According to current consensus, it is very likely that this work is almost contemporary to pan-Mesoamerican development of the Olmec style and cultures of places like Tlatilco and Tlapacoya in the central basin of Mexico, and of the El Opeño and Capacha, who settled in the West region, among others, and whose era is between 1200 and 400 B.C.
This is an early period of pre-Columbian history of Mexico in which intense interaction between societies is noted, which entails a shared ideology and achievements with a strong local accent. Thus, the Xochipala style, which our sculpture displays, is unique and at the same time shows some similarity to some of the sculptural ceramic types identified in the Central Mexican Highlands. It is appropriate to emphasize its unique realistic character, unfortunately poorly studied like the culture that originated it, and of which the most recognized thus far is an artistic production expressed in ceramic human figures modeled in small forms.
Xochipala is a mountain town located in the basin of the Mezcala River in the foothills of the Sierra Madre del Sur; It is located in the central region of the state of Guerrero. El Zacatoso, Las Mesas, Las Tejas and Llano Delgado are some of the sites with burial vestiges in the Xochipala area, where works such as those seen here have been reported.
The volumes were worked comprehensively, both front and back; the facial features are fine, the anatomical proportions correspond with natural patterns and the details were carefully executed, as seen in the hair, the slight highlighting of the eyebrows, cheeks and chin, eyelids, eyeballs and pupils, the nostrils, mouth, lips and teeth, fingers and toes, nipples, navel, ts and body muscles, such that the ancient artists of Xochipala materialized a concept of artistic realism very close to what prevails today.
The iconographic repertoire is varied: naked men and women without ornaments, but with simple delicate hairstyles, or with some article of clothing, such as capes, skirts and maxtlatl (type of loincloth); the diversity of positions is remarkable, usually the arms are separated from the torso and, particularly, it is appropriate to emphasize the costumes that indicate a ritual purpose; among these we find rattles, male and female ball players and characters in feathered costumes such as this one.
Our bird-man wears a sort of hat with a conical protrusion on the back; it has large circular ear-flaps, the red paint on the neck, hands and feet emphasize that he is wearing a costume; the same color stands out on his back, at the waist a knot from which a long ribbon hangs, and again, it can be noted that the individual wears a different skin.
Through pastillage or tiny applications of overlapping clay, each thin feather of medium length is formed. The image evokes a ritual in which the character is transformed into a bird and acquires, in principle, the ability to fly and ascend to upper strata of the universe. Also, the art of the feathers is implied and thus, an acute knowledge of birds, their breeding to take advantage of the feathers, the development of technologies to manufacture multiple objects, as well as the different meanings and symbolism attributed to the variety of species.
The hands are an example of the specificity of the image's messages that we fail to understand: the right one is extended and the left in a fist; more than a simple arrangement, they seem to be gestures with special cultural meanings.
