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The name Xochipala has been attached to an early style of
figurines and pottery unearthed in the modern Mexican
state of Guerrero. Xochipala figures are noteworthy not
only for naturalism, but also for their age. The Xochipala
style dates to the Early Formative period of Pre-
Columbian Mesoamerican history (around 1800- 200
B.C.), making them among the earliest works of figurative
art in the region, contemporaneous with the more
celebrated Olmec culture of the Gulf Coast. While certain
scholars have tried to trace links between the Olmec and
Xochipala styles, other scholars have ardently disagreed,
making it possible that any artistic similarities may have
derived from cross-cultural influences and not direct
relations. While the Olmecs may have overshadowed the
Xochipala culture in our contemporary popular knowledge
of Mesoamerican history, Xochipala figures are almost
universally praised by scholars and connoisseurs for their
striking naturalistic modeling and sensitive depictions.
In Pre-Columbian art there is much tenderness
and understanding where children are
concerned. Caught between a baby's pudginess
and the slimmer lines of youth, a child stands
before us expressing something that is clearly
important to him. As adults, we perhaps don't
treat his question quite so seriously, but do we
remember how vital these things seemed to us
when we were young?
- (PF.0539)
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