Colima Terracotta Flute - DC.1865,Origin: Western Mexico,Circa: 300 BC to 300 AD,Dimensions: 15" (38.1cm) high x 1.5" (3.8cm) wide,Collection: Pre-Columbian Art,Style: Colima,Medium: Terracotta. There are many distinct groups within the agglomeration referred to as the Western Mexico Shaft Tomb (WMST) tradition, foremost among them the Jalisco, Nayarit, and Colima. Their relationships are almost totally obscure due to the lack of contextual information. However, it is the artworks that are the most informative. All of the cultures encompassed under the WMST umbrella were in the habit of burying their dead in socially-stratified burial chambers at the base of deep shafts, which were in turn often topped by buildings. Originally believed to be influenced by the Tarascan people, who were contemporaries of the Aztecs, thermoluminescence has pushed back the dates of these groups over 1000 years.

Antiquities
Ancient Central America & Mexico