A research team led by University of Cincinnati archaeologists has discovered found evidence of a collection of four ceremonial plant species beneath the end field of a Late Preclassic ballcourt in the Helena complex of the ancient Maya city of Yaxnohcah in Mexico. The plants included Ipomoea corymbosa (xtabentun in Mayan), Capsicum sp. (chili pepper or ic in Mayan), Hampea trilobata (jool), and Oxandra lanceolata (chilcahuite). Two of the plants, jool and chilcahuite, are involved in artifact manufacture that have ceremonial connections while chili peppers and xtabentun have been associated with divination rituals. Xtabentun (known to the Aztecs as ololiuhqui) produces highly efficacious hallucinogenic compounds.
The ancient Maya played several ball games, including pok-a-tok, which has rules similar to soccer and basketball. Players tried to get a ball through a ring or hoop on a wall.
“The ancient Maya likely made a ceremonial offering during the ballcourt’s construction,” said University of Cincinnati’s Professor David Lentz.
“When they erected a new building, they asked the goodwill of the gods to protect the people inhabiting it.”
“Some people call it an ensouling ritual, to get a blessing from and appease the gods.”
From 2016 to 2022, Professor Lentz and his colleagues worked at the ancient Maya city of Yaxnohcah in Campeche about 14.5 km (9 miles) north of the border of Guatemala.
They discovered a 2,000-year-old Maya ritual deposit beneath an early plaza floor of a civic ceremonial platform upon which was constructed a ballcourt in the Helena complex of Yaxnohcah.
“When buildings were expanded or repurposed, as with the ballcourt, the ancient Maya made offerings to bless the site,” said University of Cincinnati’s Professor Emeritus Nicholas Dunning.
“Archaeologists sometimes find ceramics or jewelry in these offerings along with plants of cultural significance.”
“We have known for years from ethnohistorical sources that…
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