Seated Figure c. 100 - 250

This seated figure was made in Nayarit, a region of Western Mexico, from ceramic. Although undated, it probably comes from sometime between 200 BCE and 300 CE. What does it mean to represent the human body in this way? The hunched posture and inward gaze might suggest introspection or mourning. Yet this is no simple snapshot of an individual. Ceramic figures like this one were often placed in elaborate tombs, suggesting a ritual function. But whose ritual? Were these commemorations of the dead intended for the benefit of the living or the deceased? We can only speculate on the answers to these questions, but the historian can delve into the archaeology of Nayarit society, looking for information about burial practices or belief systems to give us further insight. What does this figure tell us about the social structures of its own time?