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 figure, covered with a richly burnished
orange slip, is a hollow vessel designed to hold
an offering. There is a strange beauty to this
piece, as if the artist had given a practical
function through eternity to what in life was a
useless deformity. The vision of the sculptor
does not blink--he treats the hunchback with
compassion but not with pity.
