Archeologists have found evidence that ancient Mayans may have made ceremonial offerings during the construction of the ballcourts they used for sporting events. An international team of researchers used advances in environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis to detect evidence of several plants known for both medicinal and religious purposes. The microscopic fragments of ancient plants were found beneath the floor of a Mayan ballcourt in present day Mexico and are described in a study published April 26 in the journal PLOS One.
The research was a collaboration of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History in collaboration with researchers from the University of Cincinnati in the United States, the University of Calgary, in Canada, Mexico’s Autonomous University of Campeche and the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
Play ball
From 2016 to 2022, the team excavated ruins of the ancient city of Yaxnohcah–formerly major city is in the present day Mexican state of Campeche, near the border of Guatemala. The structure in the study was originally constructed sometime between 1000 and 400 BCE. It was subsequently remodeled around 400 BCE-200 CE, when a ballcourt was added.
According to the team, the ancient Maya participated in several ball games. One included pok-a-tok, a mix of soccer and basketball that is undergoing a revival. Players likely tried to get a ball through a ring in a hoop affixed to a wall. Ballcourts were considered significant places within cities and even built near some of the biggest temples, including in ancient Maya cities like Tikal in Guatemala.
[Related: The Maya dealt with a form of climate change, too. Here’s how they survived.]
“Ballcourts occupied prime real estate in the ceremonial center. They were a fundamental part of the city,” study co-author and University of Cincinnati paleobotanist and paleoecologist David Lentz said in a statement. “But not all of the ballcourts had…
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