play ball pok-ta-pok court A Maya boy sits with his family above a ball court A game called pok-ta-pok is beginning Two teams of men wearing padded clothing enter the court The crowd cheers
pok-ta-pok Join the team Pok-ta-pok is making a comeback in Mexico Both men and women play today A heavy rubber ball is tossed into the air The players must keep it off the ground without using their hands or feet One player bounces the ball off his hip His teammate bats it hard with a forearm Playing pok-ta-pok is a great honor One day the boy hopes to join a team
Who Were the Ancient maya Ruins of Palenque Chiapas Mexico
The ancient Maya lived in Mesoamerica from around 1500 BCE to 1500 CE The civilization reached its height of culture and size during what is known as the Maya Classic Period During this time more than 40 city-states rose to power The Maya population may have numbered more than 10 million The name Maya came from Spanish conquistadors in the 1500s CE It may have come from the Maya city of Mayapan The Maya people called themselves by their ethnic group language or region maya classic period key Maya civilization Mexico gulf of mexico W N s E pacific ocean
