The reiteration of the form of this vessel stands out as well as the function of the whole work as a container. Notwithstanding the figurative qualities, the main volume maintains the traditional configuration of the containers, which refers to basic geometric silhouettes; in this case it is a pitcher with a globular body with a concave neck and everted edge; the latter accentuates the mouth or opening because it protrudes so much.
The human appearance is limited to overlapping or projecting forms, so that the neck becomes a head because of the face, composed of eyes, nose, mouth and ears, and the body of the vessel is that of a man who extends his arms to the front and carries a bowl as if in offering or to it within the reach of someone; the suggested position of the rest of the body is that of a person squatting, leaning on the buttocks and soles of the feet; the elbows are resting on the knees; the conjunction of the limbs synthesized with the spherical shape of the pitcher represents an obese person.
We may suppose that he is naked and although he lacks genitals I clearly identify him as a man because of the sitting position indicated and the absence of breasts which are characteristic of the male representations in the sculpture of the people of the shaft tombs.
I mentioned that the whole work functions as a vessel; this is in practical since the bowl has, in its interior, two circular orifices that correspond with the location of the arms; it is probable that, in the case of containing some liquid, it would flow perfectly between the bowl and the effigy pitcher, since the arms and legs are also hollow.
The size of the bowl is similar to that of the head, which emphasizes its importance, it also has a decorative feature: a small convex depression that forms a neck. The absence of ornaments in the human figure is striking, in my opinion, it refers to his function as an offerer and, in this sense, highlights the role of food and drink in burial rituals.
Not only in the historical context of the shaft tomb culture, but in all Mesoamerican peoples, the deceased were not usually conceived as inert matter, transcending the biological, their existence continued, perhaps in varied statuses but always in force in the communities, in their social, political, economic, religious and daily dynamics. For their life after death, their trip to Mictlan or their stay in the underworld, the deceased was provided with resources, and among them, the ceramic vessels with food stand out.
In the burial complex itself of the shaft tomb culture I deduce that the ceramic vessels are the main offering that accompanied the dead. They are the predominant objects in all tombs, from those which are perceived as the simplest to the most elaborate; they were introduced into the chambers even as fragments and patched pieces; on the other hand, there are tombs in which they are the only objects present. The largest known number of vessels in spaces of this type is 110 and it corresponds to the famous tomb of Huitzilapa, in Magdalena, Jalisco. Another large example is the Tomb of sector 1 of Cerro del Agua Escondida, in the Sayula, Jalisco basin, which was found to have been looted, but according to the informants, it contained more than 70 pottery vessels - together with at least 3 individuals.
For most of the Huitzilapa vessels, Bruce F. Benz's botanical and zoological studies reveal that they contained prepared and raw food; the most common organic material appears to be a calcified fungal filament; there were also epidermis of plants, perhaps animal flesh, fish bones, small birds and mammals; and certain parts of insects are common. In addition, the bacterium Bacillus tequilensis was detected, in direct allusion to the tequila drink.
We do not know what was inside our effigy pitcher, but the fact that it is simultaneously the image of an offerer insinuates his dedication to a dead man of high hierarchy and the relevance of the content.
