The vessel evokes a wild boar or collared peccary; it is a relatively true representation that emphasizes the strength and the weight of the head with a long snout and a solidly shaped body standing up on short paws. Together with the white-tailed deer, the antelope, the rabbit, ducks and turtles, as well as abundant aquatic animals, the collared peccary (Dicotylus tajacu) was a part of the diet of the ancient inhabitants of the Valley of Mexico, as has been confirmed by studies of the skeletal remains that have accompanied the vestiges of the inhabited settings of the site.
But, why, among the many other animals that served as food, did they choose to represent this one in clay and deposit its effigy in the burial sites, where it is certain that there are no remains of such animal? The question cannot be answered, just as the case of the beautiful effigy of the duck in the collection cannot either. In comparison with other older Tlatilca representations of wild boar, such as the one in the National Anthropology Museum, the effigy has retained the general shape that communicates very well the strength of the animal concentrated in its head, but has lost the dexterity in the handling of the surface which has neither the careful burnishing nor the decoration with the impression of a rocker to evoke characteristic coarse bristles.
The vessel evokes a wild boar or collared peccary; it is a relatively true representation that emphasizes the strength and the weight of the head with a long snout and a solidly shaped body standing up on short paws. Together with the white-tailed deer, the antelope, the rabbit, ducks and turtles, as well as abundant aquatic animals, the collared peccary (Dicotylus tajacu) was a part of the diet of the ancient inhabitants of the Valley of Mexico, as has been confirmed by studies of the skeletal remains that have accompanied the vestiges of the inhabited settings of the site.
