Figure,

1300–1521

Small stone sculptures of squatting or seated men, most often of marble, are thought to have been made by Ñuù Savi artists in the highlands of western Oaxaca, although they have been found throughout southcentral Mexico. The compact posture, with knees hugging the chest and arms tight against the body, have led scholars to compare their posture to Ñuù Savi funerary bundles. Precisely the same pose, however, was also used to depict living men, especially rulers, as they sat on mats of authority and other indicators of their status and geopolitical affiliation. Regardless of whether the individual depicted is alive or dead, semidivine ancestors were likely rendered as eternal and portable, to accompany their living descendants or imbue sacred offerings with ancestral potency. Differences in the color of the stone, the quality of the carving, and the size of the work may signal the relative importance of the ancestor depicted or of the intended owner.