F7VG+48 Monte Carmelo, Quintana Roo, Mexico
One of the two ball games of Cobá from the late Classic period. It consists of two parallel buildings, between which there is a court. Each building is unique: the building on the eastern side has two staircases, one at the back and one on the northern side, both leading to a taller building with vaulted rooms. On the west, there is no staircase leading to the upper structure, which was probably covered with leaves.
The floor was covered with a thick, dense layer of plaster. Underground, a rich offering dedicated to the building was found: beads and breastplates, shells and snails, flint knives and an awl, as well as a small anthropomorphic sculpture made of green stone. Above the sloping walls or ramps of each structure is a ring through which players had to pass the ball, which was made of oiled cloth or rubber; in addition, recessed rectangular panels with images of prisoners bound by the wrists are visible:
On the rings, the symbol of Venus is engraved, which was associated with death, sacrifices, and war, and two markers, the central one depicting a human skull on a stone,
and at one end—a disk with a decapitated jaguar sitting in profile.
On one of the sloping sides, there is a vivid panel with hieroglyphs containing a long series of hieroglyphic text with multiple mentions of the city name Ko'Ba'a. The panel contains dynastic information, including the accession to the throne of the dynastic founder of the city, Juunpik Tuk, in 494 AD, and the accession to the throne of the ruler Kakti'Balam in 574 AD.
The ancient game Pok-a-Tok or Pitz was played by two teams of seven athletes. According to Maya beliefs, their deities liked to watch the winners and admire them. At the end of the game, the winning captain was honored with the privilege of being beheaded. His reward was an immediate place in Tamoanchan (the Maya paradise). This sacrificial ceremony was widespread in Chichen Itza (about 70 miles from here), but possibly not in Cobá.
Sources:
https://www.themayanruinswebsite.com/coba2.html
https://pueblosoriginarios.com/meso/maya/sitios/coba_coba.html
