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But these games were far more than just competitive sports, they held a special place in the belief system of the ancient Central Americans, and our stone belt is a clue to these hidden beliefs. Along the outside of the belt are carved designs, and on the front of the curve of the horseshoe shape, cut into the polished stone, is the stylised image of a toad. I can see a broad mouth stretching the whole length of the curve, and behind the eyes bulbous glands that extend back to the crouched hind legs. Zoologists have even been able to identify the species as the Giant Mexican Toad-'Bufo marinus'. But to us it's just an ugly, rather sinister animal.
但這樣的比賽并不只是競技體育。它們在古代中美洲人的信仰中還占有特殊的位置。我們的石制腰帶提供了一條解開這些神秘信仰的線索。腰帶外側雕有圖案，前方彎折處刻了一只光潤的蟾蜍。它的大嘴與彎折處等長，眼后方的球根狀腺一直延伸到蜷曲的后腿。動物學家稱之為美洲巨蟾蜍。但依我們的審美角度，它就是一只奇丑無比的動物。
Perhaps the key to understanding this object is that this toad excretes a hallucinogenic substance, and Central Americans believed that it represented an earth goddess. Belts for ball games were made with various underworld animals carved into them, and this tells us that they were meant to be viewed not individually but rather as part of a broader ritual. It seems that the painful intensity of the ball game symbolised the constant cosmic struggle between the forces of life and death. Here's Michael Whittington again:
也許我們了解這條腰帶的關鍵是，這種蟾蜍會分泌出一種致幻物質，而中美洲人視之為一位土地女神的化身。球類比賽的腰帶上刻著各種生活在地下的動物，因此它們可能都是某種大型儀式的部分, 而不是單獨存在的。激烈的比賽象征著生與死兩股巨大的力量無窮盡的爭斗。邁克爾惠廷頓解釋道:
"Well I think it's absolutely a metaphor for how Mesoamericans view the world. When you look at one of the great creation stories in Mesoamerica-the Popol Vuh-there are twins. Their names were Xbalanque and Hunahpuh.
我認為這是中美洲人世界觀的一個隱喻。中美洲瑪雅人的史 《波波爾烏》中提到了一對孿生兄弟，烏納普和斯巴蘭克。
