It is probable that this work was carried out within the framework of the shaft tomb culture, settled in Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, southern Zacatecas and the neighboring parts of Michoacan from 300 B.C. to 600 A.D.; here other "axes" were found in anthropomorphic and zoomorphic gray stone, some as an offering to the deceased.
In the area of Mesoamerica the conventional name of ax is given to objects of hard stone with a closed form; this does not imply that they serve as cutting tools, or that they had a practical use, therefore the term "votive" applies, in the sense of its symbolic or ritual function.
The one at hand has a schematic anthropomorphic appearance; it is three-dimensional and is two-sided; on its two main sides, in the upper part, one sees the profile of a human head that is directed upwards, with a large aquiline nose and a closed mouth, its closed eyes evoke a dead individual, who also wears a headdress or helmet that resembles a part of a bird's head. Then we see a ridge and eyes like circular dents, along with the above mentioned aquiline nose; the outline resembles a macaw, a parakeet, or parrot. Continuing downwards, the neck is marked and the torso is limited to a tubular body with a grid surface that resembles a cob; the piece ends on a semi-spherical base.
It does not show wear marks that could indicate usage, there is only a small accidental scrape near the base. However, the design looks like a weapon, in the manner of a mallet, suitable to hold with one hand the spherical part of the object and give blows with the upper end.
Frequently, in Mesoamerica some of the weapons had figurative designs; the qualities of this piece would undoubtedly be linked to the character of the object or its bearer. The weapons were also reproduced in materials that eliminated their practical functions, so that they became identity attributes and power badges that of the elite would flaunt in public, also, they formed part of their burial arrangements, in a new status of vitality and existence after death.
It is probable that this work was carried out within the framework of the shaft tomb culture, settled in Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, southern Zacatecas and the neighboring parts of Michoacan from 300 B.C. to 600 A.D.; here other "axes" were found in anthropomorphic and zoomorphic gray stone, some as an offering to the deceased.
