Plant DNA Suggests Maya Blessed Their Ball Courts

CAMPECHE, MEXICO—According to a Gizmodo report, an international team of researchers led by David Lentz of the University of Cincinnati analyzed a soil sample taken underneath a 2,000-year-old ball court platform at Yaxnohcah, a Maya city site on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. The analysis detected the presence of Ipomoea corymbose, a type of morning glory also called xtabentun that is known for its hallucinogenic properties; Capsicum, or chili peppers, which were used by the Maya to treat illnesses; Hampea trilobata, or jool, a tree whose leaves and twine were used to wrap ceremonial food bundles, make twine, and treat snake bites; and Oxandra lanceolata, or lancewood, which was used as a vasodilator, anesthetic, and antibiotic. “I think the fact that these four plants which have a known cultural importance to the Maya were found in a concentrated sample tells us it was an intentional and purposeful collection under this platform,” said botanist Eric Tepe of the University of Cincinnati. Hallucinogenic substances are known to have been ingested by Maya kings and high priests while they were carrying out rituals, but there is no evidence to suggest that hallucinogens were taken by athletes who played the ball game. Instead, the researchers suggest that the ball game building may have been blessed or consecrated at the beginning of its construction. Read the original scholarly article about this research in PLOS ONE. To read about a 3,400-year-old Maya ball court unearthed in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, go to "Play Ball!"