ABSTRACT
A population of that size is often termed "urban" elsewhere in Mesoamerica, but the simplicity complex states that that term cannot be used in Western Mesoamerica, outside of the Tarascan capital at Tzintzuntzan. Diego Rivera's extensive gathering of Western Mesoamerican art, particularly figurines, are housed as part of his overall artifact collection in the museum bearing his name in Mexico City. The uncritical application of religious symbolism from a composite, response group to the archaeological cultures of Western Mesoamerica has approached the absurd at times, with a mystical vision of shamanism pervading most of its themes. The chapter offers a sociologically-oriented interpretation of the often poorly documented and misunderstood archaeological materials. Archaeologists interested in the highland Jalisco and Nayarit lake basins, in their pre-occupation with tombs, had been walking over without note some of the most beautiful and symmetrical buildings of ancient Mesoamerica.
