On our way to Holbox, Mexico, we stopped at one of the New Seven Wonders of the World—Chichén Itzá —Bonus points if you can name the other six wonders!— These Mayan monuments built between the 8-12th centuries are well preserved and were worth the trip. The Mayans were brilliant scientists, mathematicians and astronomists made apparent by the sophisticated structures of Chichén Itzá they left behind. The famous pyramid, Temple of Kukulkan, has 91 steps on each of its four sides, with one step at the top platform equalling the 365 days of the year. During the Spring and Autumn Equinox, sun rays create a shadow across the pyramid that gives the appearance of a serpent slithering down the staircase.
FUN FACT: The Mayans were the first to invent the math concept of zero (4th Century AD). The Ancient Greeks did not have a number for zero and the ancient civilizations of Sumeria and Babylon only used it partially.
Chichén Itzá is also home to the largest known ball court in the Americas. During the Mesoamerican ritual game of Ball Game or Pok-A-Tok, players tried to hit a rubber ball weighing up to 12 pounds through stone hoops set high on the court's sidewalls. The heavy ball could easily break bones with a direct hit. Players were not allowed to use their hands, similar to the game of hacky sack. The competition must have been fierce because often the losers were put to death... but then sometimes, the winners were put to death—just imagine the pressure and locker room talk!!
Chichén Itzá tour guides recite that losers of this popular game were sacrificed. This sparked our family's curiosity, so we had to learn more about this macabre sport. As I dove deeper into research, I found out that this was not how each game ended, but rather that gore sells and makes a better story. If these players were killed regularly, the Mayan civilization would have decimated itself pretty quickly and they would have lost some talented players. The more likely scenario is that human sacrifices were only performed after certain games specified for that purpose. For example, after a city won a battle, rather than simply killing the vanquished leaders and soldiers, they equipped them with gear and threw them in the court with the champion city's ball team. The worn losers of the war, lost the game (often rigged) and were sacrificed, either by decapitation or removal of the heart. The gods needed human blood and hearts to keep the sun and moon in orbit.
Another theory is that the winners were the players who were sacrificed. Teams volunteered to play based on the terms that they would be sacrificed to the gods if they won. The incentive was the great honor that would be bestowed upon the individuals and their families along with an advancement in society. The losers, on the other hand, were demoted to a life of slavery.
Either way, I think I would have skipped the whole sports path and stuck with painting and drawing as my hobby.
Ball Game goes back 3,500 years, making it the first organized game in the history of sports. More than 1,500 ballcourts have been discovered in Mesoamerica.
New Seven Wonders of the World
Great Wall of China (China)
Christ the Redeemer (Brazil)
Machu Picchu (Peru)
Chichen Itza (Mexico)
Roman Colosseum (Italy)
Taj Mahal (India)
Petra (Jordan)