What kind of sports did aztecs play

The board had 4 quarters with 13 squares each, amounting to a total of 52 squares which represented the number of years in the Aztec calendar. Betting was also involved in this game and various precious metals and stones were used for that purpose.

Another popular Aztec board game was Tuknanavuhpl which was similar to modern checkers. In Aztec games where gambling was used, Totoloque was another popular game. The purpose of this game was to hit a target, usually a slab of gold, with gold pallets. Five tries were given to each player and the player with most number of hits won. Among the notable people who played this game was Aztec emperor Montezuma II who wagered items of great value such as precious stones and gold ingots on the outcome of the game.

Moztecuma II is also said to have often lost the game with good humour. Aztec culture had a variety of games which the people played in their free time for entertainment. The most popular of all Aztec games was the Aztec ball game which, however, was mainly reserved for the nobility. Patolli was the most popular board game and was played by the nobles and the commoners alike. The object of Tlachtli was to put a ball into a hoop, approximately 30 centimeters wide, and in this way defeat the opposing team It must be noted that it was quite difficult to do that.

There were also penalty points given to the opposing team when a player used his hand or if the ball touched the ground. Whatever the score was if a team was successful in putting the ball through the hoop they were immediately pronounced winners. It was an entirely different thing when it came to the rewards for the win. In others, which was most often the case, the losers of the game Tlachtli were the ones who were sacrificed.

Another ancient game with similarities to modern football originated in the Far East, specifically Japan. They called it Kemari. Kemari originated around year , during the Asuka period. But all of them have inclined walls, or taludes, and vertical surfaces.

Embedded in some of these walls are great rings of stone upon which the ball should bounce or pass through, which made the game very spectacular. The presence of sculptured elements, such as the above-mentioned rings, markers on the ground, niches, walkways and high reliefs, allow the ritual and symbolic sense of each one of these courts to be identified.

Ulama, the Sacred Ball Game. However, the mural paintings of the Palace of Tepantitla portray both the players and the sacrificial rituals associated with this activity, and in the nearby La Ventilla area, a beautiful ulama marker has been found. This indicates that the game required the players to make the ball go through the ring, hitting it with their hips.

Sacred Ball Game players. Mexico-Tenochtitlan, the center of the Aztec empire, had numerous courts for this ritual sport, the largest of them in the Templo Mayor. The cult of the ball game in these archaeological sites surely surpasses its practice in other Mesoamerican regions.

Wanting to learn more about Ancient Aztec games? Or maybe you want to play them yourself? Many of the games of the Aztec empire were popular long before the Mixtecs reached their new homeland, and many are still played today. Macuilxochitl, god of games As with any culture, the Aztecs had many many games and sports. There were games for children, adults, nobles, and commoners. Being a deeply religious people, their games would often have a religious significance.

Sometimes they would be based on the people's religious beliefs, other times the game would actually be a part of their religious ritual. The perfect example of this was the sport that became almost central to the Aztec culture - ullamaliztli. Ullamaliztli , the famous Aztec ball game, was played on a tlachtli ball court the game is sometimes referred to as Tlachtli. The ball court was one of the first things built when the Aztecs settled a new area, making it the most important of the ancient Aztec games.

It was a very difficult game played with a large rubber ball the name of the game comes from the word ulli, or rubber.