Leisure Activities

Leisure Activities. Aztalan National Historic Landmark. Prehistoric Indian communities engaged in a variety of leisure activities, like the games of "ring and pin" and lacrosse, which are well-known and still played today. While evidence of recreational activities at archaeological sites is often limited, we do have direct evidence that the people of Aztalan played "chunkey"., Chunkey was a game in which a small, round, ground stone artifact (called a chunkey stone or discoidal) was rolled across an open area while players threw spears at the location where they thought the stone would stop. Whoever came closest, won. Chunkey games have been historically documented over a wide area of North America., The illustration above, by the artist George Catlin, shows Mandan men engaged in the game while other members of the community watch. At Aztalan, this game was likely played in the large plaza area. Beyond enjoying competitive games, prehistoric Indian people sang, danced, played music (with flutes, rattles, and drums), and told jokes and stories...just as we do today., Photo caption: Chunky Stones.