The cultural diversity of Western Mesoamerica is a widely unknown matter. The pair of works that we see is the testimony of a development that, according to the research of Isabel Kelly, took place in the lower Ameria river basin in an area near the Pacific ocean, which corresponds to the Post-classic period. However, beyond relatively limited distinctive ceramic art production, almost nothing is known of their creators. In the archaeological bibliography related to Colima, this ceramic tends to be attributed to the "new tradition culture". However, the concept is diffuse. It applies to developments after the year 600 A.D.- that is, those that followed the shaft tombs culture.- and covers up to the end of the Prehispanic era; in this dilated lapse there were varied, heterogeneous cultural identities that this term seems to bestow a historical unity or connection that they did not have; thus the term encomes the unknown.
In this sense, artistic production becomes a basic source of knowledge, and its statistical analysis contributes objective information. The name of the "Periquillos" style is derived from the name that Isabel Kelly gave the phase in which she ed the creation of this ceramic: Periquillos is an ancient ranch that is currently an area located in the municipality of Armeria.
From what can be seen, the appearance of human beings with flattened bodies dominates the Periquillos style: the eyes and mouth always appear with horizontal slits; the nose is a large triangular projection pointed upward, which generally has a pair or a series of pastillage applications on the length of the nostrils; on the front, the part of the nose called the columella stands out. Kelly also distinguishes three variants; two appear in sculptures and one on effigy vessels. We will address the sculptural ones, which are volumes modeled in bulk, with limited details on the front part.
She called the first variant horizontal lines, as can be seen in the model from the Amparo Museum, it features upright figures with long bodies, no legs and suggested feet and arms-hands; the holes in the earlobes indicate the use of adornments made with perishable materials; the slits in the arms-hands portray both fingers and bracelets; the face and the body show straight red lines and some wavy lines.
The second modality, which she called smooth red, is seen in the second sculpture. In addition to the pictorial treatment, it is characterized by the modeling of squatting men with outstretched arms, with bracelets, their hands resting on their knees, their heads have bands and large circular ear-flaps. Sometimes the ears exhibit the aforementioned piercings. Motherhood is also found in this variant. In both variants the bulging breasts determine the feminine figure. Although genitals are not seen, I infer that these are nudes, particularly because the painted lines appear the same on the face and body. As is traditional in ceramic sculpting of the ancient West, this is ornamented nakedness, either using elements modeled in clay or perchance with pieces left from other materials.
The static postures and the squinting eyes confer solemnity on the pieces, while the figurines boast exaggerated features. The strange and eye-catching form of the nose undoubtedly responds to the desire to adorn it as an expression of the high status of the individuals represented; the pastillage on the nose could be fastened as a clip or by piercing. Squatting masculine figures are a long tradition in the art of the western region, dating back to the Middle Preclassic Period, and can be interpreted as a convention to denote elevated hierarchy.
The cultural diversity of Western Mesoamerica is a widely unknown matter. The pair of works that we see is the testimony of a development that, according to the research of Isabel Kelly, took place in the lower Ameria river basin in an area near the Pacific ocean, which corresponds to the Post-classic period. However, beyond relatively limited distinctive ceramic art production, almost nothing is known of their creators. In the archaeological bibliography related to Colima, this ceramic tends to be attributed to the "new tradition culture". However, the concept is diffuse. It applies to developments after the year 600 A.D.- that is, those that followed the shaft tombs culture.- and covers up to the end of the Prehispanic era; in this dilated lapse there were varied, heterogeneous cultural identities that this term seems to bestow a historical unity or connection that they did not have; thus the term encomes the unknown.
