Strictly divided into three classes to which the individual belonged from birth. First, the royal family, including holders of key government posts and merchants; then state servants, as directors of ceremonies and responsible for the defense and collection of taxes, at the lowest level, the manual workers and farmers.
The ancient Mayans played a highly ceremonial game with a heavy rubber ball, about the size of a basketball. The exact rules of the game are not known, but small teams of one to four players would try to hit markers or hoops with the ball, without using their hands. At the end of a military battle, prisoners were forced to play against each other in a no-win game. Losers were tortured and executed, while those who were not killed became slaves. Some Mayan paintings depict decapitated heads placed on the playing field, replacing the rubber ball. This camp on the south side of Temple I is one of three in Tikal and the smallest known in the Mayan region.
Mayan Civilization
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