Guatemalan
Ball Game Manopla, 600 - 900
Not on view
Carved stone
Dimensions9 × 5 1/2 × 3 in. (22.9 × 14 × 7.6 cm)
Gift of Robert Drapkin, 2009.113
The ball game was part of the Mayan’s political, religious, and social life. Played with a ball ranging in size from that of a softball to a soccer ball, players would attempt to bounce the ball without using their hands through stone hoops attached to the sides of the ball court. The ball court itself was a focal point of Mayan cities and symbolized the wealth and power of the community.
Ballplayers wore protective equipment during the game to prevent bodily damage by the hard ball made of rubber that sometimes weighed up to 20 pounds. To protect ribs and the torso, players would wear leather or wood around their waists. They also wore padding around their knees and arms and large stylized animal headdresses that may have represented what they believed to be their animal counterparts. Handstones known as manopla were held in the hand to hit the ball with extra force and may have been used to start the ball into play.
