Image Credit: Latin American Antiquity (2025)

Maya Mosaic Game Board Found in Guatemala

Archaeologists in Guatemala have uncovered a rare patolli game board built directly into the floor of a fifth-century Maya structure in the ancient city of Naachtun. Unlike most patolli boards — typically carved or painted onto benches and walls — this one was intentionally designed as part of the building’s original construction.
The board, discovered within a large residential or administrative complex, consists of about 478 red and orange ceramic pieces carefully inlaid into the mortar to form the game’s distinctive cross-shaped design. Researchers estimate its size at 80 × 110 centimeters, making it noticeably larger than most known examples.
Patolli, played across Mesoamerica since at least 200 BCE, was a strategic and often high-stakes game involving luck, movement along the board, and betting with valuables such as crops. It appears in Maya, Toltec, and Aztec cultural records and was used for entertainment, social bonding, and ritual purposes.
Because the board is embedded into the floor, its date can be securely tied to the structure’s construction. Ceramic evidence places it between 400 and 550 AD, during the Early Classic period. The find, published in Latin American Antiquity, offers new insights into Maya domestic and ceremonial life and highlights how important gaming was in elite households.
Researchers say that further study of the building and surrounding area may reveal more about how the Maya integrated games into social and ritual activities.

Published on: 22-11-2025

Source: Phys.org