A rubber ball. A stone court. And a sport where the stakes could be life and death.For more than 2,000 years, Mesoamerican peoples played a remarkable ballgame that became far more than entertainment; across the Maya world, it became a spectacle and a ceremony with religion, politics and power at it's heart.Today, Tristan Hughes is joined by archaeologist Ed Barnhart to uncover the oldest sporting tradition in the ancient Americas. Together they discover how the Maya ballgame was played, why it became so important, and whether the most chilling aspect of its reputation was actually true: did the losers really face sacrifice?MOREChichén Itzá<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-ancients/id1520403988?i=1000622653097" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Listen on Apple</a><a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/7hIfsQWS7Ya8KRHKGMntt7?si=qj7Ur8m2S4SofHkpTyk8aQ" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Listen on Spotify </a>The Maya Collapse<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-ancients/id1520403988?i=1000663446064" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Listen on Apple</a><a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/56rb6VA4Ey9bMX9CrhCfRR?si=35DOIxi7TFiZH2d5wRDfeQ" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Listen on Spotify </a>The Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch here: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@TheAncientsPodcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@TheAncientsPodcast</a>Presented by Tristan Hughes. Produced and edited by Aidan Lonergan. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music courtesy of Epidemic SoundsThe Ancients is a History Hit podcast.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week, plus early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe</a>.

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