prev - home - index - next

Although acrobats are fairly common in Central Mexican Pre-Classic figurines, this is a particularly beautiful example, given its wonderfully worked features, high polish and light hue. While these could be just depictions of acrobats, some scholars have also suggested a possible association with shamanistic transformation rituals.


Vessel-figurine of an acrobat
Central Mexican Pre-Classic
Early Pre-Classic (1200-600 B.C.)
Tlatilco, State of Mexico
Light clay
25 x 16 cm.
National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico.

Photo © Jorge Pérez de Lara