Item Size:  12" High     Type:  Wall Plaque

Material:  Casting Stone, with Antique Stone Finish

Original:  From Chinkultic, now part of the state of Chiapas, Mexico, 591 C.E.

Current Location of Original:  National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City

Surrounded by hieroglyphs, an ancient ball player demonstrates his skill and strength. The player's ability to deftly move the ball into stone rings, without the use of hands (no easy task), was done in honor of the gods. The ball game represented the movements of the heavens for many pre-Hispanic peoples and, for the Maya, this game (called Pok-Ta-Pok) had a religious significance. In the sculpture, the ballplayer's solar headdress identifies him as one of the Hero Twins from the Maya epic, Popol Vuh. It is generally believed that there were two versions of the ball game. One was played as a sport, and probably had some betting involved. The other version was a religious re-enactment of the story of the Hero Twins in the Popol Vuh. In this case, there were probably only two players, with the winner and loser pre-determined. The loser would probably have been a captive or criminal. He would be in a weakened condition from going a long time without food, and perhaps even drugged. His purpose was to make the other player look good - probably a war hero or young prince. People would have come to this event to cheer on the hero and deride and humiliate the captive. In this way, the ancient story of the Hero Twins would be preserved.