Ceramic figure of a ball player from the Nopiloa culture in Veracruz, Mexico. The ball player is seen wearing a ball game yoke around his waist to protect the body from solid rubber ball used to play the game. The ball player's headdress has a motif like the Mayan mat, a symbol of rulership. The body's figure is a whistle used in ritual ceremony. Knotted ties around the neck and hand of the ball player, connotating captured prisoners in Mayan culture.