The greatest development of the pelota (ball) game occurred during the Late Classic on the Gulf Coast. The ritual ensemble of this activity was composed of three elements represented in sculpture and painting, as well as the physical artifacts obtained from offerings or fortuitous and out-of-context finds, these are: the yoke, the ax and the palm.
The yokes have an open or closed horseshoe shape, the proportions are generally standardized to around 40 cm long but can be found less than 20 cm and more than 50 cm. The stone production material is also variable, as well as the quality of the stone; representations can be null in smooth yokes or so elaborated that in truth they are works of art.
The practical function of these pieces is not yet clear because if graphic representations are placed on the figure's waist associated with the pelota game, the feasibility of carrying it along with the ax and the palm during the game is questionable; if it were an element only of the ritual process of the activity, the real symbolism of the ensemble is not known. Another of the theories deals with the fact that they were molds for yokes made of leather and filled with cotton made in high volume production for that period and in that region; it is difficult to define it from the variety of pelota game types developed in Mesoamerica from the Preclassic to the Post-Classic observed in the structural variants of the playing court in the Eric Taladoire classification; as well as in the Tepantitla mural, Teotihuacan, where different ways of playing are distinguished. Thus, perhaps in this region during this period a type of game was developed with the use of a yoke, such as the use of a cane, an elbow wrap or a glove.
The designs that can be found are varied, but generally in its frontal section zoomorphic elements are represented such as frogs, felines and owls, as well anthropomorphic faces, or a combination of these.
This piece corresponds to a horseshoe type yoke (open) of polished stone without pores 43.5 cm long, 37.5 cm wide and 15 cm high, as well as weighing 23 kg with the anthropomorphic representation at the frontal center. The face of the figure is square and the chin follows the flat form of the yoke. The eyes are semi-oblique with a high embossed outline and with the eyelids present; the pupils are not observed, nor are the tear ducts but the fold in that part of the eye is marked, as well as the superciliary arches. In the nose the nasal ages are not observed, the bridge and the nasal dorsum are thin until reaching the tip of the nose, the nostrils are wide and marked by curved incisions. The mouth is open with the corners turned slightly downward, the lips are contoured by a thick incision; in the features it can be seen that the naso-labial grooves are well marked; it does not have ears, but it does have large circular earrings with a central circular incision and an incised concentric circle.
From earring to earring a band that follows the contour of the face is raised and on the outside of the earrings an upper rolled design is observed. Directly on the strip (in the upper part of the yoke) the headdress of the figure is observed with three incisions in each, similar to the eaves of the figurines of the Center of Veracruz such as the Narigudo Gods type I A and II A described by Alfonso Medellin Zenil. In the upper and lateral central part of the yoke the flexed upper limbs of the anthropomorphic representation are observed with the hands marked by incision on each side and resting just behind the earrings.
In the lateral ends of the piece, two zoomorphic cephalic designs are carved that cover the entire height of the yoke, their direction is towards the edge; judging by the round design of the ears they could be feline with the nose open. The eye of the feline is circular in low embossing with a circular polished contour, in the nose there is an incised contour line that could represent the gum of the animal; the nose is oval with an incision to mark the nostril opening and the ear is in a high relief.
In the upper part, at the height of the zoomorphic heads, there is a bundle of four rods or reeds on each side with circular knots, the position of these elements is in the direction of the edge of the straight sides of the yoke.
