" 34 - Ballcourt facade reconstruction

Rubber ballgames have been played by indigenous people throughout Mesoamerica since the second millennium B.C., and probably spawned the development of modern games using bouncing balls, such as soccer. Eyewitness accounts at the time of the Spanish Conquest and native writings from the 16th century are the only written explanation we have to give us an understanding of how the games may have been played in ancient times. Judging from the form of the courts, each site seems to have had its own rules and peferences.

In general, the game was played in an l-shaped alley between two stoping benches with a solid rubber ball, weighing around 8 pounds. The contest was of a gladiatorial nature with the loser being sacrificed in particularly important games. Bench markers were positioned for scoring purposes; in the case of Copan there were six upright macaw heads (see the exhibit on the first floor). The symbolism underlying the game tied it to the "death and rebirth" of the sun, moon, heavenly bodies, and the agricultural cycle. The purpose of the ballgame contest was to perpetuate these natural phenomena by symbolically defeating the forces of evil.

Maya creation myths include a story about twins who descended to the Underworld and defeated the Lords of Xibalba ("the place of fright"). A ballgame is one of several ways they were tested against the forces of death, disease, darkness and famine. The sun's impostor, Vucub-Caquix (Seven Macaw) is defeated by the twins as part of their adventures at the beginning of time. The screeching macaws landing around the Copan ballcourt facade are depictions of this mythical creature.

Maize motifs sprout from the roofs because the game was important in the cycle of life. Also, Maya creation myths explain that people of this creation were formed from maize dough. The sun and maize are in a constant cycle of life, death and rebirth.

If you look closely you will notice that some of the sculpture still has bits of stucco and red paint on its surface. This tells us that the facade was once covered with a coating of stucco and painted predominantly red. "