In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

 N o t e s o n M i d d l e A m e r i c a n A r c h a e o l o g y a n d E t h n o l o g y Carnegie Institution of Washington Division of Historical Research No. 26 November 10, 1943 notes on a west Coast Survival of the ancient Mexican Ball Game Isabel Kelly Rubber was obtained from the low coastal countryimmediatelysouthofAcaponeta ,andparticularly from Pozo de Higuera and Huaritupa. The gatherer climbed the tree and, with a machete, notched the trunk its full length. A leaf of aguama (Bromelia sp.), stripped of the edge spines, was placed against the wound to carry the latex to a corked vessel. A fivegallon tin of rubber latex was sufficient for making one and a half balls. To coagulate the latex, the root of the machaquana [Operculina rhodocalyx (Gray) Stardl.] was diced and added to water. For this identification I am indebted to Dr. Paul Standley, of the Field Museum of Natural History. Dr. Standley writes that the moonvine, which likewise is a morning glory, frequently is used to coagulate rubber. Prof. Maximino Martinez (1928:24) notes the use of the juice of Ipomoea bona nox. The solution was then strained into the latex, three parts solution to one of latex. A small quantity of this mixture was heated to luke-warm, tested with a small pointed stick, and, when of the proper consistency , removed from the fire. The rubber a adhering to the shaped into a pellet, which was pressed against the knee and from which the rod was withdrawn . The ball was thus built up, layer by layer, as small quantities of rubber were added to the pellet -like nucleus. After each increment of rubber was squeezed free of the liquid, the ball was shaped on a flat board held slanting against the knees to let the liquid run off. From time to time the growing ball was shaken vigorously beside the ear to detect any remaining liquid, which was pressed out through These notes were obtained in the spring of 1939, during an archaeological survey of the west coast of Mexico. Originally I planned to publish them jointly with Mr. Carlos Linga, who, through his commercial agents in southern Sinaloa, has acquired several accounts of the same ball game from the Mazatlan district, but as this has not been feasible, my Nayarit data are recorded here, without benefit of his somewhat fuller information. The account comes chiefly from Valentin Zamorano, a former player and a manufacturer of balls, with a few supplementary details from his son, Basilio Zamorano. In former times this family was among the rubber workers who supplied balls to the stretch of coast between Acaponeta and Culiacan (Sinaloa), at a price ranging from 25 to 60 pesos. The game, called hulama, was current in the Acaponeta valley, Nayarit, until about 1930. It is said still to be played occasionally in the hills and in small villages, particularly on the feast days of San Juan, San Pedro, and Santiago, and on Sundays and the Saturday of Easter week. The ball (hule, rubber) was round end of solid rubber. The standard circumference was three finger spans plus three fingers; the weight, 3 kilos, 600 grams. A specimen (3-7565 in the Museum of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley) purchased from Bernabe Diaz, in the nearby ranch of Camalotita, is undersized and in poor condition from having become flattened during storage. The diameter ranges from 163 to 196 mm, with an average of 180 mm. Notes on a West Coast Survival of the Ancient Mexican Ball Game  the blister perforated with a small stick. When perfectly round, the finished ball was smoothed and polished with a stick. After each game the ball was washed and dried thoroughly, suspended in a bag so as to hang freely, and turned frequently lest it become flattened. A well cared for ball lasts about six years. Although the purchased specimen mentioned above is old and neglected, it bounces waist-high when dropped to the ground. Players were barefoot and ordinarily naked save for a breechcloth and a special belt or shield, called chimal. The latter generally was made of the root fiber of the chalate (Ficus sp.), a fig with aerial roots. A length of root, about 2.5 m long, was cut, steeped in water, and beaten with a stick to remove the outer bark. The remaining...

Share