Pok-A-Tok: The Sacred Ball Game in the Ancient Maya - National Ancient Maya

http://www.omec-arkofthecovenantmystery.com/olmec/la-venta-with-david-childress/
Pok-A-Tok: The Sacred Ball Game in the Ancient Maya - National Ancient Maya
In 1519, Hern??n Cort??s took his band of Spanish mercenaries on the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, site of today's Mexico City, seeking silver and gold coins. What Cort??s found were mounds of human skulls displayed at the walled court through which was played a risky game of ball indeed: The losers often lost their heads. Variations on this deadly game, saturated with religious symbolism, were played throughout pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and several historians trace its origins back on the earliest Olmec Indians in approximately 2000 BCE. It is belief that the contest symbolized the never-ending war relating to the forces of light (Sun) and darkness (Moon), a sort of athletic morality play.

Sometime around 1000 BC, Mexico's fist ancient civilizations, the Olmecs, recognized themselves in what now include the states of Veracruz and Tabasco. They built citys and constructed massive stone head carvings of the jaguar God, that they worshiped. They spread throughout southern and central Mexico until they mysteriously disappeared around 400 B.C. The Olmecs left out moderately few artifacts yet their affect on later cultures deep. After the Olmecs came the Zapotecs, the Teotihuacan and mixtures of Monte Alban, The Toltecs, Maya of Yucatan, and many other smaller groups. To stabilize the spiritual and earthly dominion and pacify their pantheons of gods, several of these civilizations practiced human sacrifice, that's something which often overshadows their great achievements in astronomy, mathematics, architecture, textile weaving, art and pottery. The latter as being a huge part inside reproduction and exporting of Mexican Goods. As you can see, Mexico's Culture and History still captivates the minds of many

Hot cocoa has existed quite a long time and for good reason. It is one of the most potent antioxidant beverages you are able to drink, and it also is naturally delicious! Archeologists have discovered that this oldest civilization in the Americas, the Olmecs, (1500-400 BC), were possibly the first users of cacao. The Mayans continued consuming-based drinks created using beans. Chocolatl was the a drink produced from roasted cocoa beans, water and spices and was consumed voraciously with the aristocracy. They primarily drank cocoa though the beans were also valued as being a currency.

The cocoa bean is because of the cacao tree, which handles cacao cases. Within every cacao case, you will find anyplace from 30 to 50 cocoa beans. Notwithstanding this, there's a sweet mash all around the cocoa beans, which is sometimes called 'baba de cacao' by some cocoa bean gatherers. The presence in the cocoa bean extends from pink, tan or purple, along with the texture in the cocoa bean is fairly delicate.

There are 100 objects on display with the De Young, drawn primarily from Mexican national collections with additional loans from over 25 museums. Included in the exhibition are colossal heads, a large-scale throne, and monumental stelae along with precious small-scale vessels, figures, adornments, and masks. The exhibit is divided into five sections, highlighting such topics because Olmec heartland, the outlying communities along with the Olmec legacy. There are videos showing current excavations and well witten wall text, vital that you appreciate this still-mysterious people. The show is elegantly and just presented, with none of the visual clutter containing often impeded previous shows within this small space.