The Death Relic (35 page)

He sighed dejectedly. ‘So close and yet so far.’

Jones was amused by the effort. ‘No one’s looking. Step over the damn rope.’

Ulster shook his head. ‘If I do, you will, too. And Jonathon. And Maria. Before you know it, the pyramid will crumble, and I’ll be the one to blame. I can’t have that on my conscience.’

‘You’re kidding, right?’

‘Not at all.’

Jones considered their options. ‘What if I pick you up and
throw
you onto the pyramid? Then it would be my fault, not yours.’

Ulster patted his belly. ‘The pyramid would crumble even sooner, I’m afraid.’

Payne tried to hurry this along. ‘What were you saying about a serpent?’

‘Ah, yes. The plumed serpent of El Castillo. Thank you for reminding me.’ He turned his back to the pyramid and faced the group. ‘As you probably know, the Maya were phenomenal astronomers. Without telescopes or lenses, they predicted eclipses, the rise and set of the Pleiades and the movement of planets and stars.’

‘How did they do that?’ Maria asked.

‘With carefully positioned window slats in their observatories.’

‘I don’t follow.’

To illustrate his point, he put his two hands together, as if he was about to pray to the heavens above. Then he separated his hands by half an inch. By staring through the space in between, he was able to focus on a narrow part of the sky. ‘The Maya constructed their buildings with such precision that they could chart celestial movement from a single room. One day the sun would move across the sky in one window slat. A month later it would move across the sky in the next window slat. And so on. By charting the sun’s progress throughout the hours, days and months, they knew where the sun would be with the accuracy of a marksmen.’

‘And the snake?’ Payne asked.

Ulster pointed at the serpent head to the west, the one he had been trying to touch. ‘As amazing as this sounds, the Maya angled this pyramid in such a way that sunlight, in the form of a serpent, crawls down this balustrade at sunset during the spring and autumn equinox until it is reunited with its head below. At any one moment, the snake is nothing more than sunlight and a series of triangle shadows, cast by the western corners of the pyramid, but viewed with time-lapse photography, the serpent of light appears to slither along this railing.’

Jones blurted, ‘Are you serious?’

Ulster nodded as he walked towards the western corner. Then he turned back and pointed at the side of the balustrade. ‘Notice the cut of the stones. They were shaped to look like the scales of a snake. When the light shines upon them, it truly looks like a serpent.’

‘That’s
really
cool.’

‘Twice a year, tens of thousands of people gather here at sunset to watch the return of Kukulkan. The biannual celebration is so popular, the Mexican government had to do something to lessen the massive crowds. So they started to hold nighttime shows throughout the year, using spotlights to simulate the serpent effect. In some ways, it’s even more pronounced because they can do it after sunset, when there’s far more contrast between light and shadow.’

Payne stared up at the pyramid. It really was an architectural marvel. One of the most impressive buildings he’d ever seen. ‘When was this built?’

‘Approximately one thousand years ago – give or take a hundred years. The temple inside is even older, though.’

Maria glanced at him. ‘The temple inside?’

He nodded. ‘In Mesoamerica, it was quite common to build one monument on top of another. The Aztecs did it. The Maya did it. Even the Spanish did it. Why rip something down and start from scratch when it’s far more economical to build on top of what was already there?’

‘They did that here?’

He nodded again. ‘Back in the 1930s, archaeologists didn’t know what was inside El Castillo. Bear in mind that this was less than a decade after Howard Carter’s discovery of King Tut’s tomb in Egypt, so the whole world was a little treasure crazy at the time. The Mexican government, hoping for a windfall, dug several exploratory tunnels into the pyramid until they found a staircase
underneath
the one we’re looking at now. The hidden stairs led to a temple chamber, where they found a Chac Mool and a jaguar-shaped throne.’

‘What’s a Chac Mool?’ she asked.

‘A Chac Mool is a sculpture of a reclining figure holding a bowl on his lap or stomach. You’ll see them throughout Mesoamerica. No one knows their origin or significance, but many believe that sacrifices – whether human or not – were placed in the bowl to appease the gods.’

Jones looked at Ulster. ‘Just a sculpture and a throne? No gold?’

