The Mayan Ball Game

THE MAYAN BALL GAME

What was the first team sport in human history?

The Mayan ball game has been played in Central America for over 3000 years. It is the basis for all other “ball and goal” team games, similar to shinny, lacrosse, and other football, basketball, soccer type team ball games. Both men and women seem to have played the game, but we don’t know whether or not they played together or separately.

The game includes other elements that are familiar to modern sports fans like protective padding, helmets decorated with animal logos, special elaborate courts, goals to knock the ball through, and stadium seating for the two opposing teams’ fans.

When was the rubber ball invented?

Rubber and latex were used for balls by Mesoamericans as early as 1600 BC. That’s more than 3500 years ago. Centuries later, Europeans began making balls of leather, but they didn’t bounce. When Spaniards first saw the rubber ball bounce, they wrote in their journals that the ball must be bewitched.

How big was the rubber ball used by ancient Mayan people?

The size varied between softball and beach ball size. It weighed 8 pounds, at about the size of a watermelon.

Were the balls used by the ancient Mayans hollow or solid?

Rubber strips were wound around a smaller object to form a large hollow ball. Because it was hollow, it bounced better and higher than a solid ball.

“Vulcanized” rubber was “invented” twice. How can this be?

In 1839, Charles Goodyear patented vulcanized rubber for car tires. He mixed sulfur with rubber to make them less sticky. This harder rubber could be used for tires. Over 3000 years earlier, Mesoamericans mixed Morning Glories with rubber to do the same thing!

What else did ancient people of Central America make from rubber?

Shoes, tools, containers.
Medicines for earache, lip sores, sore throats, stomach problems.

To learn more about the Ball Game, go to www.ballgame.org where the U.S. Mint Museum hosts an excellent Shockwave-Flash presentation. Download free plug-in and play a version of the game. Although loading might take awhile the first time, this award winning site is really worth it.