Leisure Activities

Prehistoric Indian communities engaged in a variety of leisure activities, including the games of ring and pin, lacrosse, and chunkey. At Aztalan, direct evidence shows that people played chunkey, 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 spot where they thought the stone would stop, with the closest throw winning. Chunkey was historically documented over a wide area of North America and was likely played at Aztalan in the large plaza area. Beyond competitive games, prehistoric Indian people sang, danced, played music with flutes, rattles, and drums, and told jokes and stories.

Aztalan, Wisconsin · United States