MEXICO CITY, MEXICO—According to a statement released by Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, a Maya ball game marker thought to commemorate an important event has been discovered at Chichen Itza by archaeologist Lizbeth Beatriz Mendicuti Pérez. The round marker, dated to about A.D. 900, measures nearly 13 inches in diameter and weighs more than 85 pounds. The researchers think the marker, which is carved with images of a ball and two ball players surrounded by a complete glyphic text, may have been affixed to an arch at the entrance to the Casa Colorada architectural complex. “In this Mayan site it is rare to find hieroglyphic writing, let alone a complete text,” commented archaeologist Francisco Pérez Ruiz. Archaeologist Santiago Alberto Sobrino Fernández added that the player on the left wears a feathered headdress and a sash with a flower-shaped adornment that may be a water lily. His opponent wears protective gear and a headdress known in Chichen Itza as a “snake turban.” High-resolution images of the marker will used to examine the carvings in detail. For more on the ball game, go to "Play Ball!"
