page_title: El Chanal
section_title: Ballgame court
hierarchical_section_title: El Chanal / The site / Ballgame court
caption_attribution_description: Estructura del Chanal
context_page_description: El Chanal is an archaeological site located at El Chanal town, 4 kilometres north of the Colima City, Mexico. Based on its extension, over 50 hectares, it is probable that it was the largest settlement of the Colima state; it developed on both banks of the “Río Verde” or Río Colima. This archeological zone is maintained by the people of El Chanal. The area may have been inhabited by native groups around 1300 BC, achieving its maximum splendor between 1100 and 1400 CE. There is a Nahuatl connection shown by archaeological materials representing deities such as Tláloc and Ehécatl.
  Architectonically, the Chanal used the double temple concept, palaces with portals, ceremonial spaces with Mesoamerican ballgame, sidewalk-altar and altar-platform. Ceramics found indicates the massive use of braziers and “sahumerios”, associated with ceremonial rituals.
  Some polychromatic images recreate divine attributes, observed in stone reliefs which have made this site somewhat famous.
  Obviously there are many unknowns about the solemnity and majesty that surround the ceremonial spaces. But what we do know is that the whole town is and archeological zone that more treasures might found there.
context_section_description: Located south of the “Plaza del Tiempo”, separated by a corridor, measures 38 by 13.5 meters.
  The presence of a Mesoamerican ballgame court in the south of the archaeological site as part of ceremonial spaces is evidence of the strong religious life of the site. The cosmic sense of the town allowed battles by deities to culminate at the court, that fought day after day and allowed the reign of day and night and, hence the construction of the “Time Plaza”, include in the northeast the “Day and Night” Plaza and the “Water Plaza” at the northwest. The game deity was Xolotl that accompanied the sun in its passage through the underworld and announced its success over darkness by means of Venus, the morning star. The game rules, played by men, featured, a fundamental character for the world future. It is very probable that human sacrifice contemplated the magic that allowed supporting the fight of the light against the darkness.
caption: Pyramidal Structure.
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