"Primitive" Figure with Ball on Shoulder ~ Any Clues?

Hi, and thank you for your kind interest. This “primitive” figure stands approx. 12” tall and weighs in at approx. 3 1/2 pounds. He is holding up a ball on his right shoulder, possibly the earth? It appears to be made of sandstone or some similar material. There are reflective bits, almost like tiny glitter, embedded in the stone. Estate sale find. There are no markings and it looks old. Looks Aztec? Thank you in advance!

 

Perhaps it's made from clay and not stone? Reflective bits could be mica-- little flakes of silica.

Here's a Mayan ball / game player:



https://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/home/games-and-other-amusements-of-the-ancient-mesoamericans

 

Wow, thank you! Yes, probably clay. I found a very similar figure or The Metropolitan Museum’s website that even has the dots on the left shoulder. I love putting these puzzles together! Thanks, again!

 

It is loosely based on Nayarit culture (or related) figures. Not pre-Columbian/pre-Conquest, but fairly recently made.

In pre-Conquest times the sacred ballgame was played in most of Mexico and parts of Central America and even parts of what is now the US. More on the ballgame:
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/mball/hd_mball.htm

 

Thank you so much!

 

I really like these larger figures - popular in the 70's. I found this guy, an impressive 18" tall and a hefty 15 lbs.

 

And the nice ones have become collector's items in their own right.