Playing the Game: A Study of Hohokam Ballcourt Structures Using Performance Theory

Abstract

This thesis is a study of Hohokam ballcourt structures using a performance theory based approach. I use ballcourt maps to calculate a range for each ballcourt’s potential number of observers. I then compare that to the estimated population for the site in which the ballcourt is located. I do this to try and get a better understanding of how accessible Hohokam ballcourt structures may have been, which in turn can better inform archaeologists as to how they might have functioned in social integration. Ultimately, the purpose of this thesis is to attempt to answer three main questions: (1) Is ballcourt size influenced by the population size of the communities that built them? (2) What percentage of communities within the Hohokam Ballcourt Society had prime viewing of activities occurring within them? (3) Was access to these structures open to the public or was it controlled?