Ballcourt In Mesoamerica

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The ballgame was a sport with a ritual offering and was played in Mesoamerican regions. It is usually played in a court built around sloped stairs where audience usually watched the game. The game usually consisted of two teams where the goal of the game was to get rubber ball across the small hole made on the wall. Although it might seem like a game only for enjoyment, ancient history evidence have shown otherwise. The goal of this gathering in the ballcourt held many more secrets one of which included religious offering to please the God. In the article, ‘Playing with Power’, John Gerard Fox brings up astonish activities taking place before and after the game. His research shows how ballgame is a source of control and ideology for Mesoamerican people. First, In Mesoamerican period ballcourts and any other type of public architecture center were a place where a social difference was seen. It was considered a forced gathering where communities were gathered to participate in labor and rituals. These gathering further increased social and religious meaning in Mesoamerican people. Moreover, ballcourt was also a place for religious offering dedicated to pleasing the Gods. Through offering Mesoamerican people dedicated ballcourt to be sacred. Ballcourt was also a place …show more content…

I expect the stairs to be made out of stones and I also expect to find a broken the structure where rubber ball was once passed through. The two most important artifacts I expect to find are the material with which the offering was made and bowls used for feasting. I also, expect to find them broken into pieces. When interpreting the findings, I would use relative dating to date them based on surrounding material. I would also compare it to other artifacts found previously by other archaeologists. Through this, I will be able to see a pattern if there is

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