This sculpture accurately represents the characteristic style, of a limited naturalism, of the work produced in La Huasteca: very expressive, particularly in the face, and somewhat schematic in the design of the body. If we observe the lower part of the sculpture, we do not see any anatomical distinction in the section that would correspond to the shins and ankles; there are no curves, just two rectangular prisms and the feet are very short. On the arms, the curved line has an important role; it creates a certain naturalness in the bend of the elbows. However, what catches our attention the most, is the way in which the shoulders seem to be slightly raised.
This feature of raising the shoulders gives a certain expressiveness to the Huastec sculptures; we can appreciate it in the "Huastec adolescent" from the National Museum of Anthropology. It would seem that, the as we look up towards the head, the more the naturalism and expression are accentuated. The face is worked with detail, with the curves necessary to design the cheeks, with lips finely drawn and with the eye sockets (that probably had an inlay) well pronounced. We also observe the eyebrows and hairline.
The fact that the image is individualized and defined better at the face level and becomes more schematic the further down towards the feet corresponds in a certain way with the Mesoamerican notion of man and the human: the head is where an individual's soul is, which is what identifies people, while the soul located in the lower part, at abdomen level, is a generic soul, more like an animal's, typical of the species. In any case, this type of style, that in the same piece varies between naturalism and abstraction, with some almost geometric solutions and some strongly expressive strokes, links the sculptural production of La Huasteca with that of Tula and Tenochtitlan; the historical link between regions seems to have been important.
With to tregard he identity and meaning of the piece, it seems to be a representation of the priest of the wind god called Ehecatl in Nahuatl, whose worship is another one of the features that brings the Toltec-Mexica tradition closer to the Huastec. In both traditions this god is important and appears on platforms for circular temples. There are three features of the sculpture that can be associated with the wind god:
1) The conical hat, very characteristic of La Huasteca and inextricably linked to the representations of Ehecatl between the Nahuas and Mixtecs.
2) The long earring that has a curved end, and seems to be made with a piece of deer horn. We see it in representations of Ehecatl such as on sheet 19 of the Codex Borgia.
3) The other feature is the snails, that in our sculpture hang in a row from the skirt, and constantly appear in the images of the codices.
This sculpture accurately represents the characteristic style, of a limited naturalism, of the work produced in La Huasteca: very expressive, particularly in the face, and somewhat schematic in the design of the body. If we observe the lower part of the sculpture, we do not see any anatomical distinction in the section that would correspond to the shins and ankles; there are no curves, just two rectangular prisms and the feet are very short. On the arms, the curved line has an important role; it creates a certain naturalness in the bend of the elbows. However, what catches our attention the most, is the way in which the shoulders seem to be slightly raised.
