How do you play the Mayan ball game Pok A Tok? Draw a circle about 5 inches in diameter onto each piece of paper. Tape or tack a piece of paper on opposite walls slightly above your head to start. Divide into two equal teams and choose your targets. The first team to hit the target wins a point.
Did the Mayans play Pok a Tok?
Pok-A-Tok is a fast-paced ball game played by the Maya of Central America. It is their most famous game, which is thought to have been invented around 2000 BCE. Pok-A-Tok was played in teams of one or two players in every major Mayan city. If there were two players in a team, they assisted each other.
What is the Mayan ball game called?
The Maya Ball Game is known by a wide variety of names. In the Classic Maya language (or Classic Ch'olti') the Ball Game is called “Pitz”. But in English, it is often referred to as “Pok-A-Tok”, a name coined by Danish Archaeologist Frans Blom in 1932.
What was the goal of the Mayan game Pok-a-Tok?
The objective of the game was to get a ball through a narrow stone hoop placed on the court wall, often as high up as 20 feet from the ground. Players were not allowed to use their hands or feet—only their head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, and hips. Ball game scene on a Mayan vase How Was Pok-A-Tok played in Mayan times?
Is there a pok a Tok team in Mexico?
Caleb on October 25, 2018: Enrique patt on October 12, 2018: Here in belize we have a pok a tok team mexico also has check it on youtube it was good to do for homework and it helped me to understand how it actually works Hehem on August 08, 2018: HARRYSALTY on May 13, 2018:
How does the Mayan ball game work?
The ball, made out of rubber, was about the size of a volleyball and weighed between 6 to 10 pounds. Players would play on teams of two to four. Each team passed the ball back and forth between themselves and members of the opposing team. They were only allowed to hit the ball with their legs, arms and hips.
What was the purpose of the Mayan game Pok-A-Tok?
It symbolized the struggle of life over death, and war and hunting. Pok-A-Tok was often played by prisoners of war, and the members of the losing team were offered as sacrificed to the gods. Pok-A-Tok games would go on without interruption for long periods of time, often for days.
What are the rules of Pok Ta Pok?
The aim of the game is to score points by bouncing the ball into the opponent's end zone, or when the opposing team fails to return the ball after the second bounce. If the stone rings are being used, players can hit the ball through one of the two stone rings to instantly win the game.
How do you win the Mayan ball game?
The players were only allowed to use their heads, elbows, legs, and hips to hit the ball. The ball was not allowed to touch the ground, so the players often dove to avoid losing points. If one of the teams got the ball through the stone hoop, the game was over and that team won.
What is the Pok-A-Tok ball game?
pok-a-tok | NCpedia. noun. Definition: A ritual ball game of the Maya, versions of which are found throughout Mesoamerica. Played with a solid rubber ball, and heavy pads, the object of the game was to knock the ball with any part of the body except the hands through a stone scoring ring.
How heavy was a Pok-A-Tok ball?
In the most common theory of the game, the players struck the ball with their hips, although some versions allowed the use of forearms, rackets, bats, or handstones. The ball was made of solid rubber and weighed as much as 4 kg (9 lbs), and sizes differed greatly over time or according to the version played.
What happens if you lose a game of Pok A Tok?
These games would often be “rigged” so that the team playing the winners of the battle would also be the winners of the game of Pok-A-Tok. The team deemed to lose the game would sometimes be made up of captives or prisoners who would be killed as a sacrifice at the end of the game.
Is Pok-A-Tok still played?
One such game is the Pok-A-Tok, which record show may been played as a ritual some 1400 years BC by the Maya. When you think about a game played so long ago, you'd assume the practice is long extinct. Thanks to a group of young Belizean men, this ancient Maya ball game remains alive!
What happens to the winning team in Pok-A-Tok?
Pok Ta Pok was a team sport, similar to volleyball, in which the ball was passed from one side to the other using only the hips, shoulders and elbows. The game ended if one of the players scored the ball through one of the rings, and it is believed that the entire winning team was sacrificed.
How do you play Maya?
5:266:48How to play... Maya #whitegoblingames - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipWe both have four when there's a time for first place you add the points for the first and secondMoreWe both have four when there's a time for first place you add the points for the first and second place together and divide them between all players rounded. Up this means twelve plus six is 18.
How high up was the ball in the Mayan game?
The objective of the game was to get a ball through a narrow stone hoop placed on the court wall, often as high up as 20 feet from the ground . Players were not allowed to use their hands or feet—only their head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, and hips. pinterest-pin-it. Ball game scene on a Mayan vase.
What was the Mayan game called?
