An ancient female ballplayer is highlighting an exhibit at a Chicago art museum

“The Ball Game” was an ancient, Mesoamerican sport and spiritual ritual that has fascinated archeologists for centuries. The National Museum of Mexican Art currently has on display a stone-carved statue of a female ballplayer – complete with knee pads, a headdress, and holding a severed head – as part of an exhibit that is reimagining the role women played in the ancient Huasteca civilization. WBEZ art and culture reporter Courtney Kueppers recently covered the exhibit for WBEZ and spoke to The Rundown podcast host Erin Allen about how expectations are shifting and where this female ballplayer statue fits in. The exhibit, titled “Ancient Huasteca Women: Goddesses, Warriors and Governors,” is on display through July 21 at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood.