The king of the city would sit here during the ball games. The sound in the ball game complex was designed so that the king could literally hear everything that people were saying.
Here is some shots of the ball court. The images of players were placed on the walls including all of the equipment they would use for the sport. There is also a picture of the hoop that they had to put the ball through. The common Mayan was a tad taller than five feet the hoop is over 20 feet off the ground. The ball players could not use their hands or feet, all the other body parts were legal.
At the end of the game a single player would be sacrificed. The game shows a popular story in Mayan mythology. There was a game between the gods of light and the gods of darkness. One of the gods of light was decapitated during the game. His team went on to win the game and he was resurrected. Therefore one member of the winning team would have his head chopped off at the end to remember this great moment in the lives of the gods.
This building is a representation of the Mayan calendar with 365 steps, one for each day. Every year in March the shadows of the great snake god will go down the pyramid showing that it is time to start planting. In September the shadow disappears starting at the bottom and going back to the top, showing that it is the end of the planting season.
The Mayan calendar had 18 months of 20 days and one month of five days, the last five days were days of extreme bad luck and no one was supposed to do any work on those days since the work would be cursed. Egypt had an extremely similar tradition.
Just a note on 2012 now that I've actually spoken to Mayans. Anyone who says the Mayans predicted the end of the world has watched too many movies. The calendar ends at 2012 because that was the end of a Mayan era, not the end of the world. Following the Mayan traditions, something wonderful happens at the beginning of each era, not the end of the world. The people here have said time and time again that all 2012 means is that it is a great time to celebrate the gift of life.
Here is a comparison shot. Some of the building is in better shape than other parts. At one point the whole pyramid was covered in jungle. The Mexican government has worked hard to restore this wonder of the world to its former glory.
Human sacrifices took place at the top of this building. The bottom was a market in ancient times. The pillars which supported the market each represent a warrior, so there are those in the church who believe that the pillars are the 2000 stripling warriors.
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