Designed for students in grades 6 to 8, this lesson explores the Mesoamerican tradition of the ballgame. Inspired by Ball Court Model, Nayarit, Mexico, 200 BCE–500 CE, and Vessel with Ballgame Scene, Maya, 600–900, students will learn how to create their own three-dimensional athletic setting.

Watch the video below or share this direct link with your students: https://vimeo.com/736589238

Images

Ball Court Model, Mexico, Nayarit, 200 BCE–500 CE, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Proctor Stafford Collection, purchased with funds provided by Mr. and Mrs. Allan C. Balch, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA

Vessel with Ballgame Scene, A.D. 600-900, Maya, slip-painted ceramic, d: 6 in. (15.2 cm), 8 1/2 x 6 in. (21.6 x 15.2 cm), Los Angeles County Museum of Art, purchased with funds provided by Camilla Chandler Frost (M.2010.115.589) photo © Museum Associates / LACMA

Additional Resources

Explore additional resources about the Mesoamerican ballgame by following the links below:

Web Resources:

• LACMA's 3D Model: Ballcourt Model
• LACMA's 3D Model: Ballplayer Figure in Costume
• The Met Museum: Mesoamerican Ballgame
• Worcester Museum: Nayarit Ballcourt Model
• Dallas Museum of Art: Culture and Tradition The Mesoamerican Ballgame 
• Hudson Museum: Ball game History
• Penn Museum: The Rubber Ballgame- A Universal Mesoamerican Sport
• Ballgame History for Students
• Rubber processing: Mesoamerican people perfected details of rubber processing more than 3,000 years ago: study

Video

• Khan Academy: The Mesoamerican Ballgame and the Vera Cruz Yoke
• Modern Ballgame Video (Spanish) and Video (English) 
• Ulama
• Rubber Balls in Mexico: A Long History and a Mayan Tradition
• Chemistry of Maya Early Rubber Balls

Books

• Kan, Michael, Meighan, Clement, Nicholson, H.B. and Rexford Stead.  Sculpture of Ancient West Mexico: Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima.  Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1970.
• Mexico en el Mundo de las Colecciones de Arte: Mesoamerica. Vol.2. Mexico: Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, 1994.
• Von Winning, Hasso, and Olga Hammer. Anecdotal Sculpture of Ancient West Mexico. Los Angeles: Ethnic Arts Council of Los Angeles, 1972.
• Whittington, E. Michael, ed. The Sport of Life and Death: The Mesoamerican Ballgame.  New York: Thames and Hudson, 2001.
• Pillsbury, Joanne. Design for Eternity: Architectural Models from the Ancient Americas. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015.

Downloadable Lesson Plans

Please download the lesson plan below and cater it to your needs. We've provided .docx and PDF versions.

Generous support for School and Teacher Programs is provided by the Anna H. Bing Children’s Art Endowment Fund. Additional funding is provided by The Rose Hills Foundation, The Lucille Ellis Simon Foundation, the Edward A. and Ai O. Shay Family Foundation, Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation, the Mara W. Breech Foundation, The Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation, Edison International, the Louis and Harold Price Foundation, the Goodwin Family Memorial Trust, and the Ducommun and Gross Family Foundation.