The ball game, perhaps ritually signifying the transit of the sun and moon between the celestial and terrestrial spheres, was an important event in ancient Mesoamerican culture, considered necessary to maintain the cosmic cycle. The players wore wooden yokes around their waists to which stone hachas, representing trophy heads, were attached as an extra test of athletic prowess. Full-round head hachas, such as this one carved in basalt, occur relatively early in the development of the form. Boldly and expressionistically carved, this head seems aware of the life-or-death stakes of the game.