Mesoamerican ballgame

Examples of Mesoamerican ballgame in the following topics:

• Aztec Religion

  • The Aztecs also worshipped deities that were central to older Mesoamerican cultures, such as the Olmecs.
  • Like all other Mesoamerican cultures, the Aztecs played a variant of the Mesoamerican ballgame, named "tlachtli" or "ollamaliztli" in Nahuatl.
  • The practice of the ballgame carried religious and mythological meanings and also served as sport.

• The Olmec

  • They were the first Mesoamerican civilization and laid many of the foundations for the civilizations that followed, such as the Maya.
  • Judging from the available archeological evidence it is likely that they originated the Mesoamerican ballgame and possible that they practiced ritual bloodletting.

• The Toltecs

  • The Toltecs were a Mesoamerican people who preceded the Aztecs and existed between 800 and 1000 CE.
  • The Toltec culture is an archaeological Mesoamerican culture that dominated a state centered in Tula in the early Postclassic period of Mesoamerican chronology (c. 800–1000 CE).
  • Skeptics argue that the ancient city of Teotihuacán and the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan were much more influential sites for Mesoamerican culture than Tula.
  • Furthermore, the site of Tula includes two ball courts for the religious rubber ball game that appears in many Mesoamerican civilizations.
  • This site also raises questions about the flow of influence between multiple Mesoamerican cultures before the rise of the Aztec Empire.

• Teotihuacan

  • Just 30 miles from modern day Mexico City lies the precolumbian Mesoamerican city of Teotihuacan.
  • The geographical layout of Teotihuacan is a good example of the Mesoamerican tradition of planning cities, settlements, and buildings as a reflection of the Universe.

• The Classic Period of the Maya

  • The Maya civilization participated in long distance trade with many other Mesoamerican cultures, including Teotihuacan, the Zapotec, and other groups in central and gulf-coast Mexico.
  • In addition, they traded with more distant, non-Mesoamerican groups, such as the Taínos of the Caribbean islands.
  • The Classic Period of Mesoamerican chronology is generally defined as the period from 300 to 900 CE, the last 100 years of which, from 800 to 900 CE, are frequently referred to as the Terminal Classic.

• The Aztec People

  • The Aztecs were a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican people of Central Mexico during the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries.
  • The Aztecs were a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican people of Central Mexico in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries.

• The Inca People

  • The Inca Empire was the largest of the pre-Columbian mesoamerican empires.

• The Caral Civilization

  • This complex society arose a millennium after Sumer in Mesopotamia, was contemporaneous with the Egyptian pyramids, and predated the Mesoamerican Olmec by nearly two millennia.

• The Zapotec

  • Like most Mesoamerican religious systems, the Zapotec religion was polytheistic.
  • What makes Mitla unique among Mesoamerican sites is the elaborate and intricate mosaic fretwork and geometric designs that cover tombs, panels, friezes, and even entire walls.

• Dates and Calendars

  • Of all the ancient calendar systems, the Mayan and other Mesoamerican systems are the most complex.
  • It shares many aspects with calendars employed by other earlier Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the Zapotec and Olmec, and contemporary or later ones, such as the Mixtec and Aztec calendars.