Ixtlán del Río-style Architectural Model

The shape of the roof and the painted decoration of this earthenware model speak to architectural elements missing from the archaeological record. The model also provides valuable information about the activities that could take place in this type of building. The presence of various vessels and figures preparing food, such as the one using a grinding stone, suggest the holding of a feast. The formal aspect of the event is emphasized by the figures of high rank lined up on the upper level. The gathering is presided over by a personage holding a cup, possibly filled with pulque, an agave-based fermented beverage. In the lower level, filled with recumbent figures that have been interpreted as representing the dead, some scholars see an evocation of a tomb built beneath the house. We may therefore be witnessing a banquet held in their honour.