![](/system/files/styles/large/private/art/20626/cover_colima_dog.jpg?itok=7cDqyOY2)
Colima Dog
, circa 100 - 300 CE
24.1 x 15.4 x 33.3 cm (h x w x d)
Clay
Minneapolis Institute of Art
GIFT OF DR. AND MRS. JOHN R. KENNEDY
No. 99.57.3
Dogs had a variety of functions in the early American societies. They were associated with spiritual powers, as guides in the afterlife for humans, and also as food in actuality. The statues of dogs were often times part of a burial.
This breed of hairless Colima dogs is extinct today.