{"id":2358,"date":"2018-08-17T05:16:33","date_gmt":"2018-08-17T05:16:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/?p=2358"},"modified":"2026-02-26T10:14:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T10:14:04","slug":"aztec-ballgame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/aztec-ballgame\/","title":{"rendered":"Aztec Ballgame: A Detailed Summary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Aztec<\/a> ballgame was a ritualistic sport played with a heavy rubber ball on a large court. Players used their hips, elbows, and knees to keep the ball in play, often aiming to pass it through a stone ring mounted high on the court walls. The game had deep religious significance to the Aztec people and sometimes was related to the practise of human sacrifice<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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WHO ARE THE AZTEC?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The\u00a0Aztec Empire\u00a0was a civilization in central Mexico that thrived in the time before the arrival of European explorers during the\u00a0Age of Exploration<\/a>.\u00a0 Throughout its history as a civilization the Aztec Empire expanded<\/a> across much of central Mexico and other surrounding areas, to become the most dominant and powerful people in the region.\u00a0\u00a0Tenochtitlan<\/a>, the main Aztec city (or altepetl), was the center of this vast empire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Map
Map of the Aztec Empire and Aztec Triple Alliance by History Crunch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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WHAT WAS THE AZTEC BALLGAME?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite being concerned with regular military expansion throughout central Mexico, the Aztec people were also known to participate in different games and be entertained.\u00a0 One of the most important games in Aztec history was the ballgame referred to as \u014dllamalitzli.\u00a0 The term \u2018\u014dllamalitzli\u2019 translates to \u2018rubber to play ball\u2019.\u00a0 In fact, the ballgame was common throughout much of Mesoamerica and was played by many different groups of people, including: Maya,\u00a0Teotihuacan<\/a>, and the Aztec.\u00a0 It is believed that the game originated sometimes around 1400 BCE in modern-day Mexico, meaning it had a long history in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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HOW WAS THE AZTEC BALLGAME PLAYED?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Historians do not know the exact rules of the game, but there are some basic assumptions of how it was played.  For example, two teams would face off against each out in a \u2018ball court\u2019 which was essentially a large rectangular space. Furthermore, in the Tenochtitlan (the Aztec capital), the largest ball court was called \u2018teotlachco\u2019 meaning \u2018holy ball court\u2019.  The ball court was, of course, the location of the game but it also served purposes for other religious festivals and ceremonies.\u200b\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The game was played with a rubber ball that was approximately 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) in weight.  It is believed that the point of the game was for the players to hit the ball back and forth to each other by using their hips, forearms or thighs.  The purpose was to keep the ball in play and keep the game going.  Some versions of the game included a hoop on the side of the court which the players were required to pass the ball through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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WHY WAS THE AZTEC BALLGAME IMPORTANT?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The ballgame had important religious<\/a> and cultural significance<\/a> for the Aztec people.\u00a0 For instance, it was a major event in\u00a0Aztec society<\/a>\u00a0that brought many people together in a common space.\u00a0 As well, historians believe that the Aztec people may have viewed the ballgame as a metaphor for the conflict between the sun and the moon.\u00a0 As such, it is believed that the Aztec associated the game closely with the god\u00a0Huitzilopochtli<\/a>.\u00a0 For the Aztec he was the representation of the sun.\u00a0 He was also considered to be the national god of the \u2018Mexica\u2019 which is the term the Aztec used to refer to themselves.\u00a0 As well, he was the patron god of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan.\u00a0 In fact, there was a temple built in his and\u00a0Tlaloc\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0honor in the center of the city called\u00a0Templo Mayor<\/a>, which some refer to as the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan. In Aztec tradition Huitzilopochtli was viewed as the sun, his sister the moon, and his brothers the stars.\u00a0 The constant movement of the sun, moon and stars was viewed by the Aztecs as an ongoing battle between Huitzilopochtli and his siblings.\u00a0 Thus, the Aztec believed that they needed to provide tribute to Huitzilopochtli in order to ensure the sun\u2019s survival and ability to \u2018fight\u2019 each day.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond its religious connections, the game was\u00a0 form of entertainment for the Aztec people.\u00a0 This was especially true of the pipiltin (nobility), who were taught to play the game as children in the\u00a0Calmecac schools<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Aztec
Artistic representation of the Aztec Empire and the capital city of Tenochtitlan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Aztec ballgame was an important aspect of Aztec culture. In fact, it was a form of entertainment, but also significant to Aztec religious beliefs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5705,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":12,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41,80],"tags":[77,15,79],"class_list":["post-2358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aztec-empire","category-mesoamerica","tag-aztec-empire","tag-history","tag-mesoamerica"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2358"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2358\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5809,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2358\/revisions\/5809"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}