Ballplayers, Captives, Kings, and Queens: Examining the Identity of Key Players in Veracruz Ballgame Rituals

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Los Rituales del Juego de Pelota en la Costa del Golfo / Ballgame Rituals in the Gulf Lowlands" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In south-central Veracruz, representations of ballplayers, captives, kings, and queens defy clear categorizations, made more complex by costume and gender designations, hierarchical proportion, natural sexual dimorphism, and symbolic roles versus historic portraiture; distinctions that may be intentionally blurred. On stone stelae, mural paintings, and narrative ceramics, rulers wear ballgame regalia, captive ballplayers can sometimes be seen towering above their captors, and elite women take part in the “dressing,” binding, and ritual beheading of defeated ballplayers or subjugated rulers. In this presentation, I examine Epi-Olmec and Classic period art in conjunction with archaeological context, to move beyond the “why” and “what” of Veracruz ballgame rituals, in a quest to identify the “who” of key individuals and supporting cast.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Los Rituales del Juego de Pelota en la Costa del Golfo / Ballgame Rituals in the Gulf Lowlands   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38774.0