Western Mexico shaft tomb tradition

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".

Grave goods within these tombs include hollow ceramic figures, obsidian and shell jewelry, semi-precious stones, pottery (which often contained food), and other household implements such as spindle whorls and metates.

Unlike those of other Mesoamerican cultures such as the Olmec and the Maya, shaft tomb artifacts carry little to no iconography and so are seemingly bereft of symbolic or religious meaning.

[15] In fact, these ceramics were apparently the primary outlet for artistic expression for the shaft tomb cultures and there is little to no record of associated monumental architecture, stelae, or other public art.

Common subjects of shaft tomb tradition ceramics are: Some tableaus are almost photographic in their detail and have even been associated with architecture ruins in the field.

The usual trio of beans, squash, and maize was supplemented with chiles, manioc and other tubers, various grains, and with animal protein from domestic dogs, turkeys, and ducks, and from hunting.

They lived in thatched roof wattle-and-daub houses, grew cotton and tobacco, and conducted some long-distance trade in obsidian and other goods.

[45] Shaft tombs also appear in northwestern South America in a somewhat later timeframe than western Mexico (e.g. 200-300 CE in northern Peru, later in other areas).

To Dorothy Hosler, Professor of Archaeology and Ancient Technology at MIT, "The physical similarities between the northern South American and West Mexican tomb types are unmistakable.

"[46] while art historian George Kubler finds that the western Mexican chambers "resemble the shafted tombs of the upper Cauca river in Colombia".

[55] Toscano's and Covarrubias's views were later upheld by radiocarbon dating of plundered shaft tombs' charcoal and other organic remains salvaged in the 1960s by Diego Delgado and Peter Furst.

The model houses, for example, showed the living dwelling in context with the dead – a miniature cosmogram – and the horned warriors (as discussed above) were shaman battling mystical forces.

Reconstruction of excavated shaft tomb exhibited at the National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico.
Western Mexico archaeological sites. The orange circles show archaeological sites. The larger green circles highlight the most important sites. Note that the sites form what has been called the "shaft tomb arc" which extends from northwest Nayarit through the central Jalisco highlands and down to Colima.
A Nayarit tableau showing a multi-layered tree with birds. It has been proposed that the birds represent souls who have not yet descended into the underworld, [ 12 ] while the central tree may represent the Mesoamerican world tree . [ 13 ]
An ancestor pair from Nayarit, 100 BCE - 200 CE, executed in the Ixtlán del Río style.
A Chinesco-style figurine (Type C), showing the archetypal puffy, slit-like eyes and short tapered legs.
A fat, and perhaps fattened, dog from Colima [ 27 ]
A characteristic circular ceramic tableau showing more than a dozen musicians and dancers
An Ameca-style figurine from Jalisco. The crest is a not-uncommon feature of many tradition figurines. The ball would appear to link the subject to the Mesoamerican ballgame .
A ceramic house showing the distinctive roof associated not only with the shaft tomb cultures but the subsequent Teuchitlan tradition as well. It has been proposed that these models show the house of the living above and attached to the house of the dead. [ 50 ]
An Ameca-style figurine from Jalisco. Height: 22 in (56 cm).
A Zacatecas style ceramic figurine showing the distinctive horns (perhaps bundles of hair) found on male figurines. Both male and female figurines display the characteristic flat-top heads and rope-like arms. [ 59 ]