The Aztec Ball Game: Sacred Ritual or Deadly Sport?

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Mesoamerican ballgame ōllamaliztli, a sacred and often violent sport played across Tenochtitlan and beyond. They discuss the game's religious significance, the court at Tenochtitlan's ceremonial center, and the controversial practice of human sacrifice associated with it. Drawing on accounts from the Florentine Codex and archaeological evidence from the Templo Mayor, they examine how the game served as a metaphor for cosmic struggle, a means of conflict resolution, and a spectacle that sometimes ended in the death of players or captives. Lucas explains the rules, the rubber ball, and the stone rings, and they debate whether sacrifice was a regular outcome or a rare honor. The episode also touches on the ballgame's survival after the Spanish conquest and its echoes in modern ulama. A fresh angle not covered in prior episodes. #Llamaliztli #MesoamericanBallgame #Tenochtitlan #AztecSacrifice #FlorentineCodex #TemploMayor #Huitzilopochtli #Mexica #NHuatl #Ulama #RubberBall #BallCourt #Mictlantecuhtli #Pulque #Xochipilli #Mesoamerica #History #FexingoHistory #AztecEmpire #MoctezumaII Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo