Ballgame Ceremonial Stone Hip Belt

Exploring the Early Americas The Jay I. Kislak Collection

Pre-Contact America | Explorations and Encounters | Aftermath of the Encounter

Urban Landscapes | Ritual, Ceremonies, and Celebrations | Language and Context | Recording History | The Heavens and Time

Puerto Rico. Taíno, AD 700–1500.
Hard gray stone.
Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (14)
Photo ©Justin Kerr, Kerr Associates

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This stone artifact, found in Puerto Rico, probably represents the perishable materials (leather and wicker) worn around the waist by participants in the Mesoamerican ballgame. The ballgame was performed within slab-lined ball courts throughout Mesoamerica and the Caribbean area.