Nose pipe in the form of a kneeling human
1400–1000 B.C.E.
Early Preclassic
Xochipala
This humanoid vessel was most likely used to snuff tobacco or some other psychotropic substance. The chest of the figure held the powdered substance, and the rounded spout on top of the head was inserted into the user’s nostril. The large, round nostrils of the upturned nose seem to echo the function of the vessel. The placement of the conical snout on the head may also refer to the object’s use; comparable conical “horns” on later ceramic figurines from Colima have been interpreted as references to the shamanic capacity to interact with the supernatural world through the use of hallucinogenic intoxicants.
Princeton University Art Museum