The Maya villagers of today marvel at the monumental wonders of their ancestors and are helping archaeologists protect the Maya heritage. Gold of the Maya , jade was worn by kings and queens to symbolize their divine power. Painstakingly worked eccentric flints , perhaps outlined with the faces of noble ancestors, were offerings to the Maya gods of sky and underworld when buildings or monuments were dedicated. Schools of scribes wrote bark-paper books outlining days of good fortune and sacrifice in the cycles of sun, moon, and stars. Of the hundreds of Maya books, called codices, that must have been painted only a few survive.
Many tombs contain remnants of codices, their fragile paper destroyed by centuries of damp.
But the stakes aren't quite so high today. Maya players of the past, protected by thick cotton waist pads, tried to hit a hard rubber ball, or the head of a captive , off the sides of a stone alley without using their hands.