Model ballcourt

Model ballcourt, Mexica/Aztec (?), c. 1325-1521 CE, stone, length 23.5 cms., Museum am Rothenbaum, Hamburg

The ballgame ‘ollamaliztli’ was played in a ballcourt. This game, played with a rubber ball, was both a regular pastime and a ritual ceremony. Players could only hit the ball with their hips. The ballcourt in the Sacred Precinct was primarily used for the re-enactment of creation stories. It was a place that gave access to the underworld, the place where the ancestors lived.

From Aztecs, eds. Doris Kurella, Martin Berger and Inés de Castro, with INAH, Mexico - catalogue for the exhibition Azteken, Linden Museum, Stuttgart, Hirmer Publishers, Germany, 2019, p. 324.

Photo by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore.