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The Classic Veracruz cultures were small,
tightly-packed city states, all governed by
hereditary rulers, who sat at the top of highly
stratified social structures. Economically, it was
based upon slash and burn agricultural
techniques, supplemented by exploitation of
marine resources, as well as hunting. The culture
was fuelled by long- distance trade networks
that ran throughout Mesoamerica, as evidenced
by the spread of luxury items and exotic goods.
In this they strongly resemble the Olmecs, who
preceded them and to whom they owed a
considerable cultural and artistic debt. Religion
was based upon the Olmec “earth monster”, as
well as a death god who has been likened to
Mictlantecuhtli, a deity worshipped by their
cultural neighbour, the Aztecs. Like the Aztecs,
they were obsessed with death, sacrifice and the
Mesoamerican ballgame, another cultural
bequest from the Olmecs. There are accounts
stating that the losing team was sacrificed as an
offering to the gods; other chroniclers suggest
that it might have been used as a substitute for
warfare. As a result their iconography is
somewhat sanguineous – with decapitations,
blood-letting and bound prisoners common
themes – surrounded by extensive and
convoluted banded scrolls that can be seen both
on monumental architecture and on mobile art. A
defining characteristic of the Classic Veracruz
culture is the presence of stone ballgame gear:
yokes, hachas, and palmas. Yokes are U-shaped
stones worn about the waist of a ballplayer,
while the hachas and palmas sit upon the yoke.
These were probably worn ceremonially by the
victors; the actual pieces were probably made of
wood and leather. Interestingly, while hachas and
yokes are found throughout the range, the
palmas seem peculiar to what is today northern
Veracruz.
The ball game, perhaps ritually signifying the
transit of the sun and moon between the
celestial and terrestrial spheres, was an
important event in Mesoamerican culture,
considered necessary to maintain the cosmic
cycle. The game was played on a large, I-shaped
court enclosed by high walls that had an
astrological significance in relation to its
alignment. At the midpoint, two stone rings were
placed high in the air, about twenty-seven feet
high. Apparently, scholars believe that the object
of the game was to get the hard rubber ball
through one of the hoops without using your feet
or hands, only your hips. This is where the yoke
comes in. Yokes made from cloth were worn
around the players’ hips as protective padding.
However, this yoke is made from heavy stone,
suggesting that it was created for ceremonial use
instead. Because the ballgame was of utmost
social and religious significance to the Maya, it is
believed that ceremonial ballgames were played.
In the Popol Vuh, the most important source of
Mayan mythology, a ball game is described
taking place between the Hero Twins and the
Lords of the Underworld. Upon the victory, the
Hero twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque, were
deified as the sun and the moon. Perhaps ritual
reenactments of this mythological match were
performed in which “players” acting as the hero
twins wore such elaborate and impractical
equipment. Perhaps this yoke was merely carved
in such a durable material in order to last
eternally throughout the afterlife after being
buried alongside the deceased. This yoke is
remarkable because it has been decorated with
an animal effigy. The front bears the face of the
creature, with large round eyes and flaring
nostril. The crouched hind legs of the beast have
been carved onto the sides of the ends. The
beauty of this yoke reveals the ceremonial and
religious significance of the ball game in the
daily lives, and afterlife, of Ancient
Mesoamericans.
This yoke has been carved in the form of a
highly stylized toad, symbolizing the earth
monster. The face decorates the curving front of
the yoke, with a wide mouth and large oval eyes.
The animal’s legs are held tightly against the
body in the front and the back.
- (CK.0104)
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