Thachtli was an ancient Mesoamerican ball game played between teams representing different city-states. Players aimed to keep a heavy rubber ball in play using only their hips, thighs, or elbows, scoring points by passing it through stone hoops. The outcome of important games was taken very seriously, with sacrificing the losing team to honor the gods being a possibility. For a modern adaptation, the game uses a basketball court and dodgeball, with limited contact allowed to move the ball with the body instead of hands.

2. History
 Thachtli is kind of a basketball game
 The players are the prisoners of war
 The game is honoring the gods Amapan and Uappatzi the god of the
ball court also Huitzilopochtli the god of war
 The movement of the rubber ball symbolizes the future path of the
sun
 The outcome of the game was very popular and the gambling can
reach high levels, just about anything can be gambled (from an
ornate feather to a child)
 It is believed that the losing coach, or even the whole team might
have been sacrificed
 Because it was an honour to be sacrificed, the winning team might
have lost there lives

3. Ball
 The playing ball was roughly the size of a bowling ball
 The playing ball was made from rubber
 Natural rubber is made by a number of plants which grow in warm
climates
 Rubber is able to make other items as well in the ancient world such
as boots and raincoats
 The rubber ball weighs about 4-5 Kgs
 The ball is so hard the players had to wear padding to protect
themselves when hitting the ball, but they still can get severely
injured

4. Court
 The court was normally I or H shaped
 There were stone rings at the end of each court
 The hoops were about 2-3 meters of the ground
 The court was usually between 30-60 meters
 The actual hole in the hoop is about 30CM
 The hoops were often ornately carved in the form of an animal
 It was mean to mirror the ball court of the heavens
 And being the ball court of the underworld where the sun passed
each night
 The game also represented the battle between day and night

5. Ancient Rules
 The ancient game involved passing the ball from side to side without
the ball touching the grounding
 If the ball touches the ground you lose a point
 You can only hit the ball with your elbow, hips, buttocks and legs
 If you hit the ball with the incorrect part of the body you can lose a
point for your team
 The real purpose for the game is to get the ball into the hoop
 The players are also given kneepads and helmets to protect them
from the heavy ball, but this is temporarily because the losers of the
game was sacrificed to the gods

6. Adapted Rules
 We’ll be using the basketball courts and hoops
 We’ll be using a dodge ball
 There be almost no contact
 You can only touch the ball with your body but not your hands
 If you drop the ball goes to the opposing team
 You can shoot the ball whoever you like
 You can only intercept the ball with your body (when you intercept
the ball the ball goes to your team)
 The teams can be mixed gender teams
 You can’t run with the ball
 You can’t kick the ball
 Teams between 12-15

7. The End
By: Sonny, Chris and
Ethan