Mesoamerican was a Ball Game of Life and Death from History

b. To what extent has the history of Mesoamerica been taught from a Eurocentric perspective? What theories, ideas, and/or terminology are problematic when trying to assert an Indigenous perspective? (For example: Bering Strait, Malintzin, Cuauhtemoc, Human Sacrifice...there are many more examples!)

When people think of sports, some of the first things that come to mind are ball games such as football and basketball, cheerleaders, and expensive halftime shows. We rarely think about the origins of these organized games, which date back thousands of years to the subtropical regions of Central America. Today’s sports fans have nothing on the Mayans. The Mesoamerican Ball Game is the oldest known sport in the Americas. It was a ritual, political and social activity that involved the whole community. The basic form “consisted of two parallel mounds separated by a playing field, but the ball court evolved and took on an important variation with end zones forming an I shape” (Foster, 2002, p.233). These structures had sloping walls and benches, where

The history of baseball can be traced back to the early 19th century when people played a baseball-like game with their own rules and homemade equipment. The earliest known mention of baseball in the United States was in 1791 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. An ordinance was declared that banned the playing of the game within 80 yards of the town meeting house. Even though baseball was mentioned back in 1791 it wasn't officially a sport until 1839 when a man named Abner Doubleday invented the game we know and love today as baseball in Cooperstown, New York.

Sports, especially ones that involve a ball, are modern America’s favorite pastimes. Well, this was also true for the Mesoamerican people of the ninth century. While the event does not have a specific name, it is referred to as the Mesoamerican ballgame. Like basketball, this game was played on a long, rectangular court (Stokstad 405). The ball itself is said to be pretty heavy and rubber. Unlike basketball, the players wore protective gear because the actual sport of the game was to use everything but your hands to hit the ball. The object was to make it into the protruding stone goal, in which the ball would enter horizontally and not longitudinally. Some scholars suggest that perhaps the Mesoamerican ballgame was used in times of warfare,

Baseball originates back to 1800s, from a man named Abner Doubleday, who was a Union Officer during the American Civil War. Some say he invented the game in Cooperstown, New York, in 1839. There’s limited amount of information and facts on Doubleday being the original creator of the game. A more accurate response to the question of how baseball originates would be that many scholars believe that baseball was invented way before we can tell. In ancient cultures, such as those of the Persians and Egyptians, there is evidence of games being played with balls and sticks. Games similar to baseball continued to be played by civilizations throughout history but it was not until the early 1600s that Europeans first brought games involving a ball and a stick to the Americas. There were a number of various games played with a ball and a stick but the one that most resembled baseball was an English game called Rounders. The rules of Rounders are a lot simpler than the ones of modern day baseball but it was from

The start of the game of baseball is unknown, but some people believe they know when it started. The game of baseball believes to start in England. The start of baseball was around 1760, the game was called Rounder. Rounder had the same rules as baseball today, but it had its difference. The biggest difference was that a fielder had to throw the ball at the runner to get them out. The game changed in 1845. A group of people got together to talk about the game. They wanted to make the game safer. They changed the rules of the fielder. He would not throw at the baserunner anymore; they must tag the baserunner with the ball. The equipment changed as well when they made the rule change. They started to use a harder ball.

Like any other sport, baseball developed over an extended period of time spanning way back to the 1600’s. The first evidence

The article “America’s Pastime” by Robert S. Fay and Tom Pfannoch, teaches readers about the history of baseball. The first unofficial baseball games were played in the early 1800’s, these games otherwise known as “town ball”. One of the earliest organizations to influence modernized baseball was the knickerbockers, the knickerbockers put together a set of rules and gave the game structure which helped standardize how the game is played today. Soon after, the game spread throughout the country and gained popularity among players and spectators as well, which led to the professional sport of baseball. Following the professionalization of the sport many leagues were formed, the present day MLB (Major League Baseball) has been considered America’s

The earliest known reference to baseball as we know it in America was in 1791 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. There was an ordinance banning the play of the sport within 80yds a town meeting center. No one is exactly sure of the origins of baseball but many believe it to be a variation of the English game of “rounders”. The very first team to play the sport of baseball

Many know about the ancient civilization, the Aztecs, but most people don't know about their recreation. One of the only forms of entertainment they had was the very popular sport, Ulama. Ulama is a ball game played by the Aztecs. Ulama is a game where you hit a rubber ball (that could weigh up to 10 pounds) through a small hole without using your hands or your feet. The Aztec ball game was actually a revision of an ancient Mesoamerican game that was played by many peoples including the Mayans.

The beginning of baseball has had it twist on who started the game and who made the rules to the game. The sport we know as baseball was original name stickball before it became an organized sport. Baseball was a game that many just played as part of their moderate exercise for recreational purpose or time and they used the game to stay in shape. It was usually a middle class white -collar worker who played the game.

For over one hundred years, Americans young and old have enjoyed the sport of baseball. Some are actively and some leisurely. No matter which role the person has, he or she enjoys America’s favorite pastime, baseball, but is it originally an American sport? Over the many years that the sport has existed, there has been a variety of theories. The origin of baseball is unclear because some believe it began in England, others claim Abner Doubleday originated the sport, and a third faction claims it evolved in New York.

U.S soccer started when the English settlers came to populate America. The game was originally played across an entire town with two nets at either end. Players tackled each other to get the ball to one end of the town and in a

B. Some suggest that the earliest signs of a feet-based ball game date back as far as 2500BC, during which time the Greeks, Egyptians and Chinese all appear to have partaken in such games.

The start of basketball began in the early 1890s. Brian Faurschou acknowledges that "Well before James Naismith invented the game of basketball in 1891, the peoples of Mesoamerica had a very similar game where the point was to get a ball through a hoop." Ancient Mexican people such as the Aztecs and the Mayans had very similar games to basketball, but instead of a ball they used their conquered foes skulls. He also implies that "The first basketball type game may have been played by the early Olmec people of Ancient Mexico as early as 500 years ago" (Faurschou).