If you see this message, your browser is unable to view the answers through dynamic HTML. The answers to the questions are:

  1. What is this figure wearing? (Knee and elbow pads, with a hip bumper.)
  2. What is purpose did this costume serve? (Protect the player from the heavy, hard ball.)
  3. Is there any decoration on the player's equipment? (Evidence of patterns on the bumper and underneath. There is a face on the knee pad and the elbow pad is striped. Head shows some evidence of decoration.)
  4. What details have been simplified in this ABSTRACT sculpture? (Facial features, especially eyes, muscular details of the figure - the forms of arms and legs appear as cylinders. Hands and feet have no fingers or toes delineated.)
  5. Is this rattle an example of additive or subtractive sculpture? (Additive.)
  6. What makes you think so? (Clay is almost always modeled or molded. Wet clay doesn't have the rigidity of wood and so is extremely difficult to carve, while hardened clay is fragile and would break if carved.)
  7. How could you make an additive sculpture of marble? (By pegging pieces of marble together.)
  8. What is the difference between team sports and sports that individuals play? (Success in team sports depends on each member working together in order to advance the team.)
  9. Name the differences between the two rattles. Consider: materials, culture of the artists, treatment of human figures and features of STYLE. (The Veracruz rattle is made of clay and the Raven rattle is made of wood. Both of these artists are from North America, one from the Southwest and one from Northwest. While both rattles have human figures as part of their design, the Raven Rattle's dominant feature is a bird. The Raven Rattle shows traces of color while the Veracruz rattle does not.)
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Rattle in the Form of a Ball Player



Discussion Questions:

Rattle in the Form of a Ball Player
Rattle in the Form of a Ball Player
6th-9th century
Ceramic
The John R. Van Derlip Fund

Key Ideas
Story
Background
Discussion Questions

Look

  1. What is this figure wearing? Knee and elbow pads, with a hip bumper.
    What is purpose did this costume serve? Protect the player from the heavy, hard ball.
    Is there any decoration on the player's equipment? Evidence of patterns on the bumper and underneath. There is a face on the knee pad and the elbow pad is striped. Head shows some evidence of decoration.

  2. NATURALISTIC sculpture is made to look exactly as the subject would appear in nature, as it was seen in real life. In ABSTRACT sculpture details are simplified to stress overall shape or patterns.
    What details have been simplified in this ABSTRACT sculpture? Facial features, especially eyes, muscular details of the figure - the forms of arms and legs appear as cylinders. Hands and feet have no fingers or toes delineated.

Think

  1. The ballgame played by Mayans was the first team sport we know of.
    What is the difference between team sports and sports that individuals play? Success in team sports depends on each member working together in order to advance the team.
    Why do you think team sports continue to be popular? Do you play on a team?

  2. Compare this rattle to the Raven Rattle. Both of these works of art are rattles, but their overall STYLES or design qualities are different.
    Name the differences between the two rattles. Consider: materials, culture of the artists, treatment of human figures and features of STYLE. The Veracruz rattle is made of clay and the Raven rattle is made of wood. Both of these artists are from North America, one from the Southwest and one from Northwest. While both rattles have human figures as part of their design, the Raven Rattle's dominant feature is a bird. The Raven Rattle shows traces of color while the Veracruz rattle does not.
    Do you think these rattles were used for the same purpose? Why or why not?

  3. One theory regarding the purpose of ballgames in Mayan culture is that actual warfare may have been unnecessary to sustain the Mayan world order because conflicts and sacrifice were worked out in the ballgame. Would this strategy work for us today? Why or why not?
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