The Maya Played Extreme Sports

Mayan's culture was a dynamic one, and the people seemed to live life to the utmost. Even the religion they followed had dance and singing as key features, despite some terrible aspects such as human sacrifice. Maya engaged in a number of Maya sports for enjoyment and recreation. The Maya ball game was the most important and extensively played of these sports, and it had religious importance. However, there were a variety of other Mayan sports that people of all social backgrounds participated in with similar fervor.

The Maya played a game known as pitz in Chichen-Itza. Players would attempt to pass a large rubber ball (about the size of a soccer ball) without using their hands while wearing protective clothing for their ribs, knees, and arms. The ultimate goal was to get the ball through a stone hoop that was quite high. Playing the sport was more of a rite of passage than a recreational activity, and losing meant human sacrifice. Life on Earth was only conceivable after two sibling deities overcame the supernatural lords of the underworld in a ball game, according to the Maya creation tale in their epic scripture Popol Vuh.