Ball court bounces back in time.Excavation of an earthen earth·en adj. 1. Made of earth or clay: an earthen fortification; an earthen pot. 2. Earthly; worldly. mound located near Mexico's southern Pacific coast has yielded a ball court dating to between 3,400 and 3,250 years ago. It is at least 500 years older than similar ball courts found at many sites from ancient civilizations in Mexico and Central America Central America, narrow, southernmost region (c.202,200 sq mi/523,698 sq km) of North America, linked to South America at Colombia. It separates the Caribbean from the Pacific. . Researchers know little about the game or ritual activity that took place on these ball courts. Nonetheless, large-scale courts were in use much earlier than previously thought, according to a report in the April 30 Nature. Moreover, a standard layout survived with few changes until regional populations were conquered by the Spanish in the 16th century, a research team asserts. During a probe of a large mound at the site of Paso de la Amada Paso de la Amada is an archaeological site in the Mexican state of Chiapas on the Gulf of Tehuantepec, in the Soconusco region of Mesoamerica. This site was occupied during the Early Formative era, from about 1800 BCE to 1000 BCE, and covered approximately 50 hectares of land. , a group of investigators led by Warren D. Hill and Michael Blake, both of the University of British Columbia Locations Vancouver The Vancouver campus is located at Point Grey, a twenty-minute drive from downtown Vancouver. It is near several beaches and has views of the North Shore mountains. The 7. in Vancouver, and John E. Clark of Brigham Young University Brigham Young University, at Provo, Utah; Latter-Day Saints; coeducational; opened as an academy in 1875 and became a university in 1903. It is noted for its law and business schools. in Provo, Utah, uncovered two parallel platforms flanking a 260-foot-long alley Later ball courts look much the same, Hill and his coworkers assert. Other finds at Paso de la Amada suggest that the site consisted of both high- and low-status households. Socially elite groups may have sponsored the construction of ancient ball courts at least in part to enhance their community standing, the scientists propose. |
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