This clay figurine is the representation of a woman and comes from Tlatilco, so it is possible to date it between 1400 and 800 B.C. These types of objects add up to an important ceramic heritage within the Amparo Museum collection and their study allows us to make hypotheses about the role of women (modify) in agricultural societies of the cultural horizon that we call Preclassic (2500-200 B.C.).
The woman represented exhibits almost total nudity, she has voluptuous thighs, very wide hips, large buttocks, a slightly bulging belly and well-marked breasts, whose nipples were indicated by small diagonal lines. It is possible that these bodily features were intentionally highlighted in an attempt to allude to female fertility. It is striking that the woman's thighs are excessively large and almost square on the inside. This refers to the fact that the character wears a garment that partially covers her legs; that numerous Tlatilco figurines were represented wearing little skirts or pants.
On the other hand, the arms, hands and feet of the piece were reduced to their minimum expression, since these were barely rendered by stumps that contrast with the highlighted physical elements.
The woman's head, on the other hand, inevitably attracts the viewer's gaze, as it is too large in relation to the rest of the body and is also imbued with a greater amount of detail. Many of the Tlatilcan anthropomorphic figurines share the trait of an exaggerated head, since this body segment has the elements that clearly differentiate the individuals sculpted in clay.
The figure's face is expressionless, the nose is prominent, the lips are thick and were represented by a straight incision; the eyes were also made by incisions that have a perforation in the center that simulates the pupil. On the other hand, the woman has pierced lobes and a complex headdress that forms a kind of helmet: this is made up of a thick band adorned with geometric motifs and topped by a lock that runs down from the top of the head. The back of the costume is decorated by a small strip that originates at the nape of the neck and by two other long strips that reach the waist of the figure.
The headdress was made using pastillage and has traces of red pigment, so it is possible to think that it had textile or paper ornaments that were decorated with paint. Likewise, the body of the woman represented was decorated with body paint, since the face, arms and legs still have traces of pigment.
The headdress and body painting are possible indications that the individual depicted belonged to a high social stratum and that these ornaments were intended to highlight her good standing.
