[Aztlan] Yokes and the Mesoamerican ballgame

[Archaeology Institute]

Dear All,

	As for ideas regarding the uses of yokes, hachas and palmas, it would first be necessary to clearly segregate these items as they are not all consonant with ball player paraphernalia.  The hachas, for instance, by and large constitute ball court
markers and related ballcourt devices, and not ball player protective gear as such.  Palmas and yugos, by contrast, are portrayed as such in the clothing and protective gear of ball players and should as such be examined jointly.  Finally, in those
rare instances where such items have been recovered in situ, they are generally found in contexts that can just as easily be construed as craft workshops or ritual caches.  To that end, I refer readers of Mexicon back to an article that appeared in
that venue back in the late 1970s or early 80s.  Said article, which I then thought to be the most plausible explanation available then, and now, presented an experimental study of just how said yugos and palmas may have been employed as stone
"molds" or "anvils" for the crafting of leather gear...the stones serving as the anvils atop which the leather goods were wetted down and burnished, and then dried, for the purposes of creating hardened leather hollow yokes and palmas that could
then be stuffed with cotton and related fibers for the purposes of padding and protecting the players so pictured with said paraphernalia.

	On a final note, I should acknowledge that recent studies by Karl Taube and others now make clear that not all ball courts were necessarily used for "ball" play, unless of course one construes bloodsport with stone mauls and "knuckle dusters" a
form of "ball" play  According to this latter argument, an ancient form of "boxing" documented by early chroniclers, may well constitute the very same sport that continues in vogue in the region of Guerrero, Mexico.  Many of those depictions of
"ball players" noted to date by a variety of publications and museums are in effect inaccurate...as they more likely portray boxers sporting "knuckle dusters," large and heavily padded leather helmets, and stone boxes or "paddles."  Anyway, I do
believe that given these other considerations, it is likely that the question of "ballgame" paraphernalia is far from a done deal!

Best Regards,

Ruben G. Mendoza, Ph.D., Director
Institute for Archaeological Science, Technology and Visualization
Social and Behavioral Sciences
California State University Monterey Bay
100 Campus Center
Seaside, California 93955-8001

Email: archaeology.csumb at gmail.edu
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