He shook his head. ‘Despite their expertise in other fields, the Maya were latecomers in the field of metallurgy. In some parts of the New World, the craft was practised for two thousand years
before
the arrival of Christopher Columbus, yet as far as we can tell, the Maya never mastered the art. Though some gold discs and ornaments were found in the sacred well of Chichén Itzá, many archaeologists think they were made by craftsmen from the lower isthmus, not from artisans who grew up locally.’

Jones grumbled. ‘How disappointing! You know how much I like gold.’

Ulster smiled. ‘I know you do. Unfortunately, it was the Aztecs, not the Maya, who had all the gold. At the time of the Spanish conquest, Montezuma II was receiving more than two tons of gold in tribute every year. Of course, the conquistadores never found most of it. To this day, the mystery of the Aztec gold has never been solved.’

Payne rolled his eyes. This was how it always was with Ulster. He started on one topic – the shadow serpent of El Castillo – and ended up talking about something completely unrelated. If not for meals, the man would never shut up. ‘The Aztecs?
Really
? We’re standing in front of a Mayan pyramid, and you’re talking about the Aztecs? I thought you promised the short version.’

Ulster nodded, admonished. ‘Jonathon, my boy, you are quite right. I’ll save my Aztec lecture for another day. While we’re here, let’s focus on what’s
truly
important.’

Payne tested him. ‘Which is?’

Ulster shrugged. ‘I’m afraid I can’t recall.’

Payne held up his phone. ‘The redhead in this photo.’

‘Ah, yes! Now I remember. Let’s go and find that trollop before she disappears.’

Chichén Itzá was a major economic power during its heyday. As such, it was the focal point of a major trade route that brought unavailable resources – such as gold from Central America and obsidian from the west – into the region. But outsiders brought more than commerce inside the city’s walls. They also brought ideas for the city’s design. Unlike many ‘pure’ Mayan cities in Mesoamerica, Chichén Itzá is a mixture of several architectural styles, including the Puuc style found in the northern lowlands and the Toltec style of central Mexico.

The buildings themselves are grouped in a series of architectural sets, which were separated at one time by a succession of low walls. Most of the stone walls are no longer there, but the sets still remain, spread throughout the city like tiny suburbs. The most famous area is called the Great North Platform. It includes El Castillo, the Temple of the Warriors, the Platform of Venus and a grass field that caught Payne’s eye: the Great Ball Court.

Temporarily distracted from his search, Payne walked over to Ulster, who was showing Tiffany’s photo to a group of tourists. ‘Do you have a minute?’

Ulster nodded. ‘Of course, my boy. Of course!’

‘I know I just chastized you for your lecture about the Aztecs, but …’

‘Yes?’

Payne pointed at the field. ‘Is that what I think it is?’

Ulster grinned with delight. ‘I am
so
happy you asked. Knowing your background in sports, I was dying to tell you about it, but I heeded your warning and focused on the task at hand.’

Payne shrugged. ‘After all of our adventures together – talking about art, religion and whatever – this is
finally
something I care about. Therefore, I’m officially calling timeout with regard to the search. Please tell me about the field.’

‘With pleasure,’ he said as they walked towards the playing court. ‘Known as the Mesoamerican ball game, the sport can be traced to fifteen hundred years before Christ. The first fields were discovered—’

Payne cut him off. ‘Hold up! I’m stopping you right there. Do
not
ruin this moment for me. For the first time in our history, we finally get to talk about sports. I don’t care about its origins, or its symbolism, or anything else that would fill a university lecture. Just give me the basics. The ball. The rules. The players. Nothing else matters. That’s the beauty of sports.’

Ulster scratched his beard in thought. ‘Just the basics?’

‘Yes. Just the basics.’

‘I don’t know if I can talk like that.’

Payne smiled. ‘Try.’

Ulster gathered his thoughts as he stared at the field. Measuring 545 feet wide by 223 feet long, it was the largest ball court in ancient Mesoamerica. Two stone walls, nearly 39 feet in height, ran the entire length of the end zones. High in the middle of each wall was a stone ring, carved with intertwining serpents. ‘Let’s start with the field.’

‘Great.’

