[3] The Shaft Tomb Tradition (500 BCE - 500 CE) constitutes a peculiar feature of mesoamerican prehispanic development in México, although there are analog burials forms elsewhere in the continent.

Like much else concerning the tradition, its origins are not well understood, although the valleys around Tequila, Jalisco, which include the archaeological sites of Huitzilapa and Teuchitlan, constitute its "undisputed core".

[2] This rich tradition is manifested in their varied and beautiful complex ceramic and polished stone, obsidian, and jade, such as: arrowheads; human instruments, gods and animals.

Metal work impacted the agricultural activity and environmental exploitation, manufactured utilitarian artifacts as well as ornamental and sumptuary objects.

The burial was common in large pots where skeletons lie in sitting or extended position, accompanied by offerings primarily made of pottery.

[2] From the "Aztatlán Tradition" the Shaft Tombs are highlighted, and it is noted that the discovery of Smoking pipes vestiges in Amapa imply that tobacco was farmed, there are also samples that demonstrate the use of metals, form manufacturing needles and fish hooks, also bricks for construction evidence was found.

[2] In more recent times, within the "Aztatlán tradition", the now called Sentispac town, formerly known as Tzenticpac or Centicpac, was the seat of the lordship of the same name, which extended to Omitlán, Itzcuintla, Cillan and Atecomatlán and was occupied by Totorames native groups, who dominated and receiving tributes from Coras and Zayahuecos settled in the same coastal region.

[9] The city was founded in the 12th century, by Nahuatlaca tribes en route towards the Valley of Mexico, forming the Ahuacatlán Lordship, known by its building construction and trading of obsidian goods.

[3] It is then that the urban settlement grows considerable with the construction of large terraces, palaces, temples and altars, acquiring a certain regional importance as manufacturing and commercial trade center.

[3] This stage of prehispanic development distinguishes and identifies western Mexico from other mesoamerican cultural expressions, during the late formative period and early classical.

[9] The Ixtlán del Río site is known as "Los Toriles", it was a constantly growing city and its inhabitants place huge importance to its buildings.

They had urbanism knowledge, applied to an organized arrangement, with stairs, restricted accesses, open spaces, altars, sidewalks, drains, causeways, neighborhoods and palaces throughout the extensive city that flourished from 700 to 1200 CE.

On slopes they built extensive terraces, palaces, worship spaces, people’s homes, farmland areas and obsidian carving workshops.

[10] Accordingly, what their name was is not known, these were communities a little older than 2,200 years, and are known as belonging to the Shaft Tomb Tradition, constructed in vertical wells, round or square, representing the maternal uterus.

[1] The site was founded, in the 12th century, by Nahuatlacas tribes while on their way to the Valley of Mexico, and formed part of the Ahuacatlán kingdom, known by its constructions and obsidian objects which they traded.

Also, worth mentioning, are sculptures representing soldiers, identifiable from a spiked helmet; the chest is armor protected and in their hands a cane resembling a mallet.

[9] One of these temples has a road paved with stone slabs, which leads to the round monument, discovered in 1948 by Prof. José Corona Núñez and eloquently describes his discovery, stating: "the round monument has 30 meters in diameter by 4 meters high;" sloped walls crowned by a perforated parapet with crosses, as if skylights, four access stairs, limited by alfardas die finished, some of them still have cross shaped handrails.

[9] In earlier times, between 300 BCE and 600 CE., flourished a cultural complex known as shaft tombs tradition characterized by underground architecture and offerings deposited inside the funeral chambers.

The highlight of this complex is the circular pyramid, discovered in 1948 by Prof. Jose Corona Nuñez, it is the most important structure of the archaeological site that, from its design and finishing, constitutes one of the most beautiful works of the prehispanic architecture in western Mexico.

"The monument is of round base 24 meters in diameter and 4 meters high, originally was a cylinder with vertical walls (compact drum) crowned with a perforated parapet with small cruciform windows that give the construction the aspect of a large brazier, with five stairs harmonically distributed in its contour"; in the superior part there are two rectangular altars, and it is known as a Quetzalcoatl or Ehécatl temple,[12] due to its architectonic characteristics and elements.

[1] During prehispanic times, western cultures buried to their dead in shaft tombs, these are vertical wells 1.5 to 16 meters deep, where diverse sculptures were placed as offering for the deceased; these were of various types of polychrome ceramic figures; animal forms, anthropomorphous and small and medium size scale models, which measured from five to 80 centimeters.

[13] In the case of the Ixtlán del Rio Archaeological Zone, the figures represent funeral processions, villages, people lying down or in beds, the flier and ballgame rituals, were modeled in reddish clay and decoration painted with black, red, orange, yellow and beige colors.

[13] The dancers and musicians figures not only appear in the processions scale models, there are also exclusive pieces of people groups in circular dances or playing instruments, such as drums, snails and flutes.

[13] Five types of scale models have been classified, representing houses, measuring approximately 18 centimeters high by 20 wide and are distinguished by its shed roof with the corners raised in triangles form.

[13] Among the scale models, there are also villages with a circular construction in the center, very similar to the pyramid of the Guachimontones Archaeological site in Jalisco, surrounded by houses as previously mentioned.