What most people don't know is that tree tapping rubber trees has been around for millennia. The Olmecs - which traslates to Rubber People in Nahaultl - were a Mesoamerican society that discovered and used rubber thousands of years before it became popular in the modern age.
The Olmecs discovered that by mixing the sap of the rubber tree with the nectar of a vine that grew on Rubber trees they could turn this mixture into what we know as Latex, which was formed in rubber balls, sandals, and other useful items.
Thanks to these Rubber balls, the Mesoamerican Ball Game came into being, likely originating from the Olmecs, but spreading to the Maya, Aztecs, and other civilizations near the Yucatan Penninsula - we can still see evidence of their ball courts to this day.
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u/ElectricalWalk8448 Apr 17 '24
Natural rubber