The purpose of the works of the Mezcala tradition was to enrich the burial services in the Middle Balsas River basin. Everything indicates that the majority of the pieces were used locally at the time they were manufactured. However, some pieces of the Mezcala tradition or imitations of them appeared in different sites, such as Teotihuacan. It was either through tribute or due to trade networks that the Teotihuacans learned of the stone carving tradition of the south and considered it interesting enough to acquire pieces to complete their own offerings.
This image, together with those with record numbers 959 and 980, has a particularly notable resemblance to pieces found in Teotihuacan offerings. The eyes have been carefully created to form cavities that can receive colored stones. The deep and open mouth differs from the majority of Mezcala designs. Perhaps this piece was made specifically for Teotihuacan, which would justify its distance from those that we believe were used in local burial offerings.
As we take a closer look at the subject, we are able to make more accurate classifications and distinctions in order to comprehend the Mezcala tradition, and the hypothesis that the artists of the Middle Balsas River also worked to satisfy certain foreign demands, especially those of Teotihuacan, in which case they would have accepted some features of the style to satisfy criteria different to local ones.
The purpose of the works of the Mezcala tradition was to enrich the burial services in the Middle Balsas River basin. Everything indicates that the majority of the pieces were used locally at the time they were manufactured. However, some pieces of the Mezcala tradition or imitations of them appeared in different sites, such as Teotihuacan. It was either through tribute or due to trade networks that the Teotihuacans learned of the stone carving tradition of the south and considered it interesting enough to acquire pieces to complete their own offerings.