For the Maya, Pok-A-Tok was more than just a challenging game. It symbolized the struggle of life over death, and war and hunting. Pok-A-Tok was often played by prisoners of war, and the members of the losing team were offered as sacrificed to the gods. Pok-A-Tok games would go on without interruption for long periods of time, often for days.
What were the balls made of in Pok A Tok?
Otherwise the hard, solid-rubber ball could have severely injured or even killed them. The balls were made from rubber from cau-uchu trees, and depictions of Pok-A-Tok show that the ball was as big as a basketball is today.
How to play the game of paper?
Draw a circle about 5 inches in diameter onto each piece of paper. If you are playing by yourself, you will only need one piece of paper. Tape or tack a piece of paper on opposite walls slightly above your head to start . The higher the target, the more challenging the game will be.
How to make a rubber ball?
How to Make Your Own Rubber Ball 1 Spread a thin layer of rubber cement on a flat surface. Let it dry for a few minutes. 2 Start pushing your fingers around on the tacky rubber cement. It will peel off and gradually stick together. Roll it around into a ball. 3 Spread another layer of rubber cement on your work surface. After a few minutes, roll your ball around on the new layer. It will peel up and stick to your ball. 4 Keep rolling it around, and all the rubber cement will gradually form into a bigger ball. 5 Repeat this process as many times as you like, building up your rubber ball.
When was Pok-A-Tok invented?
Pok-A-Tok is a fast-paced ball game played by the Maya of Central America. It is their most famous game, which is thought to have been invented around 2000 BCE. Pok-A-Tok was played in teams of one or two players in every major Mayan city. If there were two players in a team, they assisted each other.
What was the Mayan purpose of rubber?
The Maya even coated their feet with layers of rubber to make shoes.
What is the Mayan ballgame?
The Maya ballgame ( pok-ta-pok or pitz ), was only one type of several played throughout Mesoamerica. Ballcourts were often located within ceremonial centres and usually each important site had a ballcourt. It is not played anymore by the Maya today. How to pronounce Pok-ta-Pok:
Where was the Mayan ballcourt?
Ballcourt at the Maya City of Tikal, Guatemala. Looking at ballcourts as well as paintings of ballplayers on vases and clay figurines, archaeologists can give some information about how the game might have been played. Maya ballpayers playing the game, painted on a vase. Source: mayavase.com.
Why was the ballgame played?
The ballgame and its ballcourts have been linked to the movement of the sun and moon , which are related to agricultural seasons. The game was played for fun, during festivals or special events such as a ruler becoming king, or to replace war. Ballcourt at the Maya City of Tikal, Guatemala.
How high is a stone ring in tennis?
Stone ring (6 metres high) in the ballcourt at Chichen Itza.
Did the Mayans use their hands?
They were never allowed to use their hands, feet or head! Dr Diane explaining the Maya ballgame at Iximche, a Maya city in Guatemala. Mythbuster: The winners or losers of the ballgame were sacrificed. Neither the winners nor losers were sacrificed during the Maya ballgame, with the exception of a game that took place instead ...
How to perfectly play Pok-a-tok Carys,Emily,Lucy,Olivia,Alfie&Adam
Playing pok-a-tok is a fun, exciting game with a few easy rules. Follow these step-by-step instructions to find out how to play. Do you want to have a go at playing an Ancient Mayan ball game?
Top Tip!
The losing team, or sometimes just their captain, could be sacrificed to the gods, it they were happy about this because they wanted to be sacrificed.
Why did the sloping walls in Pok-A-Tok create the I shape?
The sloping walls created an “I” shape for the players to use; a narrow playing field down the centre and two wider zones on each end. Some archaeologists believe the sloping walls were used to bounce the ball off to help keep it in the air. There are over a thousand Pok-A-Tok pitches scattered across Mesoamerica.
Why is Pok-A-Tok considered a religious sport?
However, most of the time, games of Pok-A-Tok became a religious spectacle filled with ritual importance. The sport played a political role and was often used as a way of solving disputes between rivals and sometimes offered an alternative to battle between warring towns.
How big is the ball court in Chichen Itza?
The largest pitch is at the ruins of Chichen Itza. This pitch (aptly named the Great Ballcourt of Chichen Itza) is 168 metres long and 70 metres wide – this is bigger than a Premier League football pitch! The Great Ballcourt of Chichen Itza. Courtesy of Brian Snelson.
Is Pok-A-Tok a religious game?
Sloping walls of the pitch. Courtesy Tjeerd Wiersma. However, most of the time, games of Pok-A-Tok became a religious spectacle filled with ritual importance.