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Clues to the function and ritual use of the statue are offered in the symbols (figure 2b) incised on the body and on the two scepters held in the crook of either arm (it has been reported that a looted burial, on the Mexican Gulf Coast, contained scepters identical to those held by "Slim"). Many of these "secondary" symbols can be interpreted outside this specific sculptural context but they were intended by the artist to be viewed (and read) as a compositional whole. In the case of "Slim", the totality of the iconographic information is best recovered by dividing the statue into three units--the head, torso and lower limbs. Within these three divisions the symbols that make up the iconographic units are examined here for a natural origin and/or a specific ritual action. The interpretations from each division are viewed together to understand the totality of "Slim".
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