A scene featuring a ballgame in a ballcourt, painted on a cylindrical ceramic vessel. (Dallas Museum of Art) It's no secret that sports fanatics tend to treat their favorite game as a sacred thing, but a new discovery suggests the ancient Maya took it to a whole new level. Beneath the paved floor of a plaza determined to be a court for Maya Ballgame, archaeologists have identified plants used for ceremonies. These plants have medicinal properties and are associated with religious use – including a plant with known hallucinogenic effects, whose use had never been previously seen in Maya contexts....
