One of the most emblematic representations that has characterized the area of the Gulf Coast is the smiling faces, whose message of expressiveness is one of the most unique in Mesoamerica.
These figurines present a focalized spatial distribution between the Blanco and Papaloapan rivers, mainly at the sites of Nopiloa, Dicha Tuerta, Los Cerros and El Zapotal within the current municipality of Tierra Blanca. In the same way and although in smaller quantity and quality, they have been found in the northern part to the Actopan river basin, as well as in the Remojadas site in the Jamapa river basin, in the sites of Plaza de Toros, Cotaxtla and Atoyaquillo in the Cotaxtla river basin and to the south in the Tres Zapotes site in Los Tuxtlas (Daneels, 2012).
In addition to their facial expression, the smiling faces stand out for their headdresses, which show a diversity of representations among which herons, fish, the tail of the monkey that manifests itself through a coil or spiral, interlaces, scrolls and feathered snakes are noteworthy (Daneels, 2012; Reyes, 2014). In those that have been found intact, the palms of the hands raised to the front, interpreted by some researchers as a manifestation of prayer and adoration (Beverido, 2007: 54) are also noteworthy. Although the figurines shown here only have their heads, they have also been found with the whole body. Most were manufactured with a molding technique, although there are also some that were modeled; with respect to those that were molded, they were made with a complete mold (both head and body) and in parts, which were later assembled (Reyes, 2014).
Regarding their association with the deities, different suggestions have been made, among them those related to the deities of dance such as Macuilxochitl and Xochipilli (Ladron de Guevara, 2012) are noted. The main activities to which they have been related are music, that is, as musical instruments because they seem to have functioned as whistles and rattles, which could have been used in ceremonies of a ritual nature, likewise they formed part of some offerings. However, the use of these figurines in general depended on the archaeological context in which they were located: in landfills, which correspond to large concentrations of material located on the edges of the main mounds and which is the context in which most were found; offerings for the construction of main buildings, as a funeral offering, water offering, filling for the construction of domestic units and main mounds, as well as in domestic garbage dumps (Reyes, 2014).
The four pieces exhibited here, besides having the characteristic and expressive gesture of laughter, present cranial deformation. Their mouths are half-open and you can distinguish the upper teeth. As part of their decoration, they have circular earrings and their headdresses and the adornments hung from the front part of the face are varied: one (Figure 24) presents a tuft of hair in the center with two semicircular bands located at both ends; two (Figures 23 and 35) have a spiral or coil that comes out of one side of the head and reaches its central part, one of them also has a vertical incision at the opposite end from where the coil comes out, and the other figurine is wearing a lock of hair that comes out of the central part of the skull and ends at the opposite end of the coil. The other headdress (Fig. 22) represents a series of volutes.
The four figurines are hollow. Three of them have a fragmented neck, which could indicate that they also had a body and were not only composed of the face. Two show small perforations in the upper sides, so they were probably used as pendants.
