber ball. Made from acquiring the latex from a rubber tree and mixing it with the juice of the Morning Glory vine. The ingredients are mixed for ten minutes then shaped into a rubber ball, hardening very quickly.
In the traditional original version the game, two tribes lined up on opposing sides of the court were to keep the rubber ball moving using only their hips. If the ball were to stop, there is assumed a point system where a team was given a score. First to hit the ending score, was the winner. As the game developed, players were allowed to use their for-arms, rackets, bats, or hand-stones. A ring was also added to the court, and hitting the ball to hit, or go through the ring meant an immediate game stoppage and win for the appropriate team.
The games winner got way more than bragging rights. Leaders of the ancient cultures such as Azteks, Mayans, Toltecs, and the Xochimilco used the game to settle and defuse conflicts rather than wage war. Games were also used to settle disputes within their own societies The stakes were so high, when teams were defeated the players were then decapitated, their bloody heads put on stakes as food for the gods.
The ball is a rubber ball. Made from acquiring the latex from a rubber tree and mixing it with the juice of the Morning Glory vine. The ingredients are mixed for ten minutes then shaped into a rubber ball, hardening very quickly.
In the traditional original version the game, two tribes lined up on opposing sides of the court were to keep the rubber ball moving using only their hips. If the ball were to stop, there is assumed a point system where a team was given a score. First to hit the ending score, was the winner. As the game developed, players were allowed to use their for-arms, rackets, bats, or hand-stones. A ring was also added to the court, and hitting the ball to hit, or go through the ring meant an immediate game stoppage and win for the appropriate team.
The games winner got way more than bragging rights. Leaders of the ancient cultures such as Azteks, Mayans, Toltecs, and the Xochimilco used the game to settle and defuse conflicts rather than wage war. Games were also used to settle disputes within their own societies The stakes were so high, when teams were defeated the players were then decapitated, their bloody heads put on stakes as food for the gods.
This Meso-American ball game shows the development and importance of sport to a higher degree during a very early time on earth. It was not "the gods" who dictated cultures future and growth, it was a competition. I can only speculate that no one was thinking about the gods as these games went on, but were rather supporting their athletes, players, warriors because they decided their fate.
Fans every day spend money in support of their favorite sports teams. Whether it be buying apparel, tickets, or buying the sports package that allows the displaced fan to keep track of their team. The success or failure of a team can emotionally destruct or boost their fans. No longer are sports used to settle cultural disputes as a replacement for war. Discussion and debates regarding sports happen every day and are only solved one way, on the field.
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