We are accustomed to recognizing the Mezcala tradition in anthropomorphic figures, but there are some other representations which formed part of the same carving tradition that show similar technical and stylistic solutions. Such as in the case of representations of fauna, like: monkeys, frogs, rabbits and snakes.
In all these figures we find the schematic solution and the tendency for strong abstraction. The serpent poses a problem since its representation demands more curves and volume than what is normally applied to Mezcala pieces. The zigzag remedy was a common solution, although there are also figures in which the body of the snake is a straight line.
Everything indicates that the stone representations of these animals formed a part of Mezcala grave goods, much in the same way as the Western shaft tombs, in which the presence of human figures was combined with that of animals. Such animals would have accompanied the deceased in both cases. What we have not been able to determine is the specific symbolism of each one that would justify their presence in the tomb. The dog is very frequent in the case of the shaft tombs, and that fact coincides with the belief that dogs accompanied the souls of the deceased on their journey to the underworld. However, we do not often see the dog in the Mezcala tradition.
With respect to the frog and snake, both emerge or penetrate and, in any case, transit between the wet inner earth and the outside.
We are accustomed to recognizing the Mezcala tradition in anthropomorphic figures, but there are some other representations which formed part of the same carving tradition that show similar technical and stylistic solutions. Such as in the case of representations of fauna, like: monkeys, frogs, rabbits and snakes.
