The purpose of the works of the Mezcala tradition was to enrich the burial services in the Middle Balsas River basin. Everything indicates that the majority of the pieces were used locally at the time they were manufactured. However, some pieces of the Mezcala tradition or imitations of them appeared in different sites, such as Teotihuacan. It was either through tribute or due to trade networks that the Teotihuacans learned of the stone carving tradition of the south and considered it interesting enough to acquire pieces to complete their own offerings.
It is worth noting that some pieces close to the Mezcala tradition also show a series of features that we find in Teotihuacan. In this figure, the drawing of the head resembles the Mezcala pentagon; the stiff arms on the sides and the cut between the legs coincide with the Mezcala tradition. The use of lines like in sgraffito is not foreign to pieces of the Balsas River basin either. However, the headdress does not correspond to the region, but is in fact common in Teotihuacan.
As we take a closer look at the subject, we are able to make more accurate classifications and distinctions in order to comprehend the Mezcala tradition, and the hypothesis that the artists of the Middle Balsas River also worked to satisfy certain foreign demands, especially those of Teotihuacan, in which case they would have accepted some features of the style to satisfy criteria different to local ones.
The purpose of the works of the Mezcala tradition was to enrich the burial services in the Middle Balsas River basin. Everything indicates that the majority of the pieces were used locally at the time they were manufactured. However, some pieces of the Mezcala tradition or imitations of them appeared in different sites, such as Teotihuacan. It was either through tribute or due to trade networks that the Teotihuacans learned of the stone carving tradition of the south and considered it interesting enough to acquire pieces to complete their own offerings.
