Mayans Ball Game

Mayan civilization: Mesoamerican ball game Mayans are one of the bloodiest civilizations that are known, had also their own kind of entertainment. It is known as the Mesoamerican ball game and the first notes about this game were around 3,000 years ago. This game was a symbol of a battle for a life, not just because it was very dangerous, but also because players that participated in this game offered their lives to the Gods. The Mesoamerican ball game was played all over Central and Latin America, but it has origins in the Olmecs culture. The balls that were used for this game were made out of rubber and 20 inches in diameter and weight up to 8 pounds. The Olmecs were also the first people that used rubber from the trees. Rubber gave ball an ability to bounce, but they were still hard enough to caused injuries (Pacaritambo, 1). Even if it was played by many civilizations the Mayans are the best known because out of them. Game had a different meaning for this culture. Of course it was a kind of entertainment and people supported one or the other team, but it had more spiritual and religions purposes, which played a main role in Mayan civilization. The players had one more motivation than just winning. Team that lost the game was sacrificed to the gods. Question is why they would sacrifice their lives so easily and for what? Mayans were very skillful in gathering food from their land, but it was not the only one source of their food. They were also good farmers and the main crops, like in the most of this continent were corn and beans. Mayans were also the first who ever used cacao beans. They did not eat them like we do now (cacao beans are a source of chocolate), Mayans used them as a currency (Traditions, 1). For Mayans it was very important to have enough rain and that means also enough food and currency. Nature was destructive and unpredictable and Mayans had a lot of days without any rain and because they were very ritualistic and