The Mesoamerican ballgame (ollamaliztli in Nahuatl , pitz in Classical Maya, modern Spanish "El juego de la pelota") was a sport with ritual associations played since 1,400 BCE by the pre-Columbian peoples of Ancient Mesoamerica. The sport had different versions in different places during the millennia, and a newer more modern version of the game, ulama, is still played in a few places by the indigenous population.