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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.
但这样的比赛并不只是竞技体育。它们在古代中美洲人的信仰中还占有特殊的位置。我们的石制腰带提供了一条解开这些神秘信仰的线索。腰带外侧雕有图案，前方弯折处刻了一只光润的蟾蜍。它的大嘴与弯折处等长，眼后方的球根状腺一直延伸到蜷曲的后腿。动物学家称之为美洲巨蟾蜍。但依我们的审美角度，它就是一只奇丑无比的动物。
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:
也许我们了解这条腰带的关键是，这种蟾蜍会分泌出一种致幻物质，而中美洲人视之为一位土地女神的化身。球类比赛的腰带上刻着各种生活在地下的动物，因此它们可能都是某种大型仪式的部分, 而不是单独存在的。激烈的比赛象征着生与死两股巨大的力量无穷尽的争斗。迈克尔惠廷顿解释道:
"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.
我认为这是中美洲人世界观的一个隐喻。中美洲玛雅人的史 《波波尔乌》中提到了一对孪生兄弟，乌纳普和斯巴兰克。