‘Unlike some modern sports, the dimensions of the field varied from place to place. This one is by far the largest ever discovered, more than five times as large as some other courts. However, some things remained constant. There were high walls on both ends with rings in the middle. And the object of the game was to get the ball through the hole.’

‘Like basketball.’

‘Yes and no. Instead of scoring through the top of a hoop, the ring was turned on its side, allowing players to shoot through the left or the right. Points were accumulated by a team for accomplishing certain feats, such as hitting the opponent’s wall or hitting the ring itself. Ultimately, though, the goal was to get the ball through the hole. If that occurred, the shooting team automatically won the game.’

Payne walked towards the left wall and stared at the ring. With an approximate diameter of a basketball hoop, it was more than 20 feet high in the air. ‘One goal and the game was over? That sounds pretty easy to me. Give me ten shots, and I bet I can make one.’

‘Trust me, my boy, it’s harder than it looks. The sport is still played in parts of Mesoamerica, and a typical game lasts for hours. Often no goals are scored.’

‘Hours? How could it last for hours?’

‘Unlike basketball, you can’t use your hands. Players were forced to use their elbows, hips and legs.’

Payne laughed. ‘Yeah, that would do it.’

‘Plus the balls were rather unwieldy.’

‘How so?’

‘They were eight inches in diameter and made of solid rubber. No bladders. No air pumps. No inflation. Solid rubber balls weighing eight to nine pounds each.’

‘That’s like a bowling ball.’

‘A bowling ball that bounced rather high. Of all the inventions the Spanish found in the New World, they were most amazed by the rubber balls. They’d never seen such a thing before.’

‘I guess that says something about the common man. Who cares about the giant pyramid? Tell me more about the bouncy thing. That cracks me up.’

Ulster smiled. ‘Because of the ball’s weight, they wore equipment like American football players. Helmets, arm pads, knee pads and so on. The sport was so brutal that some players died during the game. According to the Spanish, headshots and stomach shots were particularly fatal.’

‘I bet they were.’

‘Of course, fatalities were expected in ceremonial games, particularly at the end of the match. According to some historians, the captain of the winning team was sacrificed to the gods.’

‘Wait! They killed the
winner
? What kind of incentive was
that
?’

‘It guaranteed the captain’s place in heaven.’

‘Thank God we didn’t have that tradition at Annapolis. I was the captain of my football and basketball teams. I would have been killed for sure.’

Ulster explained further. ‘This game has been played for more than three thousand years throughout Mesoamerica. Different cultures had different traditions. The Aztecs, for instance, sacrificed captives before their games to honour their gods. Then they killed members of the
losing
team as food for the gods after the games. Sometimes, due to a scarcity of rubber in Tenochtitlan, the Aztecs would use human heads or skulls instead of balls.’

‘That’s disgusting.’

‘The Aztecs had skull racks positioned near their fields. The racks were rows of pointed sticks where the heads of the losing team would be placed after the game. Obviously, the sticks are long gone, but I’ve seen some particularly gruesome artwork depicting the practice.’ Ulster glanced at the wall, searching for something. ‘I believe the Maya had some grisly carvings somewhere near this court. If you like, I can try to find them.’

‘No thanks. I’ve seen plenty of dead guys in my lifetime.’

Ulster nodded. ‘I guess you have.’

Payne pointed at the base of the wall. It was slanted toward his feet at a 45-degree angle. ‘Is this some kind of anchor to hold the wall up?’

‘Architecturally, it might have had that purpose. Athletically, it served as a bench for players who were waiting to enter the game.’

‘I’ll be damned. The Maya had benchwarmers.’

‘No,’ he said, ‘I don’t believe the benches were heated. However, thanks to the direction of the midday sun—’

Payne cut him off. ‘Benchwarmers is a
sports
term. It means backups. Substitutes. Second-teamers. They aren’t on the field, so their job is to warm the bench with their butts.’

Ulster laughed. ‘What a strange-yet-accurate word! I’ll be sure to remember it. I thought I would be the only one imparting knowledge during this conversation, yet you’ve managed to teach me a colourful new term. Somehow I feel a tad smarter.’

‘As do I. Thanks for explaining the game to me.’

He threw his arm around Payne’s shoulder. ‘This is why we make such a wonderful team. I supply the academics, and you supply—’

‘Everything else.’