There are many distinct groups within the agglomeration referred to
as the Western Mexico Shaft Tomb (WMST) tradition, foremost among
them the Jalisco, Nayarit, and Colima. Their relationships are almost
totally obscure due to the lack of contextual information. However, it
is the artworks that are the most informative. All of the cultures
encompassed under the WMST umbrella were in the habit of burying
their dead in socially-stratified burial chambers at the base of deep
shafts, which were in turn often topped by buildings. Originally
believed to be influenced by the Tarascan people, who were
contemporaries of the Aztecs, thermoluminescence has pushed back
the dates of these groups over 1000 years.
Although the apogee of this tradition was reached in the last
centuries of the 1st millennium BC, it has its origins over 1000 years
earlier at sites such as Huitzilapa and Teuchitlan, in the Jalisco
region. Little is known of the cultures themselves, although
preliminary data seems to suggest that they were sedentary
agriculturists with social systems not dissimilar to chiefdoms. These
cultures are especially interesting to students of Mesoamerican
history as they seem to have been to a large extent outside the ebb
and flow of more aggressive cultures – such as the Toltecs, Olmecs
and Maya – in the same vicinity. Thus insulated from the perils of
urbanization, they developed very much in isolation, and it behooves
us to learn what we can from what they have left behind.
There are few cultures in the Americas or indeed elsewhere that can
match the Jalisco for exuberant skill in the production of figurative
ceramics. These wares were usually placed in graves, and do not
seem to have performed any practical function, although highly
decorated utilitarian vessels are also known. It is possible that they
were designed to depict the deceased – they are often very
naturalistic – although it is more probable that they constituted,
when in groups, a retinue of companions, protectors and servants for
the hereafter. Many of the figures represent warriors, judging from
their apparel and martial stance. These were probably protectors of
the deceased, symbolic of actual people who were buried with the
deceased as retainers in more sanguineous Central and Southern
American societies. Supernatural and more enigmatic figures are also
known, presumably representing aspects of Jalisco cultural heritage
(gods, spirits, ancestors, mythological figures etc) that cannot be
understood at the present time. However, perhaps the best-known
style is that of the maternity figure.
The current piece falls within the style known as the Ameca-Ezatlán
group, which is characterised by elongated faces, turban-like
headwear, wide mouths, large hands, defined nails and staring eyes
with elevated rims. The current piece is therefore a classic example
of the tradition. Insofar as theme is concerned, the subject matter is
likewise traditional. Just as in other sophisticated social systems
around the world – such as the Egyptians or Dynastic China – figures
were made to represent the sorts of people and resources that might
be needed in the hereafter. They were in this sense symbolic of
actual people, who were buried with the deceased as retainers in
more sanguineous Central and Southern American societies.
Seemingly supernatural figures are also known, presumably
representing aspects of Jalisco cultural heritage (gods, spirits,
ancestors, mythological figures etc) that are currently beyond our
understanding, while maternity figures are also fairly well-known. Of
all the groups, however, it is perhaps the warriors that are the most
dramatic.
This woman's skirt was once colored a lively red,
her breasts are tattoed, she wears earrings and
an elaborately wrapped kerchief. In a world which
emphasizes the new, we are sometimes
reminded that there are very basic human traits,
vanity among them, which have also survived the
ages intact.
