Archaeologists discover Mayan scoreboard in Mexico's Yucatan

www.dw.com ^ | April 12, 2023

[Rurudyne]

When they can carve the score in stone before hand it seems likely that old assertions that the games were rigged and the destined losers (captives) to be killed may have been accurate.

[Red Badger]

Seems I read somewhere a long time ago, before the Internet, that these ‘games’ were actually a way to prevent all out war between warring Mayan city-states, by having their teams play the game and being sacrificed if they lose.

That way only a handful of people were killed versus hundreds if not thousands in a full scale war...............

[griffin]

a little hard to see from the nose-bleed section.

[Red Badger]

My guess is that the outside rim figures are numbers and that some kind of pointer was used to indicate the score. Similar to their calendar.

Since it is a circle, there must have been a ‘Top Score’ to achieve a win, like ‘21’ in basketball or in Tennis................

[Red Badger]

Only the Kings and their courts were close enough to see, probably......................

[teeman8r]

and “the ball” has a frowny face on it...

[gundog]

I wonder if it was bad luck to call “heads” for the coin toss.

[BenLurkin]

Oh man. Talk about a ‘career-ending injury’.

[bwest]

I had money on that game!

[Red Badger]

Did your team lose their head?.....................

[Deplorable American1776]

It does say the Mesoamerican series champs in 78 BC. They are playing the Aztecs...

Sorry, that was UConn on April 3rd...

[Red Badger]

the March of Madness...................

[Eagles6]

🤣

[Chickensoup]

I thought it was going to be for the heart eating contest down at Maya’s all you can eat buffet.

[Steely Tom]

Seems I read somewhere a long time ago, before the Internet, that these ‘games’ were actually a way to prevent all out war between warring Mayan city-states, by having their teams play the game and being sacrificed if they lose.

That way only a handful of people were killed versus hundreds if not thousands in a full scale war...............

There was a Star Trek episode kind of like that.

[SunkenCiv]

It shows Biden in the lead. Thanks Red Badger.

[Texan5]

A few centuries later, if you lost a battle with the Aztecs, were captured, you were put on the court for the last game you’d ever play...