Archaic Figurines.
[Plate VII.]
Large Archaic Figures found in Graves and offering Evidence of Ancient Customs and Arts and also showing a Quality of Caricature or possibly Portraiture. These are probably late products since they come from Tepic and Jalisco, where archaic art maintained itself long after its disappearance from central Mexico.
Fig. 13. Archaic Figurines from Central Mexico. The first three specimens are from under the lava at Copilco.
Fig. 14. Archaic Figurines—Zapotlan, Jalisco; Tampico, Vera Cruz; and Cuesta Blanca, Salvador.
Archaic art is characterized by figures of men and women modeled in clay and sometimes painted. The forms are peculiar and the technique well standardized. Most are modeled in a flat gingerbread fashion into a gross shape. Upon this gross shape special features are indicated by stuck-on ribbons and buttons of clay and by gougings and incisings with some pointed instrument. Modeling was done entirely by hand, moulds being as yet unknown. The figurines are usually from two to five inches in height and often represent nude women in sitting or standing positions with the hands upon the knees, hips, or breasts. The heads are characteristically of slight depth compared with their height, the limbs taper rapidly from a rather plump torso and hands and feet are mere knobs with incised details. When the figures are intended to stand erect, as is often the case, the feet show signs of having been pinched between the thumb and finger of the potter so that they have a forward and backward cusp and a broad base of support. Groovings are seen in connection with the hair, eyes, mouth, fingers, toes, and details of dress and ornament. Paint is often added to this surface to indicate tattooing, textile patterns, etc.
Fig. 15. Archaic Figurine from Salvador.
The eyes of the archaic images—and the mouths as well—are made according to several methods. First, there is the simple groove; second, a groove across an applied ball or button of clay; third, a round gouging made by the end of a blunt implement held vertically; fourth, a round gouging in an applied ball or button of clay; fifth, two gougings made with a round or chisel-edged implement held at an angle. The second form of eye, which resembles a grain of coffee, and the fifth form with the double gouging made from the center outward, are found from the northern limits of archaic art in Mexico as far south as Colombia and Venezuela.
Fig. 16. Types of Eyes of Archaic Figurines.
The technique of manufacture naturally changes somewhat with the increase in size. There is also reason to believe that the largest hollow figures come from the end of the Archaic Period in Mexico, and especially those that have been found in the state of Jalisco and the territory of Tepic. The eyelids are often rather carefully modeled and sometimes an eyeball is put in between the lids. These and perforated eyes seem to be the latest characters to be developed in the archaic art and it is significant that they are not found over such a wide area as the first five types of eyes given above.