Image caption, This is the ‘Great Maya ball court’ in Chichén ... was played instead of going to war. Human sacrifice was probably part of the games, with perhaps the losing captain or ...

a ball court, and a number of palaces, including the magnificent Three-Storey Palace with its rounded columns. Uaxactún, which means "eight-stone" in Yucatec Maya and is named for the earliest ...

(chile or ic in Mayan), Hampea trilobata (jool) and Oxandra lanceolata (chilcahuite), all known for their medicinal and, in some cases, hallucinogenic properties. It turns out that the ball game ...

and ceremonies that featured a ball game and human sacrifice. The ancient Maya also mastered astronomy, mathematics, art and architecture, and a glyph system of writing on stone, ceramics ...