Ceramic Forms

            The majority of Chupícuaro items are bowls of various types (López 62-75; Reference List). The most typically Chupícuaro tripod types are “spider leg” tripods, which have long, thin legs, and mammiform tripods, named for the breast-like shape of their legs (McBride 33-34). Vessel forms include basal-break, rim-shoulder, cylinder, the gourd-like tecomate, globular (that is, spherical), and ollas, which are cooking vessels that are round with short incurving, then slightly flaring necks (Reference List 80). Chupícuaro vessels also come in more unusual forms such as shoe shapes, ovals, kidney-shapes, hearts, and canoe shapes (80). Other characteristics often found on Chupícuaro bowls include pedestal bases and ring stands (80). In addition to painted geometric decoration, many Chupícuaro ceramics are decorated with modeled (that is, hand sculpted) human or animal features, most often faces (López 69-75). Such vessels are known as effigy vessels (69). Human and animal forms are also represented in figurines (54-61). The animals represented are almost exclusively birds and mammals, with occasional lizards or turtles (60, 70-72, 75-77). Occasional architectural, furniture, and floral figurines are also found (77), as are musical instruments such as pipes and bells often in effigy shapes (76).  Chupícuaro vessels may be decorated with incisions such as loaf-shaped parallel lines on the vessel’s shoulder[1], punctations[2], holes, rope-like or bead-like appliques, single curving handles, and
lugs[3] (62-75). Chupícuaro ceramics occasionally include the stirrup-spout[4] form borrowed from South America, decorated with typically Chupícuaro painted designs (López 52; Weaver 13-14).   

Chupícuaro figurines can be divided between large, hollow polychrome or red on buff figurines and smaller, simpler un-burnished figurines, sometimes with red, white, or black pigment on the legs, head, or body (López 54-61). The small figurines can be further divided based on their features into slant eye; thin or fat; long nose; squint eye, button eye, or diamond eye; choker (referring to the necklaces they wear); and prognathic[5], categories which can be combined for the best description (54-60). Less common variants include the fine ivory, which are white with black and red designs over their entire bodies, and round-eyed figurines, which are most often animals (60). Large, hollow figurines can be described as thin or fat (61). Other features are associated with each category (53-61). For example, fat figurines generally have round heads, while thin figurine heads are usually elongated and may have flattened tops or pointed chins (53-61). Other typologies describe figurines with numbers, of which the H4 type (which corresponds most closely to the slant-eye form of the feature based typology) is most notable as being recognizably Chupícuaro and found as trade wares throughout the Chupícuaro sphere (McBride 41-44).