<div class="description">
The identification of this figure as a ballplayer rests on the characteristically wide belt, or "yoke," around his waist. He carries a rectangular item in his left arm, and his right hand clutches a cylindrical object, perhaps a ball-striking implement used in some versions of the game. Underneath the yoke, the player wears a loincloth and hip wrap, which falls below his buttocks. His head is tied with a wide knotted strap, and his large disk pendant resembles the divining mirror seen on other Olmec-style figurines. The Mesoamerican ballgame was a multifaceted event. It was played as sport, and among the sixteenth-century Aztecs, there was much betting and revelry. The game also was a ritualized reflection of cosmic forces, a ceremonial petition for fertility, and a rite during which the supernatural realm was made manifest. The ballgame has very ancient origins in Mesoamerica; the earliest known ballcourt, dating to about 1400 BCE, was found at Paso de la Amada in Chiapas, Mexico.</div>
<div class="fn value">
<span lang="en">Anonymous</span> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Olmecs" class="extiw" title="w:en:Olmecs"><span title="Mesoamerican civilization">Olmec Civilization</span></a>)<span style="display:none">Unknown author</span></div>
between 900 and 600 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Ante_Christum_Natum" class="extiw" title="w:en:Ante Christum Natum">BC</a> (Middle Formative)
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Walters_Art_Museum" class="extiw" title="w:en:Walters Art Museum"><span title="art museum in Baltimore, Maryland, United States">Walters Art Museum</span></a>: <a href="https://thewalters.org/" rel="nofollow"><img alt="Nuvola filesystems folder home.svg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/Nuvola_filesystems_folder_home.svg/20px-Nuvola_filesystems_folder_home.svg.png" decoding="async" width="20" height="20" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/Nuvola_filesystems_folder_home.svg/30px-Nuvola_filesystems_folder_home.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/Nuvola_filesystems_folder_home.svg/40px-Nuvola_filesystems_folder_home.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128"></a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://thewalters.org/">Home page</a> <a href="https://art.thewalters.org/detail/80383" rel="nofollow"><img alt="Information icon.svg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Information_icon.svg/20px-Information_icon.svg.png" decoding="async" width="20" height="20" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Information_icon.svg/30px-Information_icon.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Information_icon.svg/40px-Information_icon.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="620" data-file-height="620"></a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://art.thewalters.org/detail/80383">Info about artwork</a>