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An 1,000-Year-Old Stone Trophy Related to a Sacred Pre-Columbian Ball Game Returned to Mexico
ARTnews ^ | June 29, 2023 | Daniel Cassady

Posted on 06/29/2023 5:19:45 PM PDT by nickcarraway

An elaborately carved, U-shaped stone trophy was returned to Mexico after it nearly went up for sale at an Austrian auction house, the Art Newspaper reported Wedneday. The trophy, which resembles a yoke and is carved from sedimentary stone, is an ornate representation of the protective gear worn around players’ waists during the Mesoamerican ball game pelota.

The artifact was recovered by the Mexican Embassy in Austria prior to the sale with help from Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, and the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in Mexico City, according to a statement from the Mexican government.

The Ball Game, as it was simply called, was played in varying styles by every major Mesoamerican civilization both for fun and sometimes with religious significance. In most versions, teams of two or three would use their hips, shoulders, knees, and elbows to keep the ball in play or score points by getting a solid rubber ball through a vertical stone hoop set high on a flat stone wall. The long rectangular courts were often found in a city’s “sacred precinct”, according to the World History Encyclopedia.

Since the inauguration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in 2018, Mexican authorities have aggressively, and often successfully, sought the return of cultural artifacts from auction houses and museums. While Mexican officials were unable to stop an auction of pre-Columbian artifacts in Germany in 2021 and Paris last year, they have organized the return of artifacts from the United States, Belgium, and the Netherlands.


TOPICS: History; Local News; Sports
KEYWORDS: amlo; auction; austria; ballgame; donateforjim; godsgravesglyphs; humansacrifice; mexico; pelota; precolumbian; theballgame

This elaborately carved u-shaped yoke was likely a trophy given to winner of a sacred Mesoamerican Ball Game.




1 posted on 06/29/2023 5:19:45 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

In that “ball game,” losers were sacrificed.


2 posted on 06/29/2023 5:28:48 PM PDT by Ge0ffrey
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To: Ge0ffrey

They used to say the winners were sacrificed, but I don’t think they think it was either now.


3 posted on 06/29/2023 5:30:35 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway
An 1,000

???

4 posted on 06/29/2023 5:43:31 PM PDT by Pollard ( >>> The Great Rest is already underway! <<<)
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To: nickcarraway

Winners or losers. But that wasn’t mentioned in the article. I’ve seen one of those arenas in Guerrero.


5 posted on 06/29/2023 5:59:31 PM PDT by Ge0ffrey
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To: Ge0ffrey

Had a large carved P on it for participation,,,


6 posted on 06/29/2023 6:39:41 PM PDT by Craftmore
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To: Pollard

If you say the number 1000 correctly, one thousand, the first word starts with a vowel, hence the “an”.


7 posted on 06/30/2023 5:24:45 AM PDT by cport (How can political capital be spent on a bunch of ingrates)
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To: cport
If you say the number 1000 correctly...

I can say that numeric correctly, and still prefix with 'a' if I so desire.

The rule you pointed out is something I have never known until now, so it cannot be important. These language rules are entirely arbitrary and some people want them dictatorially enforced.

Give me Liberty or give me death. ;-D

8 posted on 06/30/2023 5:46:53 AM PDT by GingisK
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To: nickcarraway; StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; ...
Thanks nickcarraway.

9 posted on 06/30/2023 5:47:03 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: GingisK; cport

“an 1000”

‘1,000-year-old’ is an adjective describing the stone trophy.
I would go by the NOUN which is the subject of the sentence, in this case.
I was trying to recall a case where the number would be the noun/subject, and what I would use then . . .


10 posted on 06/30/2023 6:25:46 AM PDT by JackFromTexas (- Not For Hire -)
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To: JackFromTexas

“a 1000...” works as well. It sounds better. That is how I say it. Feel free to gird your loins and join me on the field of battle. ;-D


11 posted on 06/30/2023 6:33:36 AM PDT by GingisK
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To: Ge0ffrey

They are numerous in Quintana Roo in the Zona Maya, about 50 miles inland from the Riviera Maya and Tulum where I have spent the winters for the last decade. The Mayan Religion was legalized a decade ago by the Government much to the distress of the Roman Catholic Church who only wanted to hunt down and kill Mayans who would not submit to Rome’s barbaric religion. Thank Jesus Christ for giving the United Nations the power to force Mexico’s oligarchs, ruling class Spanish Conquistars the ultimatum: Legalize the locals Religions of face a boycott and not receive ONE PESO in monetary gifts from the internal community. I rarely agree with the global one world order, but in this instance they done good. ;^)


12 posted on 06/30/2023 8:11:48 AM PDT by BullDog108 (A Smith & Wesson beats four aces!)
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To: BullDog108

The Catholic Church hunted down and killed the Mayans? Can you site your sources?


13 posted on 06/30/2023 9:16:48 AM PDT by Ge0ffrey
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To: All

Did Bartolo Colon get the win?


14 posted on 06/30/2023 9:21:19 AM PDT by newnhdad (Our new motto: USA, it was fun while it lasted.)
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To: GingisK

I stand corrected, you are indeed right. Thanks for the proper grammar reminder. 😎


15 posted on 06/30/2023 2:38:14 PM PDT by cport (How can political capital be spent on a bunch of ingrates)
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To: JackFromTexas

Oops. That post to Gingis was meant for you.


16 posted on 06/30/2023 2:39:28 PM PDT by cport (How can political capital be spent on a bunch of ingrates)
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To: cport

I was thinking you flipped out.


17 posted on 06/30/2023 5:05:49 PM PDT by GingisK
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To: GingisK

Give me Liberty or give me a ticket to Florida!.................


18 posted on 07/03/2023 7:07:39 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: Red Badger

At those temperatures, death is the same thing, just better.


19 posted on 07/03/2023 11:30:46 AM PDT by GingisK
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