The bat is not an uncommon figure in Mesoamerica; among the best known artistic representations are the Zapotecs, from the central valleys of Oaxaca, such as a mosaic breastplate of green stone in the form of a mask and several ceramic effigy vessels. Among the Mexica, a ceramic sculpture in a large format stands out in which an anthropomorphic bat was fashioned. It was found at the Miraflores site, in the State of Mexico, and it was exhibited in the Templo Mayor Museum, in Mexico City. It was worshiped as a god and was associated with decapitation (it appears in the headdress of a decapitator on a stele from Izapa, Chiapas, from the Late Preclassic period) and in general as an entity from the underworld, linked to night, the earth and to death.
The main feature that allows us to identify it is the curved protuberance between the eyes and on the forehead, which begins to project behind the nose. It is called an appendix or nose leaf, and some species of bats possess it. It is fleshy and its function is believed to be linked to the direction of echolocation signals emitted by the nose. Other features are the nose that is seen from the front with a rounded base and wide jaws with large fangs. The piece is fragmented and has lost the upper half of the ears; we can assume that they were large, concave and with a rounded contour.
As for the body, it lacks wings, but in the framework of sculpture in ancient Mexico, its predominant configuration was anthropomorphic, particularly with the body and postures of man. The palms of its hands are shown with menacing claws. The kind of stole or necklace with breastplate that adorns it is part of its human recreation. The inclined punching that the potter made on the body, on the fresh surface of the clay, are very noticeable, raising small sections; it is likely that this represents the animal's fur. The pupils and nose were painted black; the rest shows the natural color of the plaster. As can be seen on the hands, the sides of the head and from the base, it is a hollow object; the marked horizontal cutting of the base seems to indicate that a complement is missing.
The bat is not an uncommon figure in Mesoamerica; among the best known artistic representations are the Zapotecs, from the central valleys of Oaxaca, such as a mosaic breastplate of green stone in the form of a mask and several ceramic effigy vessels. Among the Mexica, a ceramic sculpture in a large format stands out in which an anthropomorphic bat was fashioned. It was found at the Miraflores site, in the State of Mexico, and it was exhibited in the Templo Mayor Museum, in Mexico City. It was worshiped as a god and was associated with decapitation (it appears in the headdress of a decapitator on a stele from Izapa, Chiapas, from the Late Preclassic period) and in general as an entity from the underworld, linked to night, the earth and to death.
