MAYAN SCORECARD

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Context

• A stone scoreboard used in an ancient soccer-like ball game has been discovered at the famed Mayan Chichen Itza archaeological site in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula.

Details

• The circular piece, measuring just over 32 centimeters (in diameter and weighing 40 kilograms, displays hieroglyphic writing surrounding two players standing next to a ball.
• In this Mayan site, it is rare to find hieroglyphic writing, let alone a complete text.
• The stone, believed to be a scoreboard, dates from between 800 AD and 900 AD.
• The ball game was a traditional practice of Mesoamerican peoples and is believed to have had ritual undertones.

About Chichen Itza complex

• The Chichen Itza complex, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, is one of the main archaeological centers of the Mayan civilization in the Yucatan Peninsula.
• Chichén Itzá was a large pre-Columbian city built by the Maya people of the Terminal Classic period.
• Chichén Itzá was a major focal point in the Northern Maya Lowlands from the Late Classic (c. AD 600–900) through the Terminal Classic (c. AD 800–900) and into the early portion of the Postclassic period (c. AD 900–1200).
• The site exhibits a multitude of architectural styles, reminiscent of styles seen in central Mexico and of the Puuc and Chenes styles of the Northern Maya lowlands.
• Chichén Itzá was one of the largest Maya cities and it was likely to have been one of the mythical great cities, or Tollans, referred to in later Mesoamerican literature.

About Yucatán Peninsula

• The Yucatán Peninsula separates the Gulf of Mexico from the Caribbean Sea, encompassing 3 Mexican states, plus portions of Belize and Guatemala.
• The Yucatan is known for its tropical rainforests and jungles, as well as its being the home of the ancient Maya people.
• The Yucatán Peninsula is the site of the Chicxulub crater impact, which was created 66 million years ago by an asteroid of about 10 to 15 kilometers in diameter at the end of the Cretaceous Period.

About Maya Civilisation

• The Maya civilization of the Mesoamerican people is known by its ancient temples and glyphs.
• Its Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writing system in the pre-Columbian Americas.
• It is also noted for its art, architecture, mathematics, calendar, and astronomical system.
• Dates: c. 250 – c. 1697 CE
• Period: Mesoamerican Classic Period

Must-Read Articles:

Maya Culture: https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/maya-culture

https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/chichen-itza-mayan-scoreboard-intl-scli-scn/index.html