Mesoamerican Ballgame

The Mesoamerican ballgame is one of the oldest team sports known — the Olmec played a version 3,400 years ago and it was central to Maya and Aztec ritual life. Modern descendant ulama is still played in Sinaloa, Mexico: teams strike a heavy rubber ball with the hip (or forearm in variants) on a long stone court. Ancient ceremonial versions ended in ritual human sacrifice.