Under their yokes, many ballplayers wore a draped garment that provided additional protection from the rough cement and stone surface of the court. This ballplayer holds a small handstone, which, particularly in regions outside the Classic Maya domain, are frequently found with hachas and yokes. Just how such instruments were used in play remains obscure, but the Underworld deity on the central marker from Copan uses one to lift the ball, which may violate rules of fair play, or may be a legal way to set the ball in motion.
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