The Classic-period site of Naachtun in Petén, Guatemala, yielded a patolli board inlaid with more than 450 red and orange ceramic sherds directly into the floor of an elite residence, dating to the fifth century C.E. Unlike previously documented stucco-engraved boards, this mosaic-like example appears to have been constructed during the building phase, indicating planned, long-lived use. Patolli was a widespread Mesoamerican race-and-wager game that also held ritual significance; its eastern placement and red coloration at Naachtun echo Maya solar symbolism. The find expands our understanding of how leisure, ritual and domestic architecture intersected in Classic Maya society.
5th-Century Patolli Board Inlaid into a Maya Home Floor at Naachtun
The Classic-period site of Naachtun in Petén, Guatemala, yielded a patolli board inlaid with more than 450 red and orange ceramic sherds directly into the floor of an elite residence, dating to the fifth century C.E. Unlike previously documented stucco-engraved boards, this mosaic-like example appears to have been constructed during the building phase, indicating planned, long-lived use. Patolli was a widespread Mesoamerican race-and-wager game that also held ritual significance; its eastern placement and red coloration at Naachtun echo Maya solar symbolism. The find expands our understanding of how leisure, ritual and domestic architecture intersected in Classic Maya society.
10:37 PM, 11/19/2025Culture
Archaeologists working at Naachtun in modern-day Petén, Guatemala, have uncovered a Classic-period Maya board game embedded directly into the floor of a large residence. Dated to roughly the fifth century C.E., the patolli board was created by pressing hundreds of red and orange ceramic sherds into fresh mortar, producing a durable, mosaic-like playing surface.
The discovery—described in a recent paper in Latin American Antiquity—differs from previously known examples of patolli, which are typically engraved into stucco floors or benches. In this case, the divisions of the board were outlined with inlaid sherds during construction rather than incised afterward, suggesting that game boards could be planned components of domestic architecture and enjoy a long use life.
What the find reveals
The inlaid board occupies a roughly 30-inch-by-45-inch area and contains more than 450 red and orange fragments, some of which appear to be repurposed household vessel sherds. Its location on the eastern side of the compound aligns with a broader Maya pattern of siting patolli boards toward the east and using red coloration—symbolically tied to the rising sun.
Patolli was played across Mesoamerica from about 200 B.C.E. into the 1500s C.E., popular with the Toltecs, Aztecs and Maya. Players raced pieces around a track, often wagering on outcomes; black beans with a drilled hole were commonly used as dice. The game could be a form of gambling but also assumed ritual dimensions, with players sometimes offering small sacrifices to deities during play.
Excavators interpret the room as part of a high-status household. Naachtun sits between the great centers of Tikal and Calakmul and was most prominent between about 250 and 900 C.E. The decision to inlay hundreds of sherds into the floor instead of simply etching a design marks one of the earliest known examples of floor mosaic in a Maya domestic context and ranks among the oldest patolli boards discovered to date.
Archaeological significance: The Naachtun board shows that recreational, ritual and architectural planning intersected in Classic-period Maya daily life—game boards could be durable, built-in features of homes rather than temporary or purely decorative motifs.