Ballgame Yoke

U-shaped yokes, worn around the waists of ballplayers, were used to strike the solid, rubber ball. This stone yoke is too heavy to be worn during a game; the actual equipment was made of wood and leather. This yoke's carved image of a bearded person-perhaps the mythical hero Quetzalcóatl-suggests that the yoke was a prized possession or a trophy and likely was placed in a tomb as a funerary offering.