CITIES OF STONE As King Chak Tok Ich’aak strained forward the green feathers in his headdress caught the sunlight Jade plugs stretched his earlobes The crowd surrounding him and the other players roared Their instructions and encouragement echoed off the stone temples and palaces surrounding the ball court in the city of Tikal The ruins of Maya ball courts can still be seen in Central America today CHAPTER 1 7
Some people had come that day to trade in the great market but the vast majority of visitors came to see an important match Everyone including Chak Tok Ich’aak focused their attention on the ball that careened down the court They shouted as it slammed into the stone floor outside the painted scoring zone Back in play the ball hurled toward the other end of the court A player from the opposing team intercepted it He struck the solid rubber ball using the padded belt slung around his hips and the force of the blow rocked him back on his heels Before it could strike the scoring zone the captain from the other team dove beneath the ball bouncing it off his upper thigh to a teammate His belt and kneepads had protected him from serious injury but every game was dangerous REDISCOVERING THE MAYA By the time Christopher Columbus sailed to the New World in 1492 the stone cities of the Maya lowlands Chak Tok Ich’aak Chak Tok Ich’aak ruled the Maya city of Tikal from 360 to 378 CE Archaeologists have pieced together this information based on the dates carved on various monuments Still there is disagreement on the English translation of his name Some Maya symbols represent sounds while others represent ideas As a result although archaeologists know one of the symbols in his name is ich’aak it is unclear whether the symbol means paw or claw Historians often refer to him as Jaguar Paw or Great Paw 1 8
lay abandoned and overgrown by jungle Some cities still flourished in the highlands But in the lowlands only the people who lived in nearby villages knew the cities were there When outside explorers from the United States arrived in 1839 local guides were able to escort them to the ruins In that year US President Martin Van Buren appointed John Stephens to be the nation’s ambassador to Central America Stephens did not get the job because of any diplomatic qualifications Instead he got it for his experience in travel and exploration He had heard about some of these Maya cities from other travelers N Bay of Campeche Pacific Ocean Caribbean Sea MAYA REGION MAYA CIVILIZATION 900 CE
