Mesoamerican Stone Yoke Recovered in Austria

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO—According to a report in The Art Newspaper, the auction of a Mesoamerican stone yoke has been canceled and the artifact has been recovered by the Embassy of Mexico in Austria, Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Culture, and Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). The yoke is thought to have been made on the Gulf Coast between A.D. 400 and 900. Such stone yokes are thought to represent the hip protectors worn by ball players during ritual ball games, and to have been given as trophies or used as ceremonial offerings. To read about a stone marker unearthed in Chichén Itzá that researchers believe commemorated a ball game, go to "A Game to Remember."