Ballgame and Beyond: Ritualized Competition in Mesoamerica

This collection theme is dedicated to ritualized competition and combat sports of ancient Mesoamerica. This resource brings together material that showcase athletic competition as a form of ritual practice, including works of ballcourt and ballgame paraphernalia, representations of ancient athletes in protective attire and sport related material culture. Through an object-based learning approach, this resource aims to engage ritual sports beyond the ballgame, in light of recent scholarship of sport and spectacle activities that frequency took place in ballcourts. Drawing on recent acquisitions, this theme showcases Teotihuacan-style boxers (A.D. 300–600) and wrestling figures from West Mexico, Jalisco (200 B.C–A.D. 200) as welcomed additions to the Museum and reflect broader conversations and research on the significance of combat sports as ritual in ancient Mesoamerica.

The architectural layout of monumental structures, sculpture and ceramics throughout Mexico and Central America exemplify the ballgame and ceremonial courts as a central aspect of ancient Mesoamerican culture. Stone sculpture, today known as yokes, hachas, and palmas feature the prominence of the ballgame, most notably of Classsic Veracruz during the Late Classic Period. These miniature replicas served commemorative functions as funerary offerings in elite burials. Stone yokes worn at the waist, protect a player's side from impact when striking a rubber ball by the hip during sport. Hachas are head stone adornments that attach to the yoke, oftentimes elaborately detailed in low-relief carving of sacrificial motifs. Specialized protective gear can be compared to richly attired ballplayer figurines.

Outside of the ballgame, other competitive sports also occurred in the ritually charged architectural spaces of the courts. Princeton’s Late Classic Maya vessel has recieved scholarly attention for is iconographic content, alluding to blood sports during ceremonial events. On the incised imagery of a ceremonial scene, the sixteenth king, Yax Pasaj Chan Yopaat dancing in the guise of 7 Ajaw, has accompanied hieroglyphic text describing the figure as performing the “ballgame dance.” The figure holds a rattle in the form of an eyeball and in the other palm, grasps a stone ball wrapped in loosely hanging cloth. Hand-stones were most likely employed during boxing rituals. Based on recent iconographic studies, the ballgame and boxing were both an integral part of ceremony and spectatorship in the courts. 

Explore collection material related to ritualized sports of ancient Mesoamerica:

         1.    Ballcourts and Ball Replicas

         2.    Stone Paraphernalia

         3.    Ballplayer Figurines 

         4.    Teotihuacan Boxers

         5.    Wrestlers and Spectators

This online resource was created as part of the summer 2018 internship program in the department of Information and Technology at the Princeton University Art Museum. The project was completed under the supervision of Collections Information Specialist Sarah Brown and Manager of Collections Information Cathryn Goodwin. I would like to extend gratitude and appreciation to Curator and Lecturer of the Ancient Americas Dr. Bryan R. Just for his introduction to Princeton's ancient Americas collection and recommendated objects for this theme.

Gabriella Marie Wellons
University of California, Berkeley
B.A. History of Art, Class of 2018
2018 Information and Technology Intern