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Ballcourts vary considerably in size. One of the smallest, at Tikal site, is only one-sixth the size of the Great Ballcourt at Chichen Itza. Despite the variation in size, ballcourts' playing alleys are generally the same shape, with an average length-to-width ratio of 4-to-1, although some regional variation is found: Central Mexico, for example, has slightly longer playing alleys, and the ...
In one chamber there are extensive carved hieroglyphs that mention rulers of Chichen Itza and possibly of the nearby city of Ek Balam, and contain a Maya date inscribed which correlates to 869 AD, one of the oldest such dates found in all of Chichen Itza. In 2009, INAH restored a small ball court that adjoined the back wall of the Casa Colorada ...
After the game, one of the brothers was decapitated and his head was used as the game ball. From the decapitated trunk of the player, blood escaped in the form of snakes. This blood was taken as a symbol of fertility. This scene is depicted in reliefs on the walls of game courts, such as the most famous example in Chichen Itza in Mexico. [1]
While the length-to-width ratio remained relatively constant at about four-to-one, [46] there was tremendous variation in ballcourt size: The playing field of the Great Ballcourt at Chichen Itza, by far the largest, measures 96.5 by 30 metres (317 by 98 ft), while the Ceremonial Court at Tikal was only 16 by 5 metres (52 by 16 ft).
Chichen Itza had one of the largest, most elaborate skull racks during the Late Classical period. It was four levels high, and featured representational skulls carved into stone. These skull racks were strongly associated with ballgames, and sacrificial decapitations. [30] In El Tajin, there is a rise in ball-court associated rituals. This site ...
The later vertical faces, such as those at Chichen Itza and El Tajin, are often covered with complex iconography and scenes of human sacrifice. Although the alleys in early ball courts were open-ended, later ball courts had enclosed end-zones, giving the structure an -shape when viewed from above. The playing alley may be at ground level, or ...
Chichen Itza is known for its stunning architecture, including an impressive pyramid structure now called El Castillo. Nearby is a sacred water-filled sinkhole called a cenote, where the bodies of ...
Great Ballcourt at Chichen Itza. As an integral aspect of the Mesoamerican lifestyle, the courts for their ritual ballgame were constructed throughout the Maya realm, often on a grand scale. The playing alleys of ballcourts were defined by two long walls.