Colima Dogs Ceramic Ancient

Mexicans love wearing masks.

Colima dogs ceramic ancient.

Unknown colima maker west mexico large dog figure 250 bce 250 ce. The ancient artists of west mexico excelled at distorting anatomical parts of the body along with animals and plants for maximum aesthetic effect. Made of terracotta clay and fired it represents one of the native hairless dogs of the region and was intended for multiple uses. Ceramic dogs are widely known from looted tombs in colima.

My favorite is a statue of a dog wearing a human mask created about 300 a d and found near colima. The ceramic dog figure figure 1 comes from the west mexican site of colima during the late formative period 300 bc 300 ad. The most frequent depictions take the form of small ceramic vessels known as colima dogs for the modern state in western mexico where they are commonly found. Nonetheless it should also be noted that dogs were often the major source of animal protein in ancient mesoamerica.

However these ancient dogs are. In the ancient west mexican colima culture of about 2 000 years ago we find ceramic dog figures in 75 90 of the shaft tombs. Masks are part of the christmas pastorelas depicting the devil the hermit and sin dressed in red satin. Dogs were generally believed in mesoamerican cultures to represent soul guides of the dead and several dog ceramics wear human masks.

Clay and ceramic effigies of xolos date back over 3000 years and have been discovered in the tombs of the toltec aztec mayan zapoteca and colima indians. These colima hollow ceramic dogs are the oldest and most enigmatic canine effigies found in north america. Masks are an integral part of many ritual dances the spanish word is danza for ceremonial dances. Jalisco nayarit and colima were the primary sites creating some of the most intriguing and visually stimulating art.

Burnished low fire ceramic earthenware with black and red pigments and manganese oxide residue 11 3 4 x 17 x 8 in. 3 the body type reflected in the art institute s example would seem ideal for maximum protein yield for minimum calorie investment. Boy holding dog and dog with food bowl holding an ear of corn. They were made in what is called the comala style from maybe a few centuries bc until perhaps as late as ad 1 000 in west mexico.

The xolo held a place of special religious significance for many ancient cultures. A dog eat dog world.