The accentuated solemnity expressed by the figure in the act of taking a drink indicates a ritual consumption; in the iconographic repertoire of shaft tomb culture art, often men and women are associated with various containers; these objects participate prominently in the identity of the individuals expressed, as in referring to food or to substances and their importance in this kind of art which is predominantly of a burial nature.

The theme materialized in different ways in the many artistic schools; the Valley of Colima that generated the Comala style, to which our sculpture is ascribed, offers the most outstanding set in of the high ceremonialism transmitted; there are always small kidney-shaped vessels born by male figures, either with one or two hands, at the height of the mouth, held up to the mouth, whether the head is facing forward or to the left. These drinkers are modeled seated on their buttocks with their legs crossed or bent somewhat towards the front, and show a very peculiar cone shaped protuberance on their head. There is no certainty as to what it represents, but the artists did not intend to present it as an element pertaining to human nature, since in many pieces there are bands marked that clearly hold up the head.

In the work we are viewing there is a clear emphasis on the stylization of the forms, as seen in the fusion of each hand with objects being held and the vessel with the mouth, and in the absence of a strap from which to hang the breastplate, and of the toes; from such artistic criteria the lack of complementarity of the headdress becomes coherent. Among the possibilities of what is represented by the conical projection, there is that of a horn, section of a tusk or apex of snail shell; the most feasible would be a zoomorphic element and it is definite that the man acquires supernatural connotations: he should be interpreted as a figure with religious functions, perhaps a priest performing a ingestion ritual, perhaps to alter consciousness and establish communication with the divine.

What would be the liquid that this culture associates with the kidney shaped basins and with the image of the drinker? In view of the scarcity of biological analyses, it is appropriate to mention that in the recipients serving as offerings in the shaft tombs and the chamber located in Jalisco, the bacteria Bacillus tequilensis has been detected as an indication that it was a fermented agave substance. In the context of ancient Mexico the production and sacred character of a variety of fermented alcoholic beverages has been amply recognized; nevertheless, the ritual liquids are numerous, among them water, blood, semen and cacao can also be found.

In the same Comala style there are drinkers with trophy heads, and other male figures also hold decapitated heads that are analogous with recipients; they are images that evoke blood as a ritual drink, as well as war and the sacrifice of the defeated. In a possible relationship with warfare, our drinker is raising a curved object in the right hand that may be intended as a weapon and a position of attack. The highlighted genitals and vertebrae are other features that contribute to the uniqueness of this piece among the Comala style drinkers. There are some nudes but they do not show their sexual organs; nevertheless, it is normal that characters of high status appear nude and even with a phallus; this piece in particular the anatomical interest is notable as the testicles have been modeled as well.

The large circular breastplate corroborates the aforementioned social condition; it is very feasible that it represents the shell of a bivalve mollusk; continuing with the ornaments, the orifices in the ears seem apt to have at one time earrings made of perishable materials hung from them. The slight curvature of the long torso and vertebrae of the character may indicate an advanced age; as it has not been possible to identify any pathology in particular, clearly it does not indicate scoliosis.  Thus, the seated position, the cone shape on the head, the large breastplate and the tentative aging demonstrate the high social ranking of the figure. The varied attributes seem to correspond to distinct facets of his identity; among all of these the religious function, perchance priestly, by means of a ritual of ingestion is very notable. The drinker himself is, at least in appearance, a recipient, since his configuration is hollow, and at the top of his head a tubular chute protrudes. The image emphasizes meanings concerning drinking and containing, in an intrinsic link with a figure of reiterated masculinity.