• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / History / What types of ball games did the Maya play and How was Playing Ball violent?

What types of ball games did the Maya play and How was Playing Ball violent?

March 22, 2020 by Karen Hill

At their most prosperous, the Maya’s cities featured more than 400 ball courts.

These playing fields were the site of spirited and often violent games. Like basketball, a team scored when one of its players made a rubber ball fall through a hoop. Like soccer, though, players could not throw the ball with their hands, but instead had to move the ball by bumping it off with their wrists, elbows, or hips.

Unlike modern sports, however, the Maya ball game was often a death match, literally. War captives sometimes were forced to play for their lives. One piece of evidence of how deadly these games could be is a carved stone panel that decorated the ball court at the city of Chichen Itza.

It depicts a victorious player holding the severed head of his opponent.

Related Facts

  • How Does the Magnus Effect Cause a Spinning Ball To Curve To the Side and Who Discovered the Phenomenon?
  • History of Playing Cards
  • Top 25 Inventions That Changed Our Lives Forever
  • History of Golf
  • The Best 20 Inventions Ever Invented
  • Top 25 Inventions That Changed the World

Filed Under: History

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « What happened to the Maya and Why did the Maya civilization decline?
Next Post: Who were the Toltec and How long did the Toltec civilization last? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy