The Aztecs played a deadly ball game where a loss could mean sacrifice to their gods but this 3500yearold ritual wasnt invented by the Aztecs at all 🏀 🔮 Called ullamaliztli in the Aztec language of Nahuatl this dangerous sport used a solid rubber ball weighing up to 9 pounds that players could only hit with their hips elbows and knees Archaeologists discovered a rubber ball dating to 1600 BC at a site called El Manatí proving the game existed over 1600 years before the Aztec empire The oldest

The Aztec name for the Mesoamerican ballgame, often referred to as the "Aztec ball game," is ōllamaliztli (sometimes spelled ullamaliztli), meaning "rubber to play ball" #mexican #mexico | Mexican Indigenous Truth

Ball like the ancient Mayans with a game of Mesoamerican ballgame. No hands and no feet allowed in this sport — it's all about the hips. | Great Big Story