Ball Court at Monte Alban

Ulama is a ball game played in a few communities of the state of Sinaloa, in Mexico, not far from Mazatlán. It is a variety of the Mesoamerican ballgame descended from the ancient game ritual of cultures such as the pre-Columbian Olmec, Maya and Aztec and many others^{[citation needed]}. The game is one of the oldest continuously-played sports in the world (wrestling, for example, is even older)^{[citation needed]}. It is also notable for the fact that it is the oldest game which utilizes a rubber ball, as rubber is indigenous to the Americas^{[citation needed]}. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1280x960, 1205 KB) Summary Ancient ball court of Monte Albán, in the Oaxaca region of Mexico. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1280x960, 1205 KB) Summary Ancient ball court of Monte Albán, in the Oaxaca region of Mexico. ... Monte Albán is a large archeological site in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. ... Sinaloa is a state in northwestern Mexico. ... Mazatlán [masaˈtlan] is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa; the surrounding municipio (municipality) for which the city serves as the municipal seat is also called Mazatlán. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Ulama game. ... Monument 1, one of the four Olmec colossal heads at La Venta. ... The Maya civilization is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as its spectacular art, monumental architecture, and sophisticated mathematical and astronomical systems. ... The Aztecs is a term used for certain Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican peoples of Central America. ... A ball is a round object that is used most often in sports and games. ... Latex being collected from a tapped rubber tree Rubber is an elastic hydrocarbon polymer which occurs as a milky colloidal suspension (known as latex) in the sap of several varieties of plants. ...

History

The word Ulama comes from the Nahuatl word ullamaliztli ("ballgame"). In its heyday in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, ulama was played by the Olmecs (the probable inventors)^{[citation needed]}, Aztecs, Mixtecs and Maya in an area extending from modern-day Mexico to El Salvador and possibly in modern-day Arizona and New Mexico. Archeologists have uncovered 700 ball courts, rubber balls that have been dated as far back as 1500 BC and figurines recognizable as ulama players dating from c. AD 400. Nahuatl is a native language of central Mexico. ... The cultural areas of Mesoamerica Mesoamerica or Meso-America (Spanish: Mesoamérica) was a geographical culture area extending from central Honduras and northwestern Costa Rica on the south, and, in Mexico, from the Soto la Marina River in Tamaulipas and the Rio Fuerte in Sinaloa on the north. ... Monument 1, one of the four Olmec colossal heads at La Venta. ... The Aztecs is a term used for certain Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican peoples of Central America. ... Codex Zouche-Nuttall, a pre-Columbian piece of Mixtec writing, now in the British Museum The Mixtec (or Mixteca) are a Native American people centered in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. ... The Maya civilization is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as its spectacular art, monumental architecture, and sophisticated mathematical and astronomical systems. ... Official language(s) English Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Area  Ranked 6th  - Total 113,998 sq mi (295,254 km²)  - Width 310 miles (500 km)  - Length 400 miles (645 km)  - % water 0. ... Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Area  Ranked 5th  - Total 121,665 sq mi (315,194 km²)  - Width 342 miles (550 km)  - Length 370 miles (595 km)  - % water 0. ... (Redirected from 1500 BC) Centuries: 17th century BC - 16th century BC - 15th century BC Decades: 1550s BC 1540s BC 1530s BC 1520s BC 1510s BC - 1500s BC - 1490s BC 1480s BC 1470s BC 1460s BC 1450s BC Events and Trends Stonehenge built in Wiltshire, England The element Mercury has been... Events First invasion of Italy by Alaric (probable date). ...

Ulama playing fields (Aztec tlachtli) were built in city centers near the temples. The long oblong fields – like the one at Monte Albán – have a wider part at each end and banked or vertical stone walls. Monte Albán is a large archeological site in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. ...

Although archeologists and historians disagree on specifics, the game had mythical and religious significance. According to the Popol Vuh, the Maya Hero Twins were summoned to Xibalba, the Maya underworld, where they won a game against the lords of death and resurrected their father and uncle who became the maize god. The Popol Vuh (Quiché for Council Book or Book of the Community; Popol Wuj in modern spelling) is the book of scripture of the Quiché, a kingdom of the post classic Maya civilization in highland Guatemala. ... The Hero Twins feature prominently in Maya mythology. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

The Aztecs would often compel their prisoners of war, often famished, to partake in a match of ulama^{[citation needed]}. Weakened prisoners usually lost and were decapitated^{[citation needed]}. The province of Tochtepec near modern-day Puebla provided as tribute 16,000 rubber balls a year – although not all the rubber was necessarily used for ballgames. Historians assume that Spanish Catholics suppressed the game as a pagan practice. The Mexican state of Puebla is located in the center of the country, to the east of Mexico City. ...

Modern-day ulama

The modern forms have some following in the Mexican state of Sinaloa on the Mexican west coast. Beyond its players, it interests archaeologists and historians who study it to draw conclusions about the nature of the original game. Sinaloa is a state in northwestern Mexico. ...

The game has three main forms: most common is ulama de cadera or hip ulama; ulama de antebrazo, where predominantly female players on three-player teams hit a smaller ball with their forearms; and ulama de palo or de mazo, which is played with a wooden bat and rubber balls that weighs about 4 kg (9 lb). The court is about 50 m (165 ft) long and 4 m (13 ft) wide and is divided by a central line separating the two teams.

The object of the game is to keep the ball in play and in bounds. Depending on the score – and the local variant of the rules – the ball is played either high or low. A team scores a point when a player of the opposing team hits the ball out of turn; misses the ball; knocks the ball out of bounds; touches the ball with their hands or some other body part aside from the hip; accidentally touches a teammate; lets the ball stop moving before it reaches the center line or even if they fail to announce the score after they have scored a point.

The team that first scores eight points wins. If both teams end up having the same number of points after a turn, both sides begin again from zero. One record-setting game reputedly lasted for eight days but most modern games are stopped after about two hours.

Modern ulama balls are made with a technique that is probably reminiscent of the original one; rubber sap is boiled with other ingredients to help vulcanize it and make it less sticky. This technique also makes them hard to come by. Vulcanization refers to a specific curing process of rubber involving high heat and the addition of sulfur. ...

See also

• Mesoamerican ballgame

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Ulama game. ...

References

• Ted Leyenaar, Ulama. Leiden 1978.

External links

• The Mesoamerican Ballgame Ulama
• Article on Ulama from the Smithsonian Institute