The Maya Empire

The ball court was part of the temple. Every 20 days, there was a festival. At each festival, the Maya played a ball game where 2 teams tried to get a rubber ball through a hoop. You could not use your hands but anything else was ok. The game was very physical and many players were injured. Sometimes cities would play each other. The winning team got to keep the losing team's jewelry. Sometimes slaves played. The losing team was sacrificed. Maya Ball Courts