Ancient Female Ballplayer from Huasteca Region on Exhibit

The six-foot woman, carved in pale stone, is adorned with a peaked headdress, circular earrings, and the wide hip belt and kneepads of an ancient Mesoamerican athlete. Her expression exudes fierceness, and her pose radiates triumph. In her right hand, she firmly grasps the severed head of a sacrificial victim by the hair.

This sculpture marks the first ever life-size representation of a